Chapultepec Zoo, Zoo in Chapultepec Park, Mexico City, Mexico
Zoológico de Chapultepec occupies 17 hectares in the first section of Chapultepec Forest and houses almost 2000 animals from more than 200 species. Its exhibits are grouped by bioclimatic zone rather than by taxonomic group: temperate forest, grassland, coastal strip, arid and savanna, tropical rainforest, aviary, plus a herpetarium and a butterfly house. The zoo's logo shows a jaguar in its pre-Hispanic representation.
Alfonso Luis Herrera founded the zoo on July 6, 1923, with donations and government funds, aiming to recreate Moctezuma II's aviary. The first collection held 243 animals, including three lion cubs and two bison. A full remodel between 1992 and 1994 reorganized exhibits by bioclimatic zones.
The name Chapultepec comes from Nahuatl and means Grasshopper Hill, after the hill where the forest and zoo stand. The zoo's logo repeats that image as a pre-Hispanic jaguar. Since 1998 a reproductive physiology laboratory has supported breeding work, and the grounds are described as a centre of social, family and intergenerational integration.
The zoo occupies 17 hectares in the first section of Chapultepec Forest, with animals grouped by bioclimatic zones such as desert, grassland, temperate forest and tropical forest. The herpetarium, butterfly house and the single remaining giant panda, Xin Xin, are the stops visitors seek out most. Weekends draw the largest crowds, so a weekday morning gives more room at the enclosures.
In 1980 the first panda cub outside China was born here, a milestone in the international breeding of this species. Since then several more cubs have been born, making the facility a reference point for panda programs worldwide.
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