Rio de Janeiro Zoological Garden

Jardim Zoológico do Rio de Janeiro
Gate to the zoo
Type Public
Location Quinta da Boa Vista s/n, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro,  Brazil.
Coordinates 22°54′16″S 43°13′46″W / 22.90444°S 43.22944°W / -22.90444; -43.22944Coordinates: 22°54′16″S 43°13′46″W / 22.90444°S 43.22944°W / -22.90444; -43.22944
Area 55 000 square meters
Opening 16 January 1888 (Vila Isabel)
18 March 1945 (Quinta da Boa Vista)
Administered by Grupo Cataratas
Visitors 70 000 visitors per month

The Rio de Janeiro Zoological Garden (Portuguese:Jardim Zoológico do Rio de Janeiro) is a zoo located in the district of São Cristóvão, in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The institution has among its main objectives the development of environmental and educational activities, based on the animals of its collection—which consists mainly of fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

The zoo is housed in a 55,000-square-meter wooded park at the back of Quinta da Boa Vista. Its collection currently has over 1,300 animals. There are 350 species, many of them rare and endangered, such as the Lear's macaw, harpy eagle, broad-snouted caiman, maned wolf, golden-headed lion tamarin, anteater and the king vulture. In addition to native species of the Amazon Region, the Pantanal and the Brazilian Cerrado, there are also other animals from other countries, such as the rhinoceros and the American brown bear.

History

Elephant in Rio de Janeiro Zoo

The first zoo in Rio was founded in 1870 by João Batista Viana Drummond, Baron of Drummond, in his estate at Vila Isabel neighborhood, with the permission of Emperor Pedro II. To fund his enterprise, he promoted a raffle, selling tickets with pictures of each one of the 25 animals. The baron would select randomly one animal at the closing of the zoo. The winning ticket would get a prize in cash. That game of chance eventually got copied by gamblers, becoming the illegal lottery called jogo do bicho.[1]

The Vila Isabel zoo closed its doors in the 1940s. It was relocated to Quinta da Boa Vista, in 18 March 1945.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Chazkel, Amy (2011-06-28). Laws of Chance: Brazil’s Clandestine Lottery and the Making of Urban Public Life. Duke University Press. ISBN 0822349884.
  2. ↑ Globo, Acervo - Jornal O. "Mais antigo do Brasil, Zoo do Rio recebe multidões na inauguração em 1945". Acervo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-05-25.
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