Reviews - Zoos in Europe

The world's second surviving zoo, excluding the ancient bird collections in UK's St. James Park and Kew gardens, dates back to 1774, when King Charles III ordered the construction of a small menagerie in the current Cuesta de Moyano, part of the gardens of the Buen Retiro Palace. To populate the Zoo, animals were received from several countries, mainly Latin America, the Philippines, and the Indies, but also from Constantinople, during the eighteenth century. The animals were sent by viceroys and colonial governors, and consisted of macaws, toucans, ocelots, pumas, snakes, alligators, and monkeys. Even an elephant, a gift from the governor of the Philippines, arrived and walked all the way from Cadiz to Madrid - Cadiz being the harbour where it disembarked.

In the late eighteenth century facilities moved to the corner of Parque del Buen Retiro, near modern Puerta de Alcalá. The cages known as "The Leonera" contained the most dangerous animals. The Zoo, called the wild animal house (“la Casa de Fieras”) had a design style influenced by the model used for animal houses in Louis XIV's menagerie in Versailles. “The Leonera” cages contained dangerous animals and were placed forming an octagon arena in the center of which were herbivores such as deer, gazelles, llamas, ostriches to be found. "The Leonera" was a two-story building. On the ground floor there were cages with several tigers, a panther, two hyenas, and a jackal. While on the upper floor rooms were fitted for the royal family and their guests, which found stuffed animals in their rooms as part of the decoration.

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century the scientific and research purposes of the menagerie were overshadowed by another, less elevated, function. Fights were held between lions, tigers and bulls. These shows were highly acclaimed by the monarchs and the aristocracy, and were frequently held as part of the festivities for baptism of infants and feasts in honour of distinguished foreign visitors.

The French invasion in 1808 was a blow to the Zoo, as many animals were killed. And when the French troups were finally defeated in 1813, the Zoo was in a deplorable state. During the succesive reigns of King Ferdinand VII and Isabel II that followed, many facilities were improved and the animal collection greatly increased year after year. La Casa de Fieras was officially renamed Royal Cabinet of Natural Sciences. At this time the maintenance of the Zoo was the responsibility of the Royal House.

After the Revolution of 1868, the Parque del Buen Retiro, including the Zoo, opened to the public for the first time, while the City Council took office and became responsible for the Zoo's management. Public vandalism and maintenance costs forced the City Council to auction surplus animals for financial resources.>

As in 1884 the Council could not cope with the managerial situation anymore, the Council handed over the operating rights to Luis Cabañas, a circus animal trainer. He knew his business well and made the Zoo very popular. The daily baths of the elephant Pizarro attracted lots of visitors, as did the arrangement that people were allowed to cycle through the park. Cabañas even organised fights between zoo animals and bulls in major cities in Spain. These were banned after an accident in San Sebastian where a tiger and a bull knocked over the fence that separated them from the public, causing one death and 17 being seriously injured. The daily baths of the elephant Pizarro ended when one day he escaped from his keeper, fled down the street of Alcala and went into a store. Finally, on December 31, 1918, the City Council terminated the contract with the family Cabañas.

With the arrival and appointment of Cecilio Rodriguez as head gardener a new atmosphere was created. Apart from changes to the walks in the gardens a variety of cats arrived from the Sahara and Guinea. Other species were introduced, such as ostriches, zebras, elephants, antelopes, polar bears and a hippopotamus.

With the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931, the new democratic council dismissed Cecilio Rodriguez. The Zoo went through a difficult period, and almost had to close down during the Civil War (1936-1939). Many animals died of starvation and others were slaughtered for human consumption during wartime. And worst of all some reversed scenes could be seen when between 20 and 30 people were thrown alive in the cages to be devoured by the carnivore animals.

After the Civil War Mr. Rodriguez returned and made every effort to improve the environmental conditons. As Spain was officially non-belligerent during World War II the Zoo received quite some evacuated animals from different European zoos, but mainly from Berlin. All this restored the Zoo to its original condition or even better.pan>

Further progress was made with the set up of a veterinary clinic, and animals that were received from Munich Zoo, such as bears, tigers, lions and primates, and donated by individuals. The Zoo's popularity steadily increased, recording visitor numbers of more than 1,5 million in 1967.

