teddy panda
Member
hello ZooChat! long time no see, I forgot my password (and the fact I had an account) for a while, was very very busy as well.
back in January, I went to visit relatives in Peru and got to revisit Parque de las Leyendas in Lima, the most comprehensive zoo in Peru. I used to go here and Huachipa Zoo (its sister park) when I was younger but it's great to see how it's improved after a long time. (speaking of the Huachipa Zoo, I have never seen another zoo with a giant, multi-story jungle aviary like its Bosque de Aves, and I would love to see this concept in another park), and I want to ramble about my visit to other zoo nerds haha
Also, this post sadly won't have pictures since I didn't take any haha
The zoo is divided into many zones. There's a botanical garden, a petting zoo, a swimming hole, an international zone for non-native species, and zones for the 3 geographical divisions of Peru, Sierra (mountains), costa (coastal) and selva (jungle). While I didn't get to see a few exhibits (mainly the petting zoo, aquarium and aquatic birds, it was really really hot when I went so I had to cut my visit short), I feel like I still got a good view of most of the park.
The zoo is built around a complex of ancient monumental ruins, called huacas, and they appear in almost every place in the zoo, including the entrance as soon as you walk in.
my family decided to go to the Sierra zone first. The signs, while sun-bleached, are pretty informative and show the native range of the animal, what it eats and its conservation status. Most of the flying birds, including the Andean condor, are still contained in chain-link aviaries, although with mud-brick hides and trees inside them. I've never heard of Huallatas in another zoo, and they had a decent sized glass-fronted enclosure. Alpacas, guanacos and vicuñas, freshly shorn for the Lima summer, have huge pens where they stare and judge the guests. There's also a model mine here where kids can learn about mining and precious minerals in Peru, I passed on this though. This zone had other rarities like the Andean fox, the Pampas cat (so small in person!), the viscacha (one that I had been waiting to see) and the variable hawk, this section is a little smaller compared to the others.
We then traveled to the jungle zone, I'm really impressed with how the habitats have improved since the last time I was here as a kid. Habitats used to be old-school aviaries or big glass and concrete blocks with grass and a moat, but now most have naturalistic planting and definitely more enrichment and hiding spots. The entire jungle zone is planted with an impressive amount of jungle flora, considering that Lima is a coastal desert. The entire zone also has a few artificial ponds to simulate the Amazon, and you can rent a boat ride or buy food for the fish and turtles within the ponds. I'd also like to note that throughout this section are posters and signs with information on native Amazonian tribes, I found them really interesting to look at.
Here, you can find the spectacled bears (I love bears and spent a long time watching Ukoko and Ukumari do bear things. Did I mention nearly every animal here has a name?) There are also boatloads of rare monkey species to go around, with red uakaris (my personal favorite), monk sakis, Nancy Ma's night monkey and common wooly monkeys being only some of the highlights. There are also glass-fronted aviaries with many species of toucans, parrots and the iconic Andean cock-of-the-rock, who seemed to be feeling shy that day as I don't remember seeing him. The jaguars were also a highlight of the visit, although they're a little far from the other enclosures, you're able to get really close to them with the glass fronts, and even see them swimming in their pool. The giant otters were also cool to see, considering how rare they are. True to their name, they're absolutely massive, but shy considering the hot weather that day. There's also a classic monkey island, with playful capuchins running about and eating fruit. The 2-toed sloths were unable to be seen, sadly, and the capybara exhibit was too crowded, so I didn't get to see either. (At the time I went, there was a massive fad amongst Peruvian kids about capybaras), though some other rare mammals like agoutis, grisons, pacas and pacaranas were seen.
We passed by a small museum about the huacas and other ancient Peruvian civilizations, mostly just for the A/C, and then headed our way to the International Zone, the last zone we ended up seeing in full. We passed an impressive cactus garden with more species than I ever imagined existing, as well as a small herpetarium with some snakes and a few lizards.
The international zone, like the rest of the zoo, is mostly animals rescued from the pet trade or poaching. There's a huge pen for the giraffes, and we got to see their newest addition, a young lad named Melman. (yes, like Madagascar). Nearby is the zebra pen, the ostriches (I love seeing them run, they look like cartoon characters) and the water buffalo pen. I feel like the water buffalos are in sore need of an upgrade, with a very short barrier between them and guests, not much shade and 0 foliage, and only a small concrete water area that looks like it isn't cleaned very often. I also loved watching the kangaroos lounge around in their enclosure near the swans and foreign parrots, I was kind of jealous of the amount of shade they got.
Valentina the Indian rhinoceros is effectively the mascot of La Parque de Las Leyendas, with photos of her plastered across their social media and in their park (I'm pretty sure they made an actual mascot suit of her too), and she has an absolutely gigantic enclosure all to herself, with a statue of her at the entrance. She was also hiding from the sun, so I only saw a glimpse of her.
The Cat House was also a favorite, judging by the line outside the place, although I was surprised that it was only built in 2010 considering how old it seemed, the enclosures could definitely use some upgrading and more foliage. Part of it was under renovation, so I couldn't see the ocelots or jaguarundis. The cats were mostly sleeping, although I got a great view of the white lions!
Before I left, I made my way to the coastal area. I only got to actually see the sea lions and penguins. The sea lions were giant and loud, although I wish their pool was much larger than it currently is. The penguin enclosure has improved since I was a kid, and is now a more naturalistic (and less cramped) rocky beach. I was very sorely disappointed that they tore up pretty much all of the old playground and labyrinth that was there even during my mom's childhood, and we left soon after due to how hungry we all were.
