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The Emperor Valley Zoo is the only public 
zoo
A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes.
The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...
in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
. The 7.2-acre (2.91 ha) facility is located north of Queen's Park Savannah
Queen's Park Savannah (QPS) is a park in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Known locally as simply "the Savannah", it is Port of Spain's largest open space. It occupies about of level land, and the distance around the perimeter is about 2.2&nb ...
and west of the Royal Botanic Gardens, in Port of Spain
Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...
.
The zoo first opened on 8 November 1952, operated then by Governor Sir Hubert Rance. At that time, there were 10 mediocre cages containing 127 animals, mainly indigenous species. The zoo now has a collection of over 2,300 animals from over 200 species.
The zoo was named after the large blue emperor (or morpho
Morpho may refer to:
* ''Morpho'' (genus), a genus of butterflies
* Morpho (VTOL), a Swiss prototype drone
* Morpho (company)
IDEMIA (formerly known as OT-Morpho) is a French multinational technology company headquartered in Courbevoie, Fra ...
) butterfly, which once frequented the valley where the zoo is located in larger numbers.
The zoo's collection features both local and foreign animals, such as African giraffe
The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...
s and lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
s (in addition to several other large cats), Asian tigers
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...
, native caiman
A caiman ( (also spelled cayman) from Taíno language, Taíno ''kaiman'') is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family (biology), family, the other being alligators. ...
, ocelot
The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted Felidae, wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It is native to the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, Central and South America, ...
s, macaw
Macaws are a group of Neotropical parrot, New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful, in the Tribe (biology), tribe Arini (tribe), Arini. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation con ...
s (among other parrot
Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...
s) and waterfowl
Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...
, as well as the national bird, the scarlet ibis
The scarlet ibis, sometimes called red 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 ex ...
. Different exhibits include small mammals, a reptile
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
house, aquarium
An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
, a deer park, primates
Primates is an order of mammals, which is further divided into the strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and lorisids; and the haplorhines, which include tarsiers and simians ( monkeys and apes). Primates arose 74–63 ...
and gardens and ponds.
The zoo has undergone major upgrades over the past few years, both for upkeep to its existing infrastructure (to bring it up to international standards) as well as in-preparation for additions to and growth of its animal stock. These upgrades have been undertaken by the Zoological Society of Trinidad and Tobago (ZSTT) with financial assistance from the government of Trinidad and Tobago, to the value of TTD $56 Million.
During the upgrade periods, the zoo oversaw the construction of a refurbished giraffe enclosure, which was unveiled in December 2013, featuring two giraffes. The addition of a tiger exhibit received three tigers in 2014 - two white Bengals and a ginger Bengal. The white Bengal tigers have successfully bred, producing two healthy cubs in January 2015.
On 12 October 2016, the zoo announced that they had received six llamas
The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is so ...
from a nature park in Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, USA. Zoo officials stated that, of the six llamas, four are female.
References
{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web , url=http://www.zstt.org/images/pdf/evz_species_list.pdf , title=List of Species , publisher=Zoological Society of Trinidad and Tobago Inc. , accessdate=2011-10-04 {{Dead link, date=March 2024 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes {{cite web , url=http://www.zstt.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=13 , title=Current Projects - Infrastructural Development & Upgrade (Expansion) Project , publisher=Zoological Society of Trinidad and Tobago Inc. , accessdate=2011-10-04 {{cite web , url=http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,98007.html , title=Emperor Valley Zoo spreads wings , publisher=Newsday , date=2009-04-06 , accessdate=2011-10-04 Buildings and structures in Port of Spain Tourist attractions in Port of Spain Nature conservation in Trinidad and Tobago