This Wide Wonderous World: Jardin Botanico y Zoologico de Asuncion

We visited the zoo on Saturday May 26th even though we were all still recovering from Covid. We didn't want to waste our time languishing in Asuncion without knowing the city. This was a great way to get some light exercise, sunshine, and fresh air to aid in getting our energy back. I was wiped out after the trip but it was worth it.

The botanical garden is kind of just incorporated into the "zoo". This zoo is pretty rustic. It reminds more of a walk-through animal rescue in the middle of a large greenspace. We saw most of the animals native to Paraguay, some of which we'd never seen before.

The park is HUGE. You don't even know there is a "zoo" there. It really looks like a large public greenspace alternating with orchards and pastureland. There is a long driveway loop and along that walk is where the goat and emu pasture is.

Right near the goat pasture we heard the familiar scream of macaws and spotted a nested scarlet pair playing up in the trees.

Once we reached the "official" gate of the zoo, one of the first exhibits is the blue and gold macaws. There must have been 20 in there!

We got a lot of entertainment from the tortoise exhibit. We could hear this "snorting" pig-like sound and finally figured out it was the turtles, specifically the males. They were chasing and climbing on the females. Sometimes there would be a line of four or five turtles all humped up in a row. When the males hump, they make this deep piggy noise from their throat. These were some horny turtles. I thought the females must be exhausted from running away from the males all day and night. The middle picture shows a tortoise turned over on its side, trying to right itself. On the right, is what appeared to be a nesting female digging. The males kept interrupting to check if she could be humped. Turtle nesting looks like a S.L.O.W. process.

Craig with a howler monkey in the background. We tried to avoid this male howler. He didn't look friendly. Some of the monkeys seemed to have escaped from their enclosure.

Capybara enclosure

This wild cat was the size of my cat at home. I think Clark might have touched it but those are some sharp claws. I mean he seemed very curious about us. He came over to the fence to investigate when we were clucking at him.

This is a type of native weasel or badger, maybe a porcupine? We couldn't tell but he was bored out of his mind, pacing manically at the gate.

The howler monkey exhibit. You can see how old the zoo is by the condition and design of the structures. It made the zoo feel more wild.

Scarlet macaws and a toucan. Toucans are interesting. They look like they are always mulling over something while staring you down with one eye.

There was this beautiful grove-like square in the zoo. On the left and right, there is probably a monkey in the tree. Where's Waldo?

This monkey knew how to turn on the faucet to get a drink!

Native parrots

I was fascinated with this eagle. He was BEAUTIFUL. At least as regal as the USA's own bald eagle and maybe larger.

I think on the left is the tapir, a prehistoric mini-horse size animal we'd read about but never seen in person and a good shot of the cute motor carts they use for collecting trash in Asuncion.

Inside the zoo was this outdoor chapel. This tree (or trees) was HUGE! There were some pews and religious signs.

Another shot of the capybara. Clark actually petted one through the fence!

The big cats...we saw jaguar, tiger, and cougar.

After we saw everything in the "zoo", as we headed out we stopped to have a look in the natural history museum.

Inside, we tried to be polite but found ourselves huddling together trying not make fun of the worst display of taxidermy we've ever encountered. We are REALLY spoiled in the USA with Bass Pro shops and the Chicago Museum of Natural History. I have to give kudos to the scientist that collected the specimens though. At least he was on the right track trying to document and preserve the history of Paraguay's wildlife.