Animaya

Animaya, the Parque Zoologico del Bicentenario, is one of the two conservation parks run by the city of Merida in Yucatan, on Calle 60 in Ciudad Caucel. Admission is free. The collection is laid out as three prairies - an American one of about a hectare with spider monkeys, white-tailed deer, flamingos, Baird's tapir and Morelet's crocodile; an African one with giraffe, hippopotamus, eland, waterbuck, Barbary sheep, ostrich and zebra; and a Eurasian one with red deer, nilgai, water buffalo and Bactrian camel - crossed by a guided safari ride that costs five pesos.

There is also a felinarium named Balam Balam for Mexican and world cats, a herpetarium of snakes, crocodiles and turtles, a botanical garden, a lake with a catamaran where wild birds shelter alongside the collection, an observation tower called Estela Maya and a water park. Its best-known resident is Nando, a Baird's tapir. Open Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays.