The Paramaribo Zoo is the only

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. The zoo opened in May 1972, and was an initiative of prime-minister

Jopie Pengel Johan Adolf "Jopie" Pengel (20 January 1916 – 5 June 1970) was a Surinamese politician, and prime minister of Suriname from 30 June 1963 to 5 March 1969 for the National Party of Suriname (NPS). Biography Pengel was born in Paramaribo on 20 Jan ...

. It is located adjacent to the in Rainville,

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

History

Prime-minister Pengel privately kept many animals in his garden. When he added lions to his collection in 1966, he thought it would be better to share the animals in a zoo. In May 1972, the Paramaribo Zoo opened next to the . Unlike most zoos, about 75% of the animals are local wild animals who had been either confiscated or were former pets. Except for the

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

s, all the animals are native to Suriname. In the 1980s, during the military dictatorship of Bouterse, a large part of the collection was lost. In 2003, the Paramaribo received support from

Diergaarde Blijdorp ( ''Blijdorp Zoo''), officially Rotterdam Zoo, is a zoo located in the northwestern part of Rotterdam. It is one of the oldest zoos in the Netherlands, and has been operated by the ("Royal Rotterdam Zoo Foundation"). Divided into several zoogeog ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. In 2004, a benefit evening was organised by Blijdorp and

Natura Artis Magistra Natura Artis Magistra (Latin for "Nature is the teacher of the arts"), commonly known just as Artis (), is a zoo and botanical garden in the centre of Amsterdam. It is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands and fifth oldest zoo in the world. In addit ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. The zoo was renovated and was reopened on 28 May 2006 by president Venetiaan. Two monkey islands were constructed. Up to then, there were no births of

spider monkey Spider monkeys are New World monkeys belonging to the genus ''Ateles'', part of the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil. The ...

s, and as 2020, six monkeys have been born. In March 2020, a reconstruction program started to mimic the native conditions for the animals. In April 2020, a water park for children was constructed in the park, and then the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

started. In February 2021, the zoo reopened, but is in serious financial problems. The collection of the zoo includes several species of monkeys, caymans, a jaguar, snakes, vultures, a

, and

scarlet ibis The scarlet ibis (''Eudocimus ruber'') is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but it ...

ses.

Gallery

File:Flower Paramaribo zoo.JPG , Flower File:Red ibis (32046260851).jpg , Scarlet ibis File:Tapir in the Paramaribo zoo (31217900041).jpg , Tapir File:Ostriches (32046255191).jpg , Ostriche File:Red Howler Monkey (32126289696).jpg , Red Howler Monkey File:Alligators Paramaribo zoo.JPG , Alligator family File:Red-faced spider monkeys (32126287116).jpg , Spider Monkey File:Giant anteater (32016068092).jpg , Giant Anteater

References

External links

Official site
(in Dutch) * {{authority control

Zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

Buildings and structures in Paramaribo Zoos established in 1972 Zoos in Suriname