The Zoo of 26, located in Havana, Cuba, is a place that offers visitors a unique experience of observing wildlife, that does not mean that the observation is good. Founded in 1937, the zoo was an important center of conservation and environmental education for the region.
The zoo had a wide variety of animals, including lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, monkeys, reptiles and exotic birds, but I am sorry to tell you that that was only in the past, currently the zoo does not have even half of the animals it used to have, since many have died of old people or because of the terrible conditions that this place has for I used to have animals in danger of extinction such as manatee and almiquí on display, but they are no longer there, I don’t know what happened to them.
This destination used to be an ideal place to spend the day with the family, I speak from my experience, because when I was a child I went a lot and I loved to be instructed by the many species that inhabited the place and also did many activities for the children, including a train that went around the entire facility with a guide and that was a unique experience for any child. Recently I went and without lying to them I was very sentimental to see the deplorable state in which the few animals that remain are and the sadness that their eyes transmit, the current unfortunate situation.
If you are a child, you may enjoy this zoo, but as an adult who loves animals you will hate this place. Regardless of the situation that my country is going through: Cuba, this is more than that, the people who visit this place do not cooperate for their care, they throw garbage and plastics to the ponds and the caretakers do nothing or have control of the situation, the bad smell in the cages, the spoiled food with flies, the sadness in the eyes of these animals, Love and attention that is in this place leaves a huge hole in my heart, and the truth is that in the not too distant future this will improve or donate the animals to a better zoo in another country that can give them the necessary attention for their well-being, which is the minimum they deserve.
Although the place is still open to the public, there are many animals that are not on display such as the lion, that there is only one, only one bear, there is also a single specimen of Cuban crocodile, which strikes me since there are a lot of places throughout the country that are dedicated to the reproduction of this species and the pond is equipped for at least 7 of these. Not everything is bad, there are very strange animals that are not in bad condition such as the case, species of antelopes and the hippopotamus that loves that people enjoy things, which I see badly but he likes very much. And I ask myself a question: why are there animals in better conditions than others?
From my experience, I do not recommend a visit to this zoo, for the moment. Many things must change to be able to recommend this place that, to my regret, is not even the shadow of what it was years ago. I thank the caretakers that they do care about the condition of their animals and that with so little they manage to do a lot, but unfortunately it is not enough.
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