Lisbon Zoo: An enriching trip to the Animal Kingdom

Connecting back to my previous article on my Portugal trip, I have a special post dedicated to my visit to the Lisbon Zoo. I understand the skepticism about having animals in a Zoo. But Lisbon Zoo was like none of the others I had visited earlier in India.

Jardim Zoologico de Lisboa, was founded in 1884. Located very much within the city of Lisbon, the Zoo hosts around 2000 animals of more than 300 species.

As we mounted the Lisbon Zoo cable car, we zoomed up the elevated zoo complex that managed to keep the animals seperated away optimally.

For a second, I was scared that we would pass right over the bunch of Lions basking in the Sun after a nice Merenda (snack). But fortunately, safety is ensured in Lisbon Zoo and the cable car does not pass right over the dangerous animals.

The sight of African Elephants thrilled me. Having seen Indian Elephants all my life the sight of the bigger eared African cousins was fascinating.

The Lisbon Zoo also has a bunch of farm animals and a Dolphin!

Why you should visit the Lisbon Zoo?

Lisbon and Portugal has a lot to offer and trip to the Zoo may not be a top priority for most people. But if you ask me, I would suggest you to extend your trip to Portugal by a day to see the Jardim Zoologico de Lisboa.

I am serious here considering the vast geographical reach of Portugal in history and the many things we learn from visiting a zoo.

A visit to the London Museum will introduce you to artifacts from India and other past colonies. Similarly, a visit to the Lisbon Zoo will introduce you to exotic Animals procured from around the world. A feat possible because of Portugal’s rich outