The Botanical Garden and Zoo of Asunción () is a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

and

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 biology, conservation purposes. The term ''zoological g ...

located in

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

, capital of the

Republic of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. The Botanical Garden and Zoo is one of the principal open spaces of the city of Asunción, set in natural forest covering to the north of the city. The zoo is home to nearly seventy species of wildlife including birds, mammals and reptiles, mostly representing the

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. The botanical garden is home to native species, exhibiting, in particular, the variety and beauty of its lush trees.

History

This sprawling property was the former country house and estate of Carlos Antonio López, president of Paraguay between 1842 and 1862. Lopez ordered the construction of "Casa Lopez" as his home in the 1840s. Besides its historical value, the main building is very representative of the era in which it was built, in terms of technology, architecture and decoration, and is registered in the "Catalogue of Buildings and Sites of Urban Planning, architectural, Historical and Artistic Heritage of the city of Asunción",and specially protected by Law 946/82 "Protection of Cultural Property". In 1896, Lopez's descendants sold the estate to the Agricultural Bank, by then in state ownership. The garden was created as such in 1914 by German scientists Karl Freibig and his wife, Anna Gertz. Fiebrig was professor of botany and zoology at the

University of Asunción A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which rou ...

, having settled in Paraguay in 1910 following plant and insect collecting trips to Paraguay for European museums between 1904 and 1909. Fiebrig founded a school of Agriculture in 1916. Fiebrig also founded a "Cotton Institute" which helped fund the garden complex. The zoo was subsequently established by the same scientists, with a very advanced approach for the time, housing the animals in a setting as close as possible to their natural habitat. Gertz is credited with much of the

landscape design Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and garde ...

of the gardens, though some projects were truncated following her death in May 1920. She was buried in the gardens. Fiebrig continued as director of the garden and zoo, and remarried in 1925. In addition to his professorship, in 1934, was also made director of the Paraguayan Department of Agriculture. In 1936, in the aftermath of the Chaco War, a wave of xenophobic sentiment forced Fiebrig to leave Paraguay with his second wife and family. Responsibility for the estate passed from the state to its present owner, the Municipality of Asunción. Historically, the estate covered more than , and had over 1 km frontage along the bank of the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters in ...

, a port, a railway station and 60 km of road network. In the last 50 years, there have been several incursions, such as the riverside (ESSAP) ''Viñas Cué'' water treatment plant, the Copaco transmission station (built at the time of dictator

Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan Officer (armed forces), army officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 to 3 February 1989. Stroessner led a 1954 Paraguay ...

), the Asunción Golf Club, laid out by Fiebrig, and several other divisions due to illegal occupations. Since 2013 the garden and zoo's director has been Maris Llorens.

Facilities and collections

The facilities include: * Botanical Garden: Originally called a botanical garden just because of the exuberant natural flora. Its trees are now over 150 years old and provide visitors with welcome shade. * Nursery: cultivating more than 500 species of plants, many of them medical, used for educational interpretation about the properties of herbs. * Zoo: It has about 64 species of animals, mammals, birds, reptiles and others. Its iconic exhibit is the ''

Tagua ''Phytelephas'' is a genus containing six known species of dioecious palms (family Arecaceae), occurring from southern Panama along the Andes to Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, northwestern Brazil, and Peru. They are commonly known as ivory palms, ...

'', a species of

peccary A peccary (also javelina or skunk pig) is a medium-sized, pig-like hoofed mammal of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of North A ...

that inhabits the Paraguayan Chaco, initially believed extinct, which was rediscovered in the 1980s. * Natural History Museum: located in a former farmhouse of Carlos Antonio Lopez's estate. * Golf: For 50 years, the municipality of Asunción has ceded part of its space to various institutions, one of them being Asunción Golf Club. While still part of the Botanical Garden premises, it is managed completely independently.

Botanical Garden and Nursery

The nursery is located behind the Upper House and contains over 500 species specialising in medicinal plants. It is open to the public and works in cooperation with the Botanic Garden and Conservatory of the City of

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Established for over 10 years, it has undertaken investigations into the cultivation, distribution and introduction of plants, specifically native, but also medicinal plants introduced by Paraguayan settlers. The work of the Conservatory is to preserve the culture of the knowledge of medicinal plants in Paraguay. "The Paraguayan people consume herbs and know the use of at least 50 species. The work of the nursery is to investigate cultivation, harvesting and propagation and to use that knowledge for education". Among its collections are: * The medicinal plant nursery, being a place of agricultural research, education and training of its cultivation, with about 500 cultivated species. * Agronomic nursery plants, with culture and selection for improved Paraguayan crop plants. On 4 May 2006 the gardens launched the exhibition ''Ethnobotany 2006'' "Our plants, our people" (""), under the Paraguayan Ethnobotany Project (EPY) (which lasted for about ten years), with the support of the Conservatory and Botanical Garden of the City of Geneva and under the auspices of the organization ''Tesãi Reka Paraguay'' (TRP). The project helped improve the botanical garden and created a large Paraguayan medicinal plant collection and the Center for Conservation and Environmental Education (CCEAM) located in the Botanical Garden, which develops numerous educational activities.

