The Paramaribo Zoo is the only

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, ...

Paramaribo, Suriname Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, 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 p ...

. The zoo opened in May 1972, and was an initiative of prime-minister Jopie Pengel. It is located adjacent to the in Rainville,

Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, 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 p ...

History

Prime-minister Pengel privately kept many animals in his garden. When he added

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 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 a large Felidae, 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 ...

s, all the animals are native to Suriname. In the 1980s, during the

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

of Bouterse, a large part of the collection was lost. In 2003, the Paramaribo received support from

Diergaarde Blijdorp (; ), 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 zoogeographic regio ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

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

Natura Artis Magistra Natura Artis Magistra (Latin for "Nature is the teacher of art"), 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 addition ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. 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 g ...

s, and as of 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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 The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

, snakes, vultures, a

, and

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 ...

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 where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

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