Already in the 1950s there were plans to move the Zoo to the Casa de Campo, a large park west of the city centre. But it took until 1972 before these plans could be effectuated. A public tender, or competition, for that purpose was won by architect Jordi Mir Valls and built by Antonio León de la Viña, who was not only the building contractor but also the promotor of the new Madrid Zoo. So, on June 23, 1972, the mayor of Madrid closed the old Zoo, “la Casa de Fieras”, and officially opened the new and modern, for a large part bar-less, Zoo in the Casa de Campo. At the time the animal collection consisted of 550 specimens corresponding to 83 species. The facilities of the old Zoo (“la Casa de Fieras”) once closed, were dismantled for the most part and served for a short period as administrative offices of the Municipal Retirement Board. Nowadays, only remnants can be found.

In 1978 China presented the King of Spain with two giant pandas, Shao Shao and Quian Quiang. A cub, Chu-lin, was born in 1982, and died in 1996. Chu-lin was the first captive-born panda in Europe by artificial insemination. The zoo is now home to two other giant pandas on loan from China, Bing Xing (male) and Hua Zui Ba (female), which arrived in 2007 and are housed in a brand new enclosure (indoors and outdoors). Their twin male cubs, Po and De De, were born to them on September 7, 2010, also conceived via artificial insemination. The Zoo was able to extend several times over the last years and built a dolphinarium in 1987. Other specialties of Madrid Zoo are the koalas, the aquarium (built in 1995) and the gorilla enclosure.

Nowadays the Zoo is owned by the city, but is managed by the international entertainment operator Parques Reunidos, which is based in Madrid and manages about 70 entertainment facilities in Europe, Argentina and the United States.

(Source: website Zoo Aquarium Madrid; Zoos of the World by James Fisher, 1967; Zoo, a history of zoological gardens in the west by Baratay & Hardouin-Fugier, 2002; Wikipedia)

A brief history of Madrid Zoo

A brief overview of the highlights of the history of the 'Zoo Aquarium de Madrid', the second oldest extant Zoo of the world after Vienna Zoo - Tierpark Schönbrunn.

(Source: dvd about what the Zoo Aquarium of Madrid has to offer; produced by Zoo Aquarium de Madrid - Zoos Ibéricos, S.A.)

As I was in the neighbourhood (), I decided to visit Madrid Zoo for a second time with my first visit only about two years ago. Not much has changed since my previous visit, but again I spent another agreeable day at the zoo of Spain's capital.

Again I was struck by the very small paddocks for most of the ungulates, and it does not seem to change in the near future, although it was decided to abandon the 'over-the-top' concrete exhibit for Iberian ibex and moufflon close to the entrance of the Zoo. Unfortunately, it is turned into a childrens' playground instead of creating a state-of-the-art paddock for hoofed animals. Furthermore, Mishmi takin (Budorcas taxicolor taxicolor) which are listed as Vulnerable by IUCN's Red List have arrived in February this year from Frankfurt Zoo. They are kept in the former nilgai enclosure, while these have moved to the moose and roe deer paddock. There they are taking turns in the outdoor enclosure. So, it looks like the Zoo is adding new ungulate species to the collection without saying goodbye to others.

In 2012 the tiger enclosure housed - according the information panel - Amur tiger and white Bengal tiger, both not taking part in the EEP (EAZA Ex situ Programme). During my current visit the information panel read that the enclosure held only 'tigre de Bengala', which was translated as white tiger. Although white tiger are indeed Bengal tiger and are advertised by many zoos to attract visitors, they are not identical. A white tigers is nothing more than a Bengal tiger with a genetical aberration, which makes it unfit to survive conditions in the wild, because the genetical defect affects not only colour but the animal's health as well. Thus, white tiger should not be kept in zoos at all, because they have no added value whatsoever to the genetic diversity of tigers from conservation perspective.  

