Jardin Zoologico de La Habana

The Jardin Zoologico de La Habana is Cuba's oldest zoo and is known locally as the Zoologico de 26, after its main entrance on Avenida 26. It occupies the former La Rosa nursery and farm belonging to the city council. Professors at the University of Havana proposed it in 1937, work began in 1939 and it opened in 1943; within a year it held 180 species, 95 of them birds and 39 reptiles.

Today it keeps more than 90 species on its 24 hectares, down from a peak of about 160 - partly through the ageing of animals that could not be replaced, since Cuba is a signatory to CITES and may import only through agreements with other zoos. Giraffes, elephants and other large herbivores it once showed have moved to the Parque Zoologico Nacional, which has the space for them. It runs environmental education classes for nearby schools and weekend contact tables with live and mounted animals.