| Zoo Name: | Zoologico de Cali |
| Date Opened: | 1981 |
| Location: | Santiago de Cali, Valle del Cauca |
| Coordinates: | 3.4486°N -76.5586°W |
| Num Animals: | 1200 |
| Num Species: | 180 |
| Members: | ALPZA |
| Website: | www.zoologicodecali.com.co |
Cali Zoo is located in the city of Cali in the country of Colombia. The Zoo belongs to a foundation that carries its name and whose mission, since it took the zoo's administration in 1981, has been to improve the animals' diet, their natural environment, and the medical care of the existing fauna.
Cali Zoo promotes and performs different educational, recreational and investigative programs.
The Cali Zoo's are home to about 1,200 animals, representing some 180 species – from lemurs to condors. The Cali River runs through the zoo's park-like grounds.
The zoo started with animals in narrow and dirty cages, with basic levels of care and feeding. With local government support and contributions from citizens, Cali Zoo began a transformation into a modern zoo. The old cages were replaced with new comfortable and spacious exhibits. Animals were relocated according to their species, rather than the prior indistinct organization. The Cali Zoo Foundation started focusing on the dietary requirements of each species. Finally, preventative medicine became a new focus. The zoo's surroundings were also redesigned and restored.
Later, Cali Zoo's administration started a complete medical collection of each animal's records, which allowed it to have accurate and organized information so it could provide better care. With these basic necessities satisfied, Cali Zoo could lead its objectives to research and preserve the different Colombian wild species.
The zoo has five sections for different kinds of species: primates, butterflies, ocean and river fish, amphibians and reptiles, and birds.
Cali Zoo offers summer camps during school vacations where children between 4 and 12 years old learn how the animals live in the zoo, their behaviors and current habits. They also learn how veterinarians take care of them and how to prepare food for the animals. These activities are complemented with recreational activities as well. The zoo also offers Environment Formation Workshops for professors.
Birds at the zoo include scarlet macaws, blue-and-yellow macaws, red-and-green macaws, great green macaws, chestnut-fronted macaws, amazon parrots, keel-billed toucans, Andean condors, king vultures, black-chested buzzard-eagles, black swans, emus, common ostriches, grey crowned cranes, jabiru, American flamingos, helmeted curassows and Andean cock-of-the-rock.[1] Mammals at the zoo include giant otters, Neotropical otters, red kangaroos, capybaras, giant anteaters, coppery titis, tufted capuchins, Colombian spider monkeys, Guianan squirrel monkeys, ring-tailed lemurs, collared brown lemurs, meerkats, hamadryas baboons, spotted hyenas, lions, Bengal tigers (including a white tiger), jaguars, pumas, spectacled bears, South American coatis, blackbucks, white-tailed deer, llamas, collared peccaries, mountain tapirs, South American tapirs and Grant's zebras.
Reptiles and amphibians at the zoo include poison dart frogs, gold tegus, central bearded dragons, Burmese pythons, green anacondas, American crocodiles, spectacled caimans and several species of turtle and snake.