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THE WILDEST ZOO I´VE EVER...

Lujan Travel Blog › entry 34 of 38 › view all entries

This is a blog about my study abroad experience in Buenos Aires, Argentina from February to August. I'll travel extensively through Argentina and visit Chile, Uruguay, Peru, and perhaps even Bolivia. ME GUSTA, ME GUSTA!

THE WILDEST ZOO I´VE EVER...

I can officially say I sat on the back of a lion.

I love Argentina. People aren´t hung up on safety. They don´t have as many fears as the rest of the world.

And for this reason, we took a trip to the zoo. We heard of this place about 50 miles out of town that allows visitors to actually go INSIDE the cage with the animals. It´s a hands on zoo, if you will. This is the best kept secret the city of Buenos Aires has to offer. You take the 57 bus from Plaze Italia about an hour and a half outside of the city and get dropped off at the gate of what looks like a farm. It´s only 20 pesos to get in, but this zoo has every animal from deer, llamas, tigers, lions, ducks, bulls...AND it has the hugest collection of tractors I have ever seen.

Justin and I got to the zoo and went immediately to the tiger cage.

this is me, on the right of God. look at that face.
I was a little nervous at first to get so close to the baby tigers. We took some pictures, thinking it was crazy that we could simply take a photo with a tiger and then we moved to the monkeys. The monkeys were beyond cute! One drank water from my hand and another jumped on my head!!

We took a ride on a camel. Then we rode on the back of an elephant.

AND THEN...the zoo closed and we kept going to the cages because we had a little bravery in us. Since it was only us, the guys who worked at the zoo let us take goofy pictures with the animals. I sat on a lions back. haha. And then I fed a tiger milk from my hand so that it´s huge tongue kept lapping me. I held a monkey in my arms and watched it chew bubble gum.

It was the best zoo experience yet. I´ll never want to see another zoo. What´s more, a cute old man wanted to take us on a train ride through the old tractors and military vehicles. This was about an hour after the zoo had closed, so it was only Justin and I in the train. SO FUN. I know my uncles would have peed their pants looking at all of these tractors.

On the ride back into the city, my stomach was knotting up at the amount of excitement I had inside. I´m falling more and more in love with South America. Everything I see and experience makes me feel alive.

jaldridge says:
OMG i felt compelled to write a comment on this.. i know you look very young but come on how can anybody be so stupid? animal, let alone wild animals will not let you sit on their backs and get that close to them unless they are either doped up, beaten or probably both. For 2 people who feel adult enough and streetwise enough to go travelling and backpacking you really dont look to 'aware' to me! This is a disgusting post.. There are films of the zoo attendants swinging around the bears for gods sake like they are children.. This is animal cruelty at its worst... I wished it had bitten your head off - only then do ignorant and ill-educated people like yourselves learn their lesson.. shame on you.
Posted on: May 08, 2009
ipana says:
You missunderstand I am not concerned with your saftey or any other disgracefull excuse for a human being that visits this place, I am concerned for the Animals welfare these are magnificent wild animals not your personal amusement and even Lions can be misstreated into submission but it's only a matter of time before thwy snap and turn. I work on a daily basis with animals like these working towards there presivation, we have many animals recused form places such as this and work with authorities to shut them down and give the animlas the life they deserve.So I would say I am well qualified to judge whats right for these animals, if you visit this place you are only aiding in the destruction of these animals
Posted on: Apr 22, 2009
jeffrico says:
If you read this and dont want to visit it you must be the crazy ones! I would think it would fantastic to be able to be so up close to these animals! Who are you to say how happy the animals are? I think if they didnt like the close contact something would have happened by now! I am looking for airfair as we speak. I am also sending this story to all my m8's around the globe! Fantastic Zoo!
Posted on: Apr 17, 2009
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