Zoo

The zoo is located on the same site as the botanical garden. The zoo's collections focus on the fauna of Paraguay but include animals from elsewhere.

Mammals

Mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s at the zoo include: * African lion (''

Panthera leo The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

'') * Bengal tiger (''

Panthera tigris tigris ''Panthera tigris tigris'', sometimes referred to as the mainland Asian tiger, is the native tiger subspecies of mainland Asia comprising the following tiger populations: * Bengal tiger — occurs in the Indian Subcontinent from India, Nepal and ...

'') * Jaguar (''

Panthera onca The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the thi ...

'') * Puma or American lion (''

Puma concolor The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

'') * Geoffroy's cat ('' Leopardus geoffroyi'' ) * Ocelot (''

Leopardus pardalis The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southw ...

'') * Crab-eating fox ('' Cerdocyon thous'') * Crab-eating raccoon or aguará pope ('' Procyon cancrivorus'') * Ring-tailed coati or kuati (''

Nasua nasua The South American coati (''Nasua nasua''), also known as the ring-tailed coati, is a coati species and a member of the raccoon family (Procyonidae), found in the tropical and subtropical parts of South America. An adult generally weighs from a ...

'') * Tayra (''

Eira barbara The tayra (''Eira barbara'') is an omnivorous animal from the weasel family, native to the Americas. It is the only species in the genus ''Eira''. Tayras are also known as the ''tolomuco'' or ''perico ligero'' in Central America, ''motete'' in ...

'') * Fallow deer ('' Dama dama'') * Gray brocket (''

Mazama gouazoubira The gray brocket (''Mazama gouazoubira''), also known as the brown brocket, is a species of brocket deer from northern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Peru, eastern and southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. It formerly included the Amazonian bro ...

'') * Domestic goat (''

Capra aegagrus hircus The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

'') * White-lipped peccary (''

Tayassu pecari The white-lipped peccary (''Tayassu pecari'') is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only member of the genus ''Tayassu''. Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance to ...

'') * Collared peccary ('' Tayassu tajacu'') * Tapir (''

Tapirus terrestris The South American tapir (''Tapirus terrestris''), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi ''tapi'ira''), the Amazonian tapir, the maned tapir, the lowland tapir, the ''anta'' (Portuguese), and ''la sachavaca'' (literally "bushcow ...

'') * Common hippopotamus (''

Hippopotamus amphibius The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant ...

'') * African savannah elephant (''

Loxodonta africana The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') is one of two extant African elephant species and one of three extant elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to and a body ...

'') * Capybara (''

Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris The capybaraAlso called capivara (in Brazil), capiguara (in Bolivia), chigüire, chigüiro, or fercho (in Colombia and Venezuela), carpincho (in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and ronsoco (in Peru). or greater capybara (''Hydrochoerus hydro ...

'') * Giant anteater (''

Myrmecophaga tridactyla The giant anteater (''Myrmecophaga tridactyla'') is an insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters, of which it is the largest member. The only extant member of the genus ''Myrmecoph ...

'') * Honey bear, or ka'aguaré tamandua (''

Tamandua tetradactyla The southern tamandua (''Tamandua tetradactyla''), also called the collared anteater or lesser anteater, is a species of anteater from South America and the island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. It is a solitary animal found in many habitats, from ...

'') * Common chimpanzee (''

Pan troglodytes The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close r ...

'') * Black-headed spider monkey ('' Ateles fusciceps'') * Azara's night monkey('' Aotus azarae'') * Black howler monkey ('' Alouatta caraya)'') * Azaras's capuchin ('' Sapajus cay paraguayanus'')

Birds

Bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s at the zoo include: * Crowned solitary eagle or eagle tuft (''

Harpyhaliaetus coronatus The Chaco eagle (''Buteogallus coronatus'') or crowned solitary eagle, is an endangered bird of prey from eastern and central South America. Typically it is known simply as the crowned eagle which leads to potential confusion with the African '' ...

'') * Common rhea (''

Rhea americana The greater rhea (''Rhea americana'') is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America. Other names for the greater rhea include the grey, common, or American rhea; ema (Portuguese (language), Portuguese); or ñandú (Guaraní lang ...

'') * Red-and-green macaw (''

Ara chloroptera The red-and-green macaw (''Ara chloropterus''), also known as the green-winged macaw, is a large, mostly-red macaw of the genus ''Ara''. This is the largest of the genus ''Ara'', widespread in the forests and woodlands of northern and central ...

'') * Monk parakeet (''

Myiopsitta monachus The monk parakeet (''Myiopsitta monachus''), also known as the Quaker parrot, is a species of true parrot in the family Psittacidae. It is a small, bright-green parrot with a greyish breast and greenish-yellow abdomen. Its average lifespan is 20 ...

'') * Great horned owl (''

Bubo virginianus The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extrem ...

'') * Aplomado falcon ('' Falco femoralis'') * Jabiru ('' Jabiru mycteria'') * Carancho or southern crested caracara (''

Caracara plancus The crested caracara (''Caracara plancus'') is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is found from the southern United States through Central and South America to Tierra del Fuego. It was formerly placed in the genus ''Polyborus''. Descrip ...

