On our first Saturday we headed to the zoo. It was a bit far to walk so we took a taxi, which gave me flashbacks to terror taxi rides in Peru with the kids loose in the back seat. Luckily we can walk to school, stores, parks and museums from our condo.
The Cuenca zoo is not a typical zoo. All of the animals are local to the region and almost all are rescued. But the odd thing about the zoo is the layout. It is on a steep hill with a single track trail that weaves up and down passing animal habitats along the way. You need to have about 3 hours free when you enter because you follow the path, in order, and there is no exit. You can’t run to see the pumas whenever you want without weaving all the way back to them. You also can’t skip the snake house or alligators because the path goes through them.
But the views of the animals are great. Some of the monkeys have a habitrail made of thin fencing that crosses above the path over and over so you can see them just a few feet from your head. Other tiny monkeys were running free trying to steal french fries at the cafe (not saying that is a good thing, but cute).
The highlight of the day was watching the lions get fed. (Lions not native but rescued from a circus and other such situations). The workers took them out of the fenced area and then spread large chunks of dead animal around the hillside. When safely outside again they let the lions return. The alpha male roared at the others, grabbed the closest piece and ran off to eat it. The others searched for their pieces scattered on the hillside. And the sad lioness who was declawed at the circus stood around waiting for scrapes. It was definitely the closest view of lions we have had. And we learned they can shoot pee backwards for meters. This was also news to the people standing near the fence when the lion turned its behind toward them.
Logan in the aviary.
