Finally getting around to posting about the rest of Zoo Madrid beyond the giant pandas! Because I was primarily there for the giant pandas and was lucky enough to see them all outside for a significant part of the day, I didn’t spend a huge amount of time looking at the rest of the animals. But there were some trainings that could be watched that I really wanted to check out, and I think I did end up seeing most of what else the zoo has to offer.
Asiatic Animals
With most of these animals located nearby the giant pandas, these were the ones I saw most in the zoo. I really loved seeing the black bears as I haven’t seen this species very often, although I didn’t really like the concrete design of the enclosure (many of the enclosures were to this style as the zoo was built around these architectural structures which were already there). The orangutangs also particularly stood out to me, they’re such gentle animals with a young one having a fun time swinging around from repurposed fire hoses and with fabric attached to the fence of the enclosure – I got some very cute videos^
African Animals
I really enjoyed the mixed savannah-styles habitat that had the giraffes, zebras, gazelles and wildebeest, there were lots of different viewing areas and at different elevations to see the animals, I liked the giraffe-head-height platform a lot. There were also chimpanzees and gorillas – and even a baby gorilla which was also super cute^ I also loved seeing the hippos, although didn’t get any very good pictures to share – it’s definitely not my favourite hippo home I’ve seen, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen hippos so that has tided me over XD Also loved seeing these little African penguins, I’m trying to remember if this is a species I’ve seen before, maybe this was the first time.
American Animals
The American animals may have to be my favourite group that I saw at the zoo because this category includes the anteaters and I really love anteaters^ There anteaters had been separated, there was one on it’s own and then in the area next door were two adults and one had a baby on it’s back, it was really adorable to watch and I stood there for ages. The one on it’s own was super interested in the friends next door and it was right up against the fence trying to get closer. I also really loved seeing the gray seals, these guys were super cute floating in the water, although I did think the space was quite small for the number that there were. I’ve definitely not seen these in many zoos so would love to see more. There were also two training shows – one was with the dolphins, this was definitely the more popular of the two and was in quite a sizeable arena with lots of shaded seating. There were three trainers and seven dolphins with the dolphins following different commands and showing off to the audience. Then there was a sea lion session, this was with one trainer and one sea lion and was in a smaller more personal area. The trainer brought the sea lion to different areas of the seating and instructed him to do different tasks, including opening his mouth and presenting his flippers which would be useful for veterinary checks – and at the end he was awarded with some ice blocks with fish inside! I also really enjoyed seeing racoons again, from going to not seeing them in zoos at all, to seeing them at Beauval, Pairi Daiza and now Madrid in such a short time!
Australian Animals
I didn’t get too many pictures of the Australian animals, but I loved watching the koalas and it was very quiet here, I was the only person watching these beauties^ There were also wallabies which I love seeing too.
European Animals
And finally the European animals, I didn’t see a lot of the animals under this theme. Aside from the brown bears which were just so beautiful and were sitting right at the front of the enclosure, I also saw the grey wolves which were running around and making the most of their space. Iberian lynx is listed, but I didn’t see these which was a shame. I did think the bear enclosure was quite sparse in terms of foliage and planting, but it was a pretty sizeable space.
