History
Limassol Zoo came into existence around 1960. Situated in the corner of the municipal gardens near the boulevard along the Mediterranean coast there was not much space to create large enclosures and exhibits. The Zoo was populated with animals received from circuses, other zoos and private donations. Many different species have been on display in this small zoo, such as tigers, lions, panthers, bears, zebras, monkeys, foxes, mouflon, deer, ostriches, peacocks, vultures, emu, falcons, macaws, pelicans, swans, cherry pickers and ducks. In its heydays the zoo housed about 300 mammals and birds, which is quite incredible considering that we are talking about a surface area of not more than 0.6 ha, including a small petting zoo. It is not a surprise that a lot of complaints were uttered by the visitors seeing all those animals in cramped enclosures (cages). Therefore it is astounding that zebras, panthers, camels, mouflons, vultures and other smaller animals have been born in captivity in Limassol Zoo. They even produced offspring - nine cubs - with lions.
In the end the City Council acknowledged the complaints about the way the animals were housed in the Zoo, and decided to upgrade the premises and harmonise its relevant infrastructure with the European Union's Zoo directive, related to preserving wild life in zoos. It was decided to create a new National Zoo Park, because Cyprus needed a modern zoo, which will become the wild animals' protection centre, and a training and tourist centre at the same time, according the Limassol municipality website announcement in 2009. The Zoo would become much bigger, with a modern design, where the animals would be housed according their original habitat. To make this possible a request was made to Limassol citizens and companies for generous donations.
After two years of work, the re-vamped Limassol Zoo opened its gates to the public on 1st June 2012. Around 90 species of mammals, birds and reptiles from around the world are on display, but there will be a focus on Cyprus' flora and fauna. The cost of €1.5 million was covered mainly by donations and sponsorships. The new zoo is supposed to be fully compliant with the EU Zoo directive and provide the best possible living conditions for the animals. Furthermore the zoo will be the place of study for a local breed of snake, a collaboration between the Zoo and a local university.
(Source: municipal website Limassol; CyprusMail, 02.06.2012)
Visit(s)
17.11.2011
After my visit to Pafos Zoo three days earlier, I was very curious how different things would be in the very small Limassol municipal zoo. Well, very different, it was closed for refurbishment! Before I travelled to Cyprus I had read some of the outcries on several weblogs about the awful state of affairs at Limassol Zoo, but I missed the announcement that the Zoo was closed.
Without a lot of activies going on - at least that's what I thought since there were no sounds and no people to notice - I thought a little trespassing was allowed. So, I decided to sneak in and have a look around in the empty zoo. It is still a small zoo, but the enclosures looked as in many zoos nowadays, after the introduction of Carl Hagenbeck's idea of bar-less enclosures. You may not expect enclosure design according the landscape immersion ideas in such a small zoo of course, but spending a lot of money and ending up with a soon to be 'old-fashioned zoo' is questionable in my opinion.
Anyway, my explorations didn't last long, because I found out there were some construction workers who didn't approve of my presence. Despite my attempts to convince them that I was just curious and had no bad intentions, they wanted me out of there. Not having enough time to make some pictures inside the Zoo, I can only provide some footage of the work in progress from outside looking in - see gallery.
Gallery
Video
no video
More info
No additional information.
Location
Directions
Directions to Limassol Zoo
Limassol Zoo is located in the Municipal Garden near the Mediterranean boulevard.
Address:
Byron Avenue
3105
Limassol
Cyprus
public transport
by bus
You can take the following buses to get to Limassol Municipal Garden:
# 3: the orange line (more info below)
# 11: the yellow line
# 12: the blue line
# 13: the green line
# 25: the purple line
# 31: the blue line
More information on the bus lines route network is available on this map and here.
by bicycle
When you stay in Limassol a bicycle is nice mode of transportation. You can hire a bicycle with the international bike sharing network nextbike or at several bicycle shops in town.
by car
Zoo map
Download the zoo map here.
