The Las Delicias Zoo ( es, Parque Zoológico de Las Delicias) Also Zoological Park of Las Delicias Is an urban zoological garden located at 400 meters above sea level in the northern end of the city of
Maracay
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption =Top:Maracay Municipal Garden and Las Delicias area, Second:Sindoni Tower, Los Tamarindo residential area and overview to Maracay, Third:Maestranza Cesar Giron Bullring Stadium, Girardot Square and Maracay ...
,
Aragua State
Aragua State ( es, Estado Aragua, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It is located in the north-central region of Venezuela. It has plains and jungles and Caribbean beaches. The most popular are Cata and Choroni. It has Venezuela's first ...
in
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
with native species from the Cordillera region and the rest of Venezuela. The zoo operates under Declaration No. 655 published in Official Gazette No. 32007 of June 17, 1980.
The Ministry of the Environment maintains the rectory of the Maracay Zoo and the Aragua State Government assumes some administrative responsibility to support the programs that are developed in the park. The zoo is a historical continuation of a hacienda in the eastern slope of Cola de Caballo Mountains.
The zoo of Maracay opened for the first time in 1915 at the initiative of General
Juan Vicente Gómez
Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air ...
as a corral with a personal exhibition of many animals presented at Las Delicias hacienda, owned by the president. Then, native animals such as chigüires, nutrias, corocoras, gabanes, garzones soldiers and alligators.
In 1928 the collection was enriched with specimens requested from the Hamburg Zoo and other places such as Bengal, Elephant, Giraffe, Orangutan, Chimpanzee and African Lions. Gómez died in his house inside the zoo grounds in December 1935. The zoo was officially inaugurated in 1952 by the then president of Venezuela
Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez (25 April 1914 – 20 September 2001) was a Venezuelan military and general officer of the Army of Venezuela and the dictator of Venezuela from 1950 to 1958, ruling as member of the military junta from 195 ...
. It was also known for their hybrid bears, which derived from a mating between a male
spectacled bear and a female
Asian black bear
The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, sout ...
.
Gallery
File:Aguila harpia.jpg
File:Gansos en Las Delicias.jpg
File:Guacamayas Zoo Las Delicias.jpg
File:Mono capuchino.jpg
File:Zamuro Rey Maracay.jpg
See also
*
List of national parks of Venezuela
The national parks of Venezuela are protected areas in Venezuela covering a wide range of habitats. In 2007 there were 43 national parks, covering 21.76% of Venezuela's territory.
Statistics
Every Venezuela state has one or more national parks. ...
*
La Guaricha Zoo
The La Guaricha Zoo ( es, Parque Zoológico La Guaricha) Also Zoological Park of La Guaricha Is an urban zoo located less than 400 meters from the center of the city of Maturín, Monagas in Venezuela with native species of the region and the res ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Las Delicias, Zoo
Zoos in Venezuela
Protected areas established in 1952
Maracay