I noticed there isn't many posts about this zoo on here despite how large it is and how many rare species there are, so I decided to add in my two cents! Thank you for reading my ramble, and tell me about your experience if you've been !!
back in January, I went to visit relatives in Peru and got to revisit Parque de las Leyendas in Lima, the most comprehensive zoo in Peru. I used to go here and Huachipa Zoo (its sister park) when I was younger but it's great to see how it's improved after a long time. (speaking of the Huachipa Zoo, I have never seen another zoo with a giant, multi-story jungle aviary like its Bosque de Aves, and I would love to see this concept in another park), and I want to ramble about my visit to other zoo nerds haha
Also, this post sadly won't have pictures since I didn't take any haha
The zoo is divided into many zones. There's a botanical garden, a petting zoo, a swimming hole, an international zone for non-native species, and zones for the 3 geographical divisions of Peru, Sierra (mountains), costa (coastal) and selva (jungle). While I didn't get to see a few exhibits (mainly the petting zoo, aquarium and aquatic birds, it was really really hot when I went so I had to cut my visit short), I feel like I still got a good view of most of the park.
The zoo is built around a complex of ancient monumental ruins, called huacas, and they appear in almost every place in the zoo, including the entrance as soon as you walk in.
my family decided to go to the Sierra zone first. The signs, while sun-bleached, are pretty informative and show the native range of the animal, what it eats and its conservation status. Most of the flying birds, including the Andean condor, are still contained in chain-link aviaries, although with mud-brick hides and trees inside them. I've never heard of Huallatas in another zoo, and they had a decent sized glass-fronted enclosure. Alpacas, guanacos and vicuñas, freshly shorn for the Lima summer, have huge pens where they stare and judge the guests. There's also a model mine here where kids can learn about mining and precious minerals in Peru, I passed on this though. This zone had other rarities like the Andean fox, the Pampas cat (so small in person!), the viscacha (one that I had been waiting to see) and the variable hawk, this section is a little smaller compared to the others.
We then traveled to the jungle zone, I'm really impressed with how the habitats have improved since the last time I was here as a kid. Habitats used to be old-school aviaries or big glass and concrete blocks with grass and a moat, but now most have naturalistic planting and definitely more enrichment and hiding spots. The entire jungle zone is planted with an impressive amount of jungle flora, considering that Lima is a coastal desert. The entire zone also has a few artificial ponds to simulate the Amazon, and you can rent a boat ride or buy food for the fish and turtles within the ponds. I'd also like to note that throughout this section are posters and signs with information on native Amazonian tribes, I found them really interesting to look at.
Here, you can find the spectacled bears (I love bears and spent a long time watching Ukoko and Ukumari do bear things. Did I mention nearly every animal here has a name?) There are also boatloads of rare monkey species to go around, with red uakaris (my personal favorite), monk sakis, Nancy Ma's night monkey and common wooly monkeys being only some of the highlights. There are also glass-fronted aviaries with many species of toucans, parrots and the iconic Andean cock-of-the-rock, who seemed to be feeling shy that day as I don't remember seeing him. The jaguars were also a highlight of the visit, although they're a little far from the other enclosures, you're able to get really close to them with the glass fronts, and even see them swimming in their pool. The giant otters were also cool to see, considering how rare they are. True to their name, they're absolutely massive, but shy considering the hot weather that day. There's also a classic monkey island, with playful capuchins running about and eating fruit. The 2-toed sloths were unable to be seen, sadly, and the capybara exhibit was too crowded, so I didn't get to see either. (At the time I went, there was a massive fad amongst Peruvian kids about capybaras), though some other rare mammals like agoutis, grisons, pacas and pacaranas were seen.
We passed by a small museum about the huacas and other ancient Peruvian civilizations, mostly just for the A/C, and then headed our way to the International Zone, the last zone we ended up seeing in full. We passed an impressive cactus garden with more species than I ever imagined existing, as well as a small herpetarium with some snakes and a few lizards.
The international zone, like the rest of the zoo, is mostly animals rescued from the pet trade or poaching. There's a huge pen for the giraffes, and we got to see their newest addition, a young lad named Melman. (yes, like Madagascar). Nearby is the zebra pen, the ostriches (I love seeing them run, they look like cartoon characters) and the water buffalo pen. I feel like the water buffalos are in sore need of an upgrade, with a very short barrier between them and guests, not much shade and 0 foliage, and only a small concrete water area that looks like it isn't cleaned very often. I also loved watching the kangaroos lounge around in their enclosure near the swans and foreign parrots, I was kind of jealous of the amount of shade they got.
Valentina the Indian rhinoceros is effectively the mascot of La Parque de Las Leyendas, with photos of her plastered across their social media and in their park (I'm pretty sure they made an actual mascot suit of her too), and she has an absolutely gigantic enclosure all to herself, with a statue of her at the entrance. She was also hiding from the sun, so I only saw a glimpse of her.
The Cat House was also a favorite, judging by the line outside the place, although I was surprised that it was only built in 2010 considering how old it seemed, the enclosures could definitely use some upgrading and more foliage. Part of it was under renovation, so I couldn't see the ocelots or jaguarundis. The cats were mostly sleeping, although I got a great view of the white lions!
Before I left, I made my way to the coastal area. I only got to actually see the sea lions and penguins. The sea lions were giant and loud, although I wish their pool was much larger than it currently is. The penguin enclosure has improved since I was a kid, and is now a more naturalistic (and less cramped) rocky beach. I was very sorely disappointed that they tore up pretty much all of the old playground and labyrinth that was there even during my mom's childhood, and we left soon after due to how hungry we all were.
I noticed there isn't many posts about this zoo on here despite how large it is and how many rare species there are, so I decided to add in my two cents! Thank you for reading my ramble, and tell me about your experience if you've been !!