Since September 2013 two male giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) from South America explore the former Asian small-clawed otter exhibit. In February 2014 the males have got company of two other male giant otters. The four obviously enjoy their ponds (see video), and also have access to an indoor exhibit which was formerly the meerkat enclosure. The outdoor enclosure could  use some additional enrichment and vegetation, because at the moment it does not represent a rainforest jungle, the species' native habitat, at all.

Po and De De, the two giant panda cubs born at Madrid in September 2010, have returned to China on 16 May 2013. Nevertheless, I was able to see another giant panda cub at Madrid Zoo. On August 30th, 2013, Hua Zui Ba became mother for the second time after being artificially inseminated in April that year. The cub, named Xing Bao ('Star Treasure'), is the fourth panda born in Madrid Zoo. This should be regarded as a success, although the need for artificial insemination shows the difficulties zoos are confronted with while trying to breed giant pandas in captivity.

Some other recent reproduction successes are the birth of a hippopotamus calf (born 12.07.2013), an Asian elephant calf (born 02.03.2014) and a western lowland gorilla baby(born 15.03.2014).

As I was intrigued in 2012 by the ongoing works for an outdoor facility for the koalas, I especially wanted to see how this had developed. The summer weather conditions in Madrid should allow for the koalas to go outside, thus a nice outdoor exhibit would enhance the koalas' enrichment. Unfortunately, the outdoor enclosure does not offer much excitement for the koalas, neither does it offer any protection from the sun. The meager tree stumps does allow for some climbing, but doesn't provide real enrichment in my opinion.

At time of visit the chimpanzees were off exhibit, because their enclosure was being renovated. I am curious how the improvements will look like in the near future.

Perfect weather, a nice 20 ºC with some clouds and a bit of sunshine, and not too much public makes a great day to visit a zoo. So, apart from a few groups of school kids, my day at Madrid Zoo was a perfect one.

Madrid Zoo, officially called 'Zoo-Aquarium Madrid', is situated in the southern part of the park 'Casa de Campo' just a few stops with the metro and a ten minutes walk west from the city centre. A perfect spot for a zoo. The undulating landscape provides natural elevations which are used to create terraces for the enclosures to be built on. In addition many coniferous trees and other foliage create good cover for the enclosures. Together with the broad walkways and, sometimes large, unused meadows the Zoo offers a spacious atmosphere.

There is nothing in the Zoo that reminds the visitor of it being the second oldest surviving zoo of the eigtheenth century. On the one hand this is understandable as the Zoo was moved, rebuilt and completely modernised in 1972 at Casa de Campo. But on the other hand some indications of its history and how it looked in those days would be appreciated by many, I think.

As in many zoos today right after the entrance flamingos are housed. In this case in a mixed species exhibit together with Canadian geese, white storks, cormorants, ibis and pelicans. It is an enclosure with a large meadow, a pool, and no barriers whatsoever. Especially the storks make good use of their freedom, as they can be found nesting everywhere in the Zoo. For instance they occupy some pillars and columns in the elephant enclosure.

The species are mainly grouped according to their continent of origin, though some are taxonomically grouped. Good examples of the latter are the big cats, the bears (though the brown bear in the European continent is an exception), the primates (with the lemurs, gorillas and capuchin monkeys as exceptions), the birds, and of course the fish species in the Aquarium. So, apart from the taxonomic groups mentioned you will find the Zoo's species representing Africa, America (north and south), Asia, Australia and Europe in their respective part of the Zoo.

The information panels at the enclosures are very informative both on the animal species and the plant species. Though the text is a bit childish - as if the animal is telling where it is coming from and what it eats. Information about the animals is provided in Spanish and English, but about the plants only in Spanish. Unfortunately, there is no information about the IUCN Red list of threatened species status provided on the panels.

