Guadalajara Zoo - Animals

Animals

The Guadalajara Zoo is noted for its diversity of species, especially birds, although there are many species of mammals as well, including some endangered species from Mexico and the entire world.

Among them there are Bengal tigers, jaguars, lions (including rare white lions), leopards (including black panthers), orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, African elephants, white rhinoceroses, three species of crocodiles (Nile crocodile, Morelet's crocodile and American crocodile), Aldabra giant tortoises, giraffes, American bison, American black bears, Red Kangaroos, Komodo dragons, Reticulated pythons, Green anacondas, Monocled cobras (including albine specimens), Golden eagles, ostriches, cassowaries, and more.

The aquarium at the zoo recently opened a new jellyfish display and jellyfish culture lab, the first in this part of the world.

Some of those species are important for conservation; for example, the zoo has bred the rare Mexican wolf, as well as the endangered Morelet crocodile.

Some of the most famous species in the Guadalajara zoo:

• African elephant
• White rhinoceros
• Hippopotamus
• Reticulated Giraffe
• Cape Buffalo
• Water Buffalo
• American Bison
• Impala
• Zebra
• Blackbuck
• Nilgai
• Waterbuck
• Guanaco
• Llama
• Baird's Tapir- Named Norton, appeared in Mel Gibson's movie Apocalypto
• White tailed deer
• Elk
• sika deer
• Chital
• Fallow deer
• Collared peccary
• Vietnamese pig
• Giant Anteater
• Armadillo
• Tamandua
• Two-toed sloth
• Lowland Gorilla- The silverback, named Chato, once escaped from the zoo and attempted to do so one second time after that. Some young gorillas have been born in the park.
• Orangutan- A young orangutan was born in the zoo a few years ago and still lives there alonsgide with its mother and father.
• Chimpanzee
• Mandrill
• Hamadryas baboon
• Patas monkey
• De Brazza's Monkey
• Spider monkey- Found in a small island, in the Nocturnarium's lake.
• Squirrel monkey- Squirrel monkeys are found on a pyramidal structure where visitors can enter and feed them.
• Weeper Capuchin
• Pygmy Marmoset
• Red-handed Tamarin
• Gibbon
• Vampire bat
• Fruit-eating bat
• Raccoon
• Coati
• Kinkajou
• Greater grison
• Tayra
• Mexican wolf- The Guadalajara zoo has four reproductive Mexican wolves, and is participating in a proyect to reproduce and reintroduce the species (today extinct in the wild).
• Coyote
• Striped Hyena
• Gray Fox
• Fennec fox
• Polar bear- One of the biggest attractions at the zoo.
• American Black Bear
• Bengal Tiger- Perhaps the most popular animal in the zoo. Guadalajara zoo has produced 6 litters of cubs, all of them sired by a male tiger named Niño who despite being normal in color, carries the white gene, allowing him to have white cubs. The last litter was born in April 2007, to the zoo's snow white tigress. This was the first time the tigress was allowed to raise the cubs all by herself.
• African Lion
• African white lion
• Leopard
• Black leopard
• Jaguar
• Cougar
• Bobcat
• Ocelot- Two of the park's ocelots were born on May 21, and thus named Benito and Primavera. (Primavera being the Spanish word for "spring" and Benito after Benito Juarez, a Mexican president born the same day).
• Margay
• African porcupine- Displayed in the Noturnarium as a "visitor", since it is not a local species.
• Mara- Displayed in the Noturnarium as a "visitor", since it is not a local species.
• Ostrich
• Cassowary
• Golden Eagle- The largest bird cage in the zoo belongs to the Golden Eagle, the species that appears in the Mexican coat of arms. The cage has a nopal cactus, the same plant in which the eagle perches in the coat of arms.
• Scarlet, blue and yellow and military macaws
• Yellow-headed Amazon
• Hornbill
• Emu
• American rhea
• Peacock- Common in the entire park. It has (or had) albino specimens as well. Being able to fly, the peacocks are often found inside the enclosures of other animals, including the ostrich and antelope paddocks, and sometimes even around the human visitors.
• Canadian and Australian geese
• American White Pelican
• Crowned Crane
• Caribbean flamingo
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Harris hawk
• Crow
• Great Horned Owl
• Brazilian pygmy owl
• Barn Owl
• Morelet's Crocodile- This endangered crocodile species has been bred in the park and some of the young have been returned to the Centla Swamps, in the Mexican state of Tabasco, where they originally thrieved. The two main breeding crocodiles are reportedly named Juanito and Margarita.
• American crocodile
• Nile crocodile
• Komodo dragon- It has its own enclosure, named "Komodo Reserve". The park's specimen is still young and, according to its handlers, quite short tempered. Its handlers are the ones who work with the other reptiles in the Herpetarium, but the Komodo Reserve is located near the Australian Ville and the Nocturnarium.
• Aldabra giant tortoise
• Nile monitors and Savannah monitors
• Australian frilled lizard
• Reticulated, Indian, Ball, Blood and African rock pythons- The zoo has some very large specimens of Reticulated and Indian pythons, including albino specimens.
• Monocled, king, spitter and common cobra
• Green iguana- Iguanas are common in the zoo and found in several enclosures, including the one of the gibbons and the one of the Morelet's crocodiles.
• Piranha
• Gar
• Anaconda
• Squirrel- The zoo has a great population of wild squirrels that have dug up a gallery system in almost the entire park. They can be seen often inside the paddocks of the parks' animals, even the predatory ones.
• River Otter
• Toucans
• Red Kangaroo- In 2007, 10 red kangaroos arrived to the Guadalajara zoo and became one of the newest and most popular attractions at the "Australian Ville" area of the park. Unfortunately, the same year, seven of the kangaroos died due to violent electric storms that stressed them to the point of killing them.
• Wallabies