ZOO

Founded in 1907 with the Victorian style, has one of the most complete collections of native plants and animals in the country.
The diaries of the late nineteenth century tell of the existence of a small collection of animals located in the emerging Paseo del Bosque, near the historic founding of the former Estancia Iraola.
This is how the October 16, 1907, at the initiative of the governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Ignacio Irigoyen, is founded the Zoo de La Plata by law 3059, which in its first article reads: "authorize the Executive to invest up to the sum of 5,000 pesos national currency in the formation of a Zoo Walk in the Forest of this city. "
Its first director, Alfredo Plot, was responsible for defining the main roads inside and distribution environments. The initial tasks were performed by internal site of a penal settlement which was then located where today is the School of Technical Education "Albert Thomas".
At its inception, the collection of animals was very low and the actual Plot-who conceived the site as a place for recreation and entertainment of their fellow-donated his particular endowment of birds. She founded a school of poultry, rabbit and bee keeping on the farm, which operated for four years where it is now called the fire station in the city. At that time the family lived inside the Plot Garden in a wooden house that was located near Avenue 52 and the current 115.
Years later, comes to the direction of the zoo one of the leading figures who govern their destiny: Carlos Marelli who succeeded Plot from 1918, remaining in office until 1940. This naturalist, a solid academic background, marked a milestone for the institution, making it a first line center in the country and abroad.During his tenure the property was remodeled and incorporated plant trees and shrubs from around the world, going to also become Botanical Garden.
Also incorporated many animal species considered "rare" for the collections of the time, the enclosures were renovated and new ones were built. Many of these rooms, inspired by the Victorian conception of the time, were replicas of the most important European zoos as the flag of ungulates (today designed to rhinos), which in turn-often-imitated the architecture of the countries origin of the animals that they were exhibited.
Another of his achievements was to turn the zoo into a center of advanced zoology. Research papers were published together in a collection of more than ten volumes that constituted the "Memoirs of the Zoological Gardens of La Plata" and in which intermingle scientific contributions in the areas of zoology, anthropology, genetics, evolution, veterinary, fisheries , frog culture, with the early work of conservation and protection of endangered species.
In 1979, after relying on the Ministries of Public Works and Land Affairs in the province of Buenos Aires, the zoo became part of the Department of Landscape of the Municipality of the city of La Plata. In subsequent steps were carried out new activities and projects. We can mention at this stage, among other contributions, the realization of the first sample for the blind (1991), the training of candidates for carers (1993) and the realization of scientific and technical exchanges with provincial agencies and other zoological research locals.
Today, with a world battered by an anthropocentric worldview and threatened biodiversity, which are called to protect, feel the need to develop coherent proposals that we avoid falling into distress and despair of seeing animals die or live poorly locked in cages of punishment.
On this basis and bearing in mind that the success of a zoo depends, among other things, the capacity for survival and reproduction of the species in his collection, the interactions between them can be established and the possibility that this may be experienced by those who visit, it should raise a conceptual and pragmatic deconstruction and provide innovative alternatives.
The objectives that move the site today include:
Provide a broad overview of the patterns and processes that have caused biodiversity to contribute to the education of future generations by encouraging a love of nature and ethics of conservation includes sustainable use of natural resources.Encourage scientific research concerning the natural history, ecology, reproduction, behavior, taxonomy and distribution of plant and animal species Neotropical, especially those existing in the Zoological Gardens, in order to deepen the knowledge of them as the only alternative to ensure their conservation and ecosystems.Develop breeding and management of threatened or in retreat numerical order to contribute to the decrease of the events of regional biodiversity loss by designing conservation strategies.Adhere to the projects to protect biodiversity:Raising in one place.Give priority to our animals.The zoo must fund maintenance projects to conserve space.Address: Paseo del Bosque s / n. Phone: (0221) 427-3925.Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 9 to 18.http://www.jardinzoologico.laplata.gov.ar/zoologico/sitio.htm