With the exception of the hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses and elephants, all ungulates (hoofed animals) that are separately housed as a species have very limited space at their disposal. And to be honest this is quite disturbing when compared to the amount of space available for the ungulates that are housed in mixed exhibits. A very bad example for instance is the enclosure with Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) in Fauna Asiana, which in my opinion is absolutely too small and a shame. This is in sharp contrast with the mixed species exhibit with sitatunga, dorcas gazelle, dromedary and ostriches, where the animals have room to roam around. But, still I have to say that I have seen better enclosures for these kind of species. For instance in Branféré Zoo in France the sika deer can actually run around together as a herd, same as in Marwell Wildlife in the United Kingdom. This is probably one of the reasons that the number of specimens of all the ungulate species are quite low, the Zoo cannot harbour a large herd.
The rhinos, hippos and elephants, however, do have some more space available, although for these very large animals and their roaming behaviour (elephants) almost every confined area will be too small. But it is not worse than I have seen in other zoos, with some exceptions like Marwell Wildlife's rhino exhibit and safari zoos in Port Lympne, Whipsnade and Tel Aviv. The Asian elephant enclosure is worth mentioning, because it reminds of exhibits of the old days when zoos tried to house animals in an enclosure, especially the buildings, that provided the atmosphere of the country of origin. Much attention has been paid to the design of details, but different from the old days these elephants have plenty of space at their disposal.

A special feature of the Zoo is the dolphinarium, built in 1987, which is a big amphitheatre where bottle-nose dolphins perform twice daily. This kind of performance (and training) is necessary for the animals' essential exercise, but as I am not in favour of these kind of circus acts to attract public I think the whole thing is questionable. I don't think it contributes to any conservation effort other than generating income from paying customers, as the chance of breeding dolphins and returning them into the wild is next to zero. Another specialty of the Zoo that does not really appeal to me, from the point of conservation, is the Aquarium. But I suppose that people who are interested in tropical fish, sharks and other marine animals will like it, because even I was impressed by its exhibits.

The star attraction of Madrid Zoo is the giant panda. There are four of them, as in 2010 two male cubs were born to the breeding pair they have on display. Breeding in captivity is difficult with giant pandas, and these male cubs were therefore conceived via artificial insemination. At the time of visit the animals were very active, at least the mother and one of the cubs (see the video). The enclosure building is erected in Chinese style which makes it hard to miss.

The gorilla grounds (Tierra de Gorillas), which house Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), together with the indoor enclosure of the giraffe also harbour an educational centre. It has got a very nice indoor gorilla enclosure with several hideouts, elevated areas accommodated with ropes, tires and straw as enrichment. The gorillas share their outdoors environment with the ground horn-bills. It is perhaps a little small, but it's a beautiful rough terrain in the centre of the building with rocks, grass and a little stream.

One of the typical features of enclosure design in parts of the Zoo is the use of concrete, and the style in which it is used. The rocks and rock faces created in the big cats, the bears, and the Barbary sheep enclosures are finished perfectly straight and angular and do not mimic natural rocks in any way. And the three pyramid-like structures for the Iberian ibex and the Mouflons are really over the top regarding functional design.

This is very different from the approach used in the brown bear enclosure in Fauna Europea, where the rocks do resemble a natural look.

As one of just a few European zoos (seven at the moment), Madrid Zoo keeps Queensland koala (Phascolarctos cinereus adustus) in captivity. These marsupials are kept indoors in a non-specific bare concrete house and a few tree trunks where they receive their eucalyptus diet. To make the enclosure more attractive the walls are painted with a representation of a forest. It seems that there is an outdoors facility, but it is under construction at time of visit.

In a beautiful sheltered aviary the Zoo houses the Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti), which is one of the rarest birds of prey. It's total population size is reduced to about 250 pairs, now only to be found in the southern half of the Iberian peninsula. Only four pairs breed in Portugal. The main threat for these magnificent birds are electrocution, next to unintentional trapping of birds in rabbit traps, poisoning, habitat destruction and decline of the rabbit population.

Madrid Zoo is a modern zoo with many mixed species exhibits and other enclosures in Hagenbeck style, bar-less with moats. There are some bad exceptions of which the leopard enclosure is the worst. The new style of landscape immersion exhibit has not arrived yet in Madrid, but it is a pleasure to visit this zoo and walk around the premises. If improvements could be made, the Zoo could do with less ungulate species, and more space and specimens per ungulate species. Madrid Zoo has a respectable track record regarding breeding results with several species. Besides the giant panda for instance it is worth mentioning the birth of a white rhinoceros male calf on 29^th April 2009 by artificial insemination, as third in the world. This was achieved in collaboration with the Leibnitz Institute of Berlin.

