TRIP REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE ZOOLOGICA NACIONAL IN NICARAGUA
In november 2024, I visited Nicaragua. After Costa Rica in 2017 and Mexico (Yucatan and Cozumel) in 2019, this was my third time visiting Central America.
My focus was on bird- and wildlife watching, as well as enjoying nature in general (I visited mangroves, volcanoes, cloud forests and rainforests). The birding was really succesful with a whopping 163 species, including a lof of lifers. The mammal-watching however was really underwhelming and I had no luck whatsoever. If anyone is interested in the birding/wildlife part of my trip, let me know.
Nicaragua also has a few zoos, of which very little information is to be found on the internet. Even the national zoo did not have its own gallery on zoochat (nor does the country). I could not find any indication other zoochatters have visited this place. I am the first zoochatter to visit this zoo? Possibly so! Therefor, I feel obligated to do a trip report and review on this zoo!
I had a visit to the zoo as an option for my final day in Nicaragua, as it was on route towards my hotel near the airport. I did not really know what to expect, but my expectations were low. Turns out, those low expectations were more than justified. The zoo is not good. It’s not even average. Is it the worst I’ve visited? Yes, I would say so. This trip report should make clear why.
Should I start with a positive? Parking at the zoo is free of charge. After parking our rental, we walked towards the entrance, which is dominated by colourful murals of animal species kept in the zoo.
After purchasing tickets (a few dollars per person) I was immediately adressed by a staff member who noticed my camera bag. Despite the language barrier, I understood he was telling me it is not allowed to take photographs…! Wait, what?
This is a really remarkable rule that I had never encountered in a zoo before. It might partially explain the lack of footage from this zoo on the internet. It makes me wonder why this is a thing though. Do they know the conditions of the animals are bad and do they not want this information to be made public? I don’t really know.
I initially left my camera in my bag, but when I noticed other (local) visitors taking photo’s with their phones without any of the staff saying anything about it, I decided to take out my camera as well. The zookeepers and gardeners did not seem to mind at all, so luckily I was able to photograph after all (except for the tiny 'reptile area' directly after the entrance, where that one staff member kept watching me).
So with the introduction out of the way, let’s start this trip report!
In november 2024, I visited Nicaragua. After Costa Rica in 2017 and Mexico (Yucatan and Cozumel) in 2019, this was my third time visiting Central America.
My focus was on bird- and wildlife watching, as well as enjoying nature in general (I visited mangroves, volcanoes, cloud forests and rainforests). The birding was really succesful with a whopping 163 species, including a lof of lifers. The mammal-watching however was really underwhelming and I had no luck whatsoever. If anyone is interested in the birding/wildlife part of my trip, let me know.
Nicaragua also has a few zoos, of which very little information is to be found on the internet. Even the national zoo did not have its own gallery on zoochat (nor does the country). I could not find any indication other zoochatters have visited this place. I am the first zoochatter to visit this zoo? Possibly so! Therefor, I feel obligated to do a trip report and review on this zoo!
I had a visit to the zoo as an option for my final day in Nicaragua, as it was on route towards my hotel near the airport. I did not really know what to expect, but my expectations were low. Turns out, those low expectations were more than justified. The zoo is not good. It’s not even average. Is it the worst I’ve visited? Yes, I would say so. This trip report should make clear why.
Should I start with a positive? Parking at the zoo is free of charge. After parking our rental, we walked towards the entrance, which is dominated by colourful murals of animal species kept in the zoo.
After purchasing tickets (a few dollars per person) I was immediately adressed by a staff member who noticed my camera bag. Despite the language barrier, I understood he was telling me it is not allowed to take photographs…! Wait, what?
This is a really remarkable rule that I had never encountered in a zoo before. It might partially explain the lack of footage from this zoo on the internet. It makes me wonder why this is a thing though. Do they know the conditions of the animals are bad and do they not want this information to be made public? I don’t really know.
I initially left my camera in my bag, but when I noticed other (local) visitors taking photo’s with their phones without any of the staff saying anything about it, I decided to take out my camera as well. The zookeepers and gardeners did not seem to mind at all, so luckily I was able to photograph after all (except for the tiny 'reptile area' directly after the entrance, where that one staff member kept watching me).
So with the introduction out of the way, let’s start this trip report!
