National Zoo — Attraction in Providencia

Although the concept of zoos was wrong from day one, it is a fact that history has bequeathed us a worldwide population of what are wild animals but born of many generations that have lived in such captivity. Those animals would not survive long in the wild, survival in their natural habitats is hard enough for those that were born and survive there. The current generation of captivity animals have to live somewhere and the zoos and animal parks that give them a home should be judged on the quality of accommodation, space and stimulation they provide. The Tiger enclosure built on the side of the hill with much vegitation and multiple ledges and challenging transits deserves applause. However the compounds for the Jaguar and Puma seem quite bare and lacking srimulation for these animals. The same contradictions apply with other species too. A hugely popular destination with the ability to access the top of the park via Funicular and to walk down the hill through the animal exhibits - or to enter at the bottom if you want a more...

If you love animals and actually care if they are well taken care of I would avoid this zoo. Sadly this is Chile's national zoo. The cages are not well maintained and the majority of the animals are either sleeping, alone or pacing around in a box stressed out. People also like to throw their garbage in the walking areas rather than the garbage cans. Maybe I take it for granted as I have been to zoos in San Diego, Seattle and Zurich as well as aquariums in Vancouver. But this zoo is not a good zoo. I'm guessing the people who rated it 4 or 5 stars have not been to other zoos. The only positive I could give this is that you can see a lot of Santiago at the top and that it was free entry. But I would much rather pay to enter so they could use that money to invest in a better life for these poor,...

This is your typical old style zoo, where the animals are in cages that are too small. These types of zoo's depress me and I feel awful for the animals that are in there. If you are looking for something to do with the kids, it will keep them entertained for a few hours. As you walk up to the zoo, you will get an extremely strong smell of urine. The people that work there are nice and friendly. The kids will likely enjoy seeing all the animals. There is a wide variety of animals all located on a steep hill. There are many native animals there, which was interesting to see. There are lots of nice views from the zoo. If you have troubles walking or are in a wheelchair, I would not recommend this place. The baboons seem to have large deformities on their rumps; I wonder if it is a...