Giant otters are having a ball at Madrid Zoo

These four male South American giant otters are having fun in their outdoor enclosure, that could do with some more enrichment and vegetation.

Newborn western lowland gorilla baby in Madrid Zoo

This gorilla mum is taking good care of her baby (born on 15 March 2014). Although being in the group, she is not engaging in interaction with her fellow group members and doesn't go outside. She protects and caress her three-weeks old baby constantly. Madrid Zoo breeding track record for their western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) shows other births on 20 December 2007 and 9 July 2011.

Xing Bao, the giant panda cub of Madrid Zoo

Born to Hua Zui Ba after artificially insemination on 30 August 2013, Xing Bao is the fourth giant panda born at Madrid Zoo. He turns out to be a rather clumsy tree climber, but with a good perseverence.

Buba, Madrid Zoo's first Asian elephant born ever

Buba, the first Asian elephant born in the history of Madrid Zoo, arrived on 28 February 2013 with a weight of 100 kilogrammes after a 21-month gestation period. Although becoming more independent of his mother he still seeks her company as you can see in this footage. Of course, food is a good reason to stay close to its mother. As for the first 3 to 5 years, most elephant calves are totally dependant on their mothers for their nutrition. After this period the weaning period starts until the calf no longer drinks milk from its mother, and is able to live on solid vegetation.

Giant anteaters in Madrid Zoo

These majestic anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) are strange, nonetheless beautiful animals with a peculiar diet, and an attitude - at least according to the warning sign next to the enclosure (aggressive animal!). This large insectivorous mammal are native to Central and South America, and one of four living species of anteaters.

Madrid Zoo's star attraction, the giant pandas

Two specimens of giant panda having fun in a serious playfight; this is mother and son roughhousing!:

There is another Giant panda cub, but he loves to keep it simple and easy by just eating:

The bush dogs

The South American bush dogs are not that much different from our domestic dog:

Odd brown bear behaviour

It seems stereotype behaviour, but one of the Brown bears is either hungry or very nervous:

Dolphins

The dolphins in the dolphinarum are playful and want to do something in between their daily shows:

Directions to Madrid Zoo

One of the great advantages of Madrid Zoo's location is good public transport connections. Another one is the forested area which Casa de Campo is.

Address:
Casa de Campo s/n
28011
Madrid
Spain

public transport

by metro

To reach the Zoo by metro you have two options:

• Line 10 which connects Madrid from north to south quickly and directly, or

• Line 5 if you come from Carabanchel or south of the city.

The closest metro station is 'Casa de Campo' at about 900 metres from the Zoo entrance, just follow the signs to the Zoo when you exit the station. More information on the Madrid metro system, including a route planner can be found here.

by bus

EMT bus Line 33 (daily) brings you right to the Zoo entrance and connects you quickly with Príncipe Pío Station and metro station Casa de Campo. A great bus journey planner is available here.

by bicycle

The city of Madrid can be easily navigated by bicycle, therefore you will find many bike rental shops in town. Casa de Campo park is a paradise for cyclists, especially for mountain bikers. Several cycling routes near Casa de Campo you will find here.

The Casa de Campo, situated in the Moncloa district of the city and practically a prolongation of the "Monte del Pardo" forest area, is Madrid's largest park (and also one of Europe's) with over 1700 hectares. Formerly a royal hunting estate, this large and beautiful urban park is located to the west of the centre of Madrid. The name means 'country house', referring to a building bought in the 16th century by King Filipe II, around which other estates were then built.

So, you are in for a great bicycle ride when you decide to cycle to the Zoo.

by car

From central Madrid the fastest way to reach the Zoo is to take the M-30 and then Autovia de Extremadura (A5/E90) taking exit 5A and follow the signs 'Zoo/Zoologico'. If instead you come from outside the city, first take either ring road M50 or M40 (the latter is closer to the city), then take the Autovia de Extremadura (A5/E90) in the direction of the city centre. Same as before, you take exit 5A and follow the signs 'Zoo/Zoologico'.

An interactive zoo map is available here.