Part 1.
Yesterday I visited a very special zoo/aviary , "El nido", which I never knew existed , Here is my review of the park, I hope it encourages more people to visit this little known gem in the valley of Mexico which is also the third largest aviary in the world with species extremely hard to come by in other collections.
The park was founded by Jesus estudillo lopez who studied as a vet in the UNAM national university and gained a doctorate in avian Pathology in the university of Ohio in the United states. The founder of "El nido" is apparently recognised internationally as one of the most important ornithologists in the world and has won various awards including the merit and recognition of the world wildlife fund and the Global 500 Award of the United Nations, granted in 1993 in Beijing, China. The founder of El nido even Discovered in 1975 in the mountain regions near the river Ixiamas in Bolivia, one of the rarest species Cracid the estudilloi Crax (which is named after him).
El nido is a private ecological park and breeding facility only open to the general public at weekends. The ethics of the park are 100% conservation with a huge emphasis on education and it seems to be funded mostly by donations as non profit organization. The entrance fee is 90 Mexican pesos per person, which is quite expensive but I believe is well worth paying because it helps the upkeep of the park and their conservation programes in Mexico and in Central and south America. At the entrance of the park is a spacious enclosure for some Ostriches, after entering the building an educational video of aproximately 15 minutes in duration is shown,Visitors are led into the park in small groups by guides. (who speak exclusively Spanish, so proficiency in Spanish is definitely a "must have" to appreciate the tour)
I was initially quite irritated that the only way of seeing the park was by a guided tour , but the guides are very well informed,educated and I believe play a crucial role in educating visitors and preventing unnecessary stress to the animals. (like banging on windows ,stone throwing , shouting , and generally annoying animals which unfortunately is such a common sight at other Mexican zoo´s such as chapultepec and Guadalajara etc.)
The first species to be seen on the tour are two breeding pairs of Siberian amur tigers, two pairs of jaguars (both the normal phase and the melanistic) and a semi adult jaguar which apparently was the offspring of one of the Jaguar groups. The enclosures for these animals are somewhat utilitarian (but well planted and provided with plenty of climbing materials) but I saw no signs of stereotypical behaviour or pacing in the animals. In fact the big cats I saw seemed to be very content, playful, and in fantastic health, the jaguars even mated in front of the visitors.
The next species to be seen on the tour are bird species from oceania in a walkthrough aviary there are Mitchells cockatoos ,cockatiels, Moluccan cockatoos , Palm cockatoos and a number of sulphur crested cockatoo. The aviary is large, well planted with artificial streams and waterfalls and with plenty of branches.
The next birds to be seen are based in a spacious Bolivian themed walk through aviary with plenty of vegetation, waterfalls , streams etc. are Red fronted Macaws , green winged macaws, golden collared macaws, Blue and gold Macaws ,Chestnut fronted Macaws, Toco toucan, blue billed toucans, Red fan parrots , various species of Amazon parrots ,black headed parrots and various guans and Chacalacas. (Incidentally I saw a large Toco toucan feed pieces of papaya and pineapple to a smaller blue billed toucan which strikes me as being bizzare.. is that kind of altruistic behaviour common in birds in captivity?)
The next aviary is also a walkthrough with a theme of the Mexican state of Oaxaca and Chiapas, the species kept in this aviary are Scarlet Macaws , millitary macaws , various Amazon parrot species,toucans and guans and chacalacas.
The next series of enclosures hold quite a few breeding pairs of species of cranes such as crowned ( which are also free ranging within the park),common ,sandhill,black necked, Japanese and a lone Siberian Crane. (which I was told will soon be joined by a female companion) The enclosures for the cranes were utilitarian but the guide explained that the enclosures are only temporary as currently new enclosures are being built for them within the park. The tour then stops for aproximately 35 minutes in a small resteraunt area, where food and refreshments can be purchased.
Yesterday I visited a very special zoo/aviary , "El nido", which I never knew existed , Here is my review of the park, I hope it encourages more people to visit this little known gem in the valley of Mexico which is also the third largest aviary in the world with species extremely hard to come by in other collections.
The park was founded by Jesus estudillo lopez who studied as a vet in the UNAM national university and gained a doctorate in avian Pathology in the university of Ohio in the United states. The founder of "El nido" is apparently recognised internationally as one of the most important ornithologists in the world and has won various awards including the merit and recognition of the world wildlife fund and the Global 500 Award of the United Nations, granted in 1993 in Beijing, China. The founder of El nido even Discovered in 1975 in the mountain regions near the river Ixiamas in Bolivia, one of the rarest species Cracid the estudilloi Crax (which is named after him).
El nido is a private ecological park and breeding facility only open to the general public at weekends. The ethics of the park are 100% conservation with a huge emphasis on education and it seems to be funded mostly by donations as non profit organization. The entrance fee is 90 Mexican pesos per person, which is quite expensive but I believe is well worth paying because it helps the upkeep of the park and their conservation programes in Mexico and in Central and south America. At the entrance of the park is a spacious enclosure for some Ostriches, after entering the building an educational video of aproximately 15 minutes in duration is shown,Visitors are led into the park in small groups by guides. (who speak exclusively Spanish, so proficiency in Spanish is definitely a "must have" to appreciate the tour)
I was initially quite irritated that the only way of seeing the park was by a guided tour , but the guides are very well informed,educated and I believe play a crucial role in educating visitors and preventing unnecessary stress to the animals. (like banging on windows ,stone throwing , shouting , and generally annoying animals which unfortunately is such a common sight at other Mexican zoo´s such as chapultepec and Guadalajara etc.)
The first species to be seen on the tour are two breeding pairs of Siberian amur tigers, two pairs of jaguars (both the normal phase and the melanistic) and a semi adult jaguar which apparently was the offspring of one of the Jaguar groups. The enclosures for these animals are somewhat utilitarian (but well planted and provided with plenty of climbing materials) but I saw no signs of stereotypical behaviour or pacing in the animals. In fact the big cats I saw seemed to be very content, playful, and in fantastic health, the jaguars even mated in front of the visitors.
The next species to be seen on the tour are bird species from oceania in a walkthrough aviary there are Mitchells cockatoos ,cockatiels, Moluccan cockatoos , Palm cockatoos and a number of sulphur crested cockatoo. The aviary is large, well planted with artificial streams and waterfalls and with plenty of branches.
The next birds to be seen are based in a spacious Bolivian themed walk through aviary with plenty of vegetation, waterfalls , streams etc. are Red fronted Macaws , green winged macaws, golden collared macaws, Blue and gold Macaws ,Chestnut fronted Macaws, Toco toucan, blue billed toucans, Red fan parrots , various species of Amazon parrots ,black headed parrots and various guans and Chacalacas. (Incidentally I saw a large Toco toucan feed pieces of papaya and pineapple to a smaller blue billed toucan which strikes me as being bizzare.. is that kind of altruistic behaviour common in birds in captivity?)
The next aviary is also a walkthrough with a theme of the Mexican state of Oaxaca and Chiapas, the species kept in this aviary are Scarlet Macaws , millitary macaws , various Amazon parrot species,toucans and guans and chacalacas.
The next series of enclosures hold quite a few breeding pairs of species of cranes such as crowned ( which are also free ranging within the park),common ,sandhill,black necked, Japanese and a lone Siberian Crane. (which I was told will soon be joined by a female companion) The enclosures for the cranes were utilitarian but the guide explained that the enclosures are only temporary as currently new enclosures are being built for them within the park. The tour then stops for aproximately 35 minutes in a small resteraunt area, where food and refreshments can be purchased.
