Botanical Garden and Zoo of Asunción facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Botanical Garden and Zoo of Asunción
Jardín Botánico y Zoológico de Asunción
Entrance to the garden and zoo
Motto	Natura miranda en maximum minimis investigacioni rerum naturalium Paraguarie consecrata
Location	Asunción, Paraguay
Area	110 hectares (270 acres)
Created	1914
Founder	Karl Friebig
Designer	Anna Gertz
Operated by	Municipalidad de Asunción
Open	Open all year
Camp sites	one (public)
Plants	23065
Director	Maris Llorens
Website	www.mca.gov.py/zoo.htm

Asunción Zoo
No. of animals	337
No. of species	64

The Botanical Garden and Zoo of Asunción (Jardín Botánico y Zoológico de Asunción) is a special place in Asunción, the capital city of Paraguay. It's like two amazing parks in one! You can explore a beautiful botanical garden and visit a fun zoo.

This large area is one of the main green spaces in Asunción. It covers about 110 hectares (that's like 270 football fields!). The zoo is home to almost 70 different kinds of animals. Most of these animals are from South America, including birds, mammals, and reptiles. The botanical garden shows off many native plants. It's known for its wide variety of lush, beautiful trees.

History of the Garden and Zoo
- How the Garden and Zoo Started
- Changes Over Time
What You Can See and Do
- The Botanical Garden and Plant Nursery
- The Zoo and Its Animals
See also

History of the Garden and Zoo

This big property used to be the country home of Carlos Antonio López. He was the president of Paraguay from 1842 to 1862. President Lopez ordered his home, "Casa Lopez," to be built in the 1840s. This main building is very important for its history. It also shows the building styles and art of that time. It is now a protected cultural site in Asunción.

In 1896, Lopez's family sold the estate. It was bought by the Agricultural Bank, which was owned by the state.

How the Garden and Zoo Started

The garden officially became a botanical garden in 1914. This was thanks to two German scientists, Karl Fiebrig and his wife, Anna Gertz. Karl Fiebrig was a professor of botany and zoology at the University of Asunción. He had moved to Paraguay in 1910. Before that, he traveled to Paraguay to collect plants and insects for museums in Europe.

Fiebrig also started an Agriculture school in 1916. He even founded a "Cotton Institute" that helped pay for the garden. Later, he and Anna Gertz also created the zoo. They had a very modern idea for the time. They wanted to house animals in areas that looked like their natural homes. Anna Gertz designed many parts of the gardens. Sadly, she passed away in May 1920 and was buried in the gardens.

Changes Over Time

Karl Fiebrig continued to lead the garden and zoo. He remarried in 1925. In 1934, he also became the director of Paraguay's Department of Agriculture. After the Chaco War in 1936, some people in Paraguay felt suspicious of foreigners. This led Fiebrig to leave Paraguay with his family.

After Fiebrig left, the property was no longer managed by the state. It was given to the Municipality of Asunción, which still owns it today.

Historically, this estate was much larger. It covered over 600 hectares and had a long riverfront. It even had its own port and railway station! Over the last 50 years, some parts of the land were used for other purposes. For example, a water treatment plant and a transmission station were built there. The Asunción Golf Club, which Fiebrig helped design, also uses part of the land.

Since 2013, Maris Llorens has been the director of the garden and zoo.

What You Can See and Do

The Botanical Garden and Zoo of Asunción has several interesting areas to explore:

Botanical Garden: This area was first called a botanical garden because of its amazing natural plants. Many of its trees are now over 150 years old. They offer wonderful shade for visitors.
Nursery: Here, they grow more than 500 types of plants. Many of these are medicinal plants, used for teaching people about the power of herbs.
Zoo: The zoo is home to about 64 different kinds of animals. You can see mammals, birds, reptiles, and more. A very special animal here is the Tagua. This type of peccary lives in the Paraguayan Chaco region. People once thought it was extinct, but it was found again in the 1980s!
Natural History Museum: This museum is located in an old farmhouse that belonged to Carlos Antonio Lopez. It teaches you about nature and history.
Golf: For 50 years, the city of Asunción has let the Asunción Golf Club use part of the garden's land. Even though it's on the same property, the golf club is managed separately.

The Botanical Garden and Plant Nursery

The plant nursery is located behind the main house. It has over 500 types of plants, especially medicinal ones. It's open to everyone and works with the Botanic Garden in Geneva, Switzerland.

For over 10 years, the nursery has studied how to grow, share, and introduce plants. They focus on native plants and medicinal plants brought by Paraguayan settlers.

The nursery's main goal is to keep the knowledge of medicinal plants alive in Paraguay. Many Paraguayans use herbs and know about at least 50 different kinds. The nursery studies how to grow and harvest these plants. They use this knowledge to teach others.

Some of their collections include:

A medicinal plant nursery, which is a place for research and teaching. It has about 500 types of cultivated plants.
An agronomic nursery, which focuses on growing and selecting better Paraguayan crop plants.

In 2006, the gardens held an exhibition called Ethnobotany 2006. Its theme was "Our plants, our people." This project helped improve the botanical garden. It also created a large collection of Paraguayan medicinal plants. Plus, it led to the Center for Conservation and Environmental Education (CCEAM). This center offers many educational activities.

The Zoo and Its Animals

The zoo is found in the same area as the botanical garden. The animals at the zoo are mostly from Paraguay. However, they also have animals from other parts of the world.