Chapultepec Zoo Chapultepec Zoo news

I am going to be in CDMX end of this week until Monday. I am wondering if there are any recommendations of best time to go to zoo, unique things to not miss, or in general any advice?
 
Jefferson said:
I am going to be in CDMX end of this week until Monday. I am wondering if there are any recommendations of best time to go to zoo, unique things to not miss, or in general any advice?
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I visited Chapultepec in January (for the second time. I also visited in 2021) and unfortunately can't tell you the best time of the day/week to go as I am not a regular visitor, but can tell you about my experience. I visited on a Tuesday and arrived right around opening time. Overall, the zoo was pretty much empty at this time, but got a bit busier as the day went on but was never crazy busy. I spent around 5 hours there.

The zoo is separated into 6 zones (Tropical Forests, Temperate Forests, Aviaries, Coasts, Grasslands, and Deserts). The two forest zones and grasslands are quite extensive, the desert area and aviaries are smaller zones by comparison, and the coasts amounts to two exhibits (California Sea Lions and Penguins). The two largest aviaries (Raptor Aviaries and Moctezuma) have not been open on either of my visits. There are 4 "houses" at the zoo that are all placed within the different zones, including a Herpetarium, Butterfly Walkthrough & Insectarium, the nocturnal animals building, and Axolotl Museum & Amphibian Conservation Center. The Axolotl Museum & Center is brand new and definitely a do not miss in my opinion as it is great in terms of education (even though my Spanish is pretty terrible), engaging, and not only showcases the Axolotl's but also some of the other similar amphibian species from the surrounding Mexican states.

The zoo is free, but there are currently 4 things you need to buy a ticket for if you want to go into them. These are the Herpetarium, Butterfly House & Insectarium, Dinosaur, and Sharks. I believe tickets are available individually or as combo passes for just two or all four. Overall, it is very inexpensive as its like $250 pesos for all four, which comes out to like $12 USD. Personally, I would skip the Dinosaurs and the Sharks. Dinosaurs is honestly a pretty poor version of your typical Dinosaur zoo experience as it is in one room above the Herpetarium, while Sharks is an "immersive" experience that is perhaps a little more unique, but not really something that is going to interest most ZooChatters. They do all contain a VR experience included with entry (except maybe the Butterfly/Insectarium) if that is something you are into (looks like a version of the MetaQuest is used for it).

The Nocturnal House and Axolotl Museum you may have to wait in a line for as they only allow a certain number of people in at a time. Additionally, the Nocturnal House did not open until later in the day when I was there. I originally went past it around 10:30-11am probably and a guard was standing in front of the locked door, but when I went back later in the day it was open. Neither of the lines took more than 5-10 minutes.

Off the top my head, I know the Brown Hyenas, Mantled Howler Monkeys, Central American Brocket Deer, and Black Wildebeest are some of the uncommon in captivity for North America species kept there. I saw all of them with no issues multiple times through, except for the Brown Hyenas, which I was most hoping to see. I don't tend to do much scouting of zoos beforehand, so I did not know where they were in the zoo and by the time I got to them it was in the early afternoon. Oh well, but if that is a species you are going for, I would probably make that my first stop of the day and then keep checking back if I didn't have any luck. (I checked back a few different times). The Brown Hyenas are in the Desert zone of the zoo. The zoo operates on loose loop system where all of the loops will bring you back to the main path/plaza (mostly), so it is not extremely difficult to keep going back to a certain area.

Just in case you don't know, there are two other zoos in CDMX proper, Zoologico Los Coyotes and Zoologico San Juan de Aragon. Los Coyotes focuses on species native to the valley and is enjoyable, but small. When I was there in January though two of the big exhibits (Wolves and Coyotes) were closed, I did not see any deer in the exhibit (which is weird), the aviaries felt/looked empty, and the bat exhibit was closed, so it was not looking in the best shape and may not be worth the time. San Juan de Aragon is not as good as Chapultepec, but all of the cities elephants and great apes (Chimpanzees) are there. One half of San Juan (really is more than half) of the zoo is quite good, while the other is outdated, so it is more of a mixed bag than Chapultepec, but is worth the time if you have it. San Juan also has South American Sea Lion's which are uncommon.

There are also two aquarium's in CDMX, Acuario Michin and Acuario Inbursa. I honestly wasn't all that impressed with Inbursa (even though it is supposedly the largest aquarium in Mexico) and would say it is a poorer version of a Sea Life facility. Everything is nice enough, but nothing all that great. Acuario Michin, I did enjoy. Even though it is also not a huge facility, I just felt it was better done overall. Both of the aquariums have Blacktip Sharks (note: not Blacktip Reef Sharks), which are pretty unusual to see, if interested.

I'm not sure if you are looking for anything else, but I hope this helps and hope you enjoy the zoo! It is a personal favorite of mine, even though it might not compete with the best of the best in the United States.

NOTE/EDIT: If you are looking to get a sense of species currently at these places, you could check the ZooChat Global Challenge and ZooChat North America Challenge threads as I have participated in both so far. These obviously won't contain all species at each zoo, but will at least give you a sense of the species I saw.
 
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This is so helpful! The nocturnal house and axotl museum sound great! And definitely some species there I haven't see before so quite excited.

My friends aren't the big zoo nerds I am, so we will see about the add ons. Thanks for your advice!!
 
Jefferson said:
The nocturnal house and axotl museum sound great!
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The nocturnal house (honestly, was struggling with what to call it as it is more like a fairly small tunnel loop), but contains a few hidden gems if I recall. There was an opossum signed that was not your common, Virginia Opossum, but it was off exhibit when I was there. Also believe there was a more uncommon owl species. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of free time to go back and look as my busy season just started for work and I am on the go constantly now.
 
Claudia Sheinbaum, our current president, is a big fan of Chapultepec zoo and when she was mayor of Mexico City she openly supported it, adding renovations. The brown hyenas are in the desert section ,after the Mexican wolves and are active in the morning. After noon they are asleep. The volcano rabbits are in the forest section before the nocturnal house, which is not that large, but has mottled owls and four eyed opossum. The tropical forest area has margay, both species of native Mexican howler monkeys, brocket deer and Mexican tamandua. The black wildebeest are in the savanna area. The axolotl house is a very nice addition. Our elderly female giant panda is usually awake in the mornings. If possible avoid Chapultepec zoo on Sunday, it can be very crowded.
 
carlos55 said:
Claudia Sheinbaum, our current president, is a big fan of Chapultepec zoo and when she was mayor of Mexico City she openly supported it, adding renovations. The brown hyenas are in the desert section ,after the Mexican wolves and are active in the morning. After noon they are asleep. The volcano rabbits are in the forest section before the nocturnal house, which is not that large, but has mottled owls and four eyed opossum. The tropical forest area has margay, both species of native Mexican howler monkeys, brocket deer and Mexican tamandua. The black wildebeest are in the savanna area. The axolotl house is a very nice addition. Our elderly female giant panda is usually awake in the mornings. If possible avoid Chapultepec zoo on Sunday, it can be very crowded.
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Hello, do you know the name of the red panda and her date of birth and her parentage information? I finished the North American Population list but I couldn't find information about the red panda in Mexico. I would appreciate the help.
 
Goodness me, you almost gave me a heart attack! Happy Birthday Xin Xin, and many happy returns. 35 is a good innings for a panda.

Although I have very little faith it will happen, given the extraordinary contribution that Chapultepec have made to the conservation and understanding of Giant Pandas, it would be extremely fitting when the day sadly comes that they no longer have their own, that a pair is sent free of charge.
 
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