'') * Southern screamer (''

Chauna torquata The southern screamer (''Chauna torquata'') is a species of bird in family Anhimidae of the waterfowl order Anseriformes. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. ...

'') * Nanday parakeet (''

Aratinga nenday The nanday parakeet (''Aratinga nenday''), also known as the black-hooded parakeet or nanday conure, is a medium-small, mostly green, Neotropical parrot native to continental South America. Taxonomy The nanday parakeet was previously regarded as ...

'') * American black vulture or black vulture (''

Coragyps atratus The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, Ce ...

'') * Barn owl (''

Tyto alba The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalay ...

'') * Burrowing parrot or Patagonian conure ('' Cyanoliseus patagonus'') * Blue-fronted amazon (''

Amazona aestiva The turquoise-fronted amazon (''Amazona aestiva''), also called the turquoise-fronted parrot, the blue-fronted amazon and the blue-fronted parrot, is a South American species of amazon parrot and one of the most common amazon parrots kept in capt ...

'') * Blue-winged macaw ('' Primolius maracana'') * Vinaceous-breasted amazon ('' Amazona vinacea'') * Striped owl ('' Asio clamator'') * Spectacled owl (''

Pulsatrix perspicillata The spectacled owl (''Pulsatrix perspicillata'') is a large tropical owl native to the neotropics. It is a resident breeder in forests from southern Mexico and Trinidad, through Central America, south to southern Brazil, Paraguay and northwestern ...

'') * Toco toucan (''

Ramphastos toco The toco toucan (''Ramphastos toco''), also known as the common toucan or giant toucan, is the largest and probably the best known species in the toucan family. It is found in semi-open habitats throughout a large part of central and eastern Sou ...

'') * Blue-and-yellow macaw (''

Ara ararauna The blue-and-yellow macaw (''Ara ararauna''), also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large South American parrot with mostly blue top parts and light orange underparts, with gradient hues of green on top of its head. It is a member of the la ...

'') * Hyacinth macaw (''

Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus The hyacinth macaw (''Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus''), or hyacinthine macaw, is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. With a length (from the top of its head to the tip of its long pointed tail) of about one meter it is longer tha ...

'') * Ostrich (''

Struthio camelus The common ostrich (''Struthio camelus''), or simply ostrich, is a species of flightless bird native to certain large areas of Africa and is the largest living bird species. It is one of two extant species of ostriches, the only living members o ...

'') * Greylag goose (''

Anser anser The greylag goose or graylag goose (''Anser anser'') is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus ''Anser''. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink legs. A ...

'') * Indian peafowl (''

Pavo cristatus The Indian peafowl (''Pavo cristatus''), also known as the common peafowl, and blue peafowl, is a peafowl species native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been introduced to many other countries. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and ...

'') * Silver pheasant (''

Lophura nycthemera The silver pheasant (''Lophura nycthemera'') is a species of pheasant found in forests, mainly in mountains, of mainland Southeast Asia and eastern and southern China, with an introduced population on Victoria Island in Nahuel Huapi Lake, Neuqu ...

'') * Ferruginous pygmy owl (''

Glaucidium brasilianum The ferruginous pygmy owl (''Glaucidium brasilianum'') is a small owl that breeds in south-central Arizona and southern Texas in the United States, south through Mexico and Central America, to South America into Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Arge ...

'') * Wild turkey (''

Meleagris gallopavo The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally de ...

'') * Helmeted guineafowl ('' Numida meleagris'') * Red junglefowl ('' Gallus gallus'') - subspecies * White-faced whistling duck ('' Dendrocygna viduata'') * Muscovy duck ('' Cairina moschata'')

Reptiles

Reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s at the zoo include: * Yellow anaconda ('' Eunectes notaeus'') * Yacare caiman (''

Caiman yacare The yacare caiman (''Caiman yacare''), also known commonly as the jacare caiman, Spanish yacaré, Paraguayan caiman, piranha caiman, red caiman, southern spectacled caiman, ''jacaré'' in Portuguese, and îakaré in Old Tupi, is a species of cai ...

'') * Broad-snouted caiman ('' Caiman latirostris'') * Green iguana ('' Iguana iguana'') * Red-eared slider or red-eared terrapin (''

Trachemys scripta elegans The red-eared slider or red-eared terrapin (''Trachemys scripta elegans'') is a subspecies of the pond slider (''Trachemys scripta''), a semiaquatic turtle belonging to the family Emydidae. It is the most popular pet turtle in the United States, ...

'') * Red-footed tortoise (''

Geochelone carbonaria The red-footed tortoise (''Chelonoidis carbonarius'') is a species of tortoise from northern South America. These medium-sized tortoises generally average as adults, but can reach over . They have dark-colored, loaf-shaped carapaces (back shell ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Botanical Garden and Zoo of Asuncion 1914 establishments in Paraguay Botanical gardens in Paraguay Zoos in Paraguay Tourist attractions in Asunción Geography of Asunción Museums established in 1914 Museums in Asunción Natural history museums