Beth and I live about three miles from the Yaguar (Jaguar) zoo. The zoo is about thirteen years old. I visited the zoo when it was in its third year. At that time it was little more than bulldozed paths with cages. The zoo is a private enterprise. They receive no help from the government.  Growth has been slow but steady. We talked to the owners about donating our burra to their petting zoo. We’d love to see her there. The owners are coming this week to look at her. I’m sure they want to be certain that she’s gentle enough to be around children.

Two things are immediately apparent at the Yaguar zoo. First is their obvious limited budget.  Shelter for the animals is very primitive. Shade is provided in the most rustic ways. Some of the cages are smaller than they could be. Walkways are not paved and snack shops are very basic. One area where corners do not seem to be cut is food for the animals. All look well fed.

The second observation is how close you can get to the animals. Even many predatory animals are within hands reach. Unlike in America where if a child were bitten a probable law suit would result, I suspect here the owners would ask why did you let your child put their hand in the cage? Personal responsibility is much more apparent here in Oaxaca in many areas. I’m reminded of an article I read this morning that stated one out of five American children live in poverty. Beth and I live around poverty. It seems almost an insult to use the word poverty so broadly.

The location of the zoo is very curious to me. It’s basically out in the middle of nowhere. I’d guess it to be about a forty minute drive into Oaxaca de Juarez. The zoo is located next to a village called Tanivet. It’s fun to have to drive through part of the village to get to the zoo. One minute you’re in a typical Mexican village and the next minute you’re in an area with animals from all over the world. Two extremes!!

The manager told us they have a real problem with local dogs coming into the zoo. Aside from being able to cause harm to some of the animals, introducing disease is a concern.

Here is a map of the zoo showing all the animals.

Entrance to the zoo.

Snack bars without hotdogs. There ought to be a law!!!!!!

Rustic looking but functional.

This interesting structure holds work for sale by local artists.

Paths are not paved but are beautiful.

Shade and housing are pretty basic.

One section of the zoo is dedicated to felines found here in Oaxaca.

Some of the predators are in areas that look like they could get out if they tried.

This cracked me up. Producing mezcal in a zoo. Not sure how this would go over in the States.

I couldn't have been more than three feet from this guy.

On this day Beth and I were the only visitors. We had the zoo to ourselves. You can see from most of the photos we try and pick overcast days to visit the zoo.

How fortunate were are to live so close to such an attraction. The web page for the zoo can be found at:  http://yaguarxoo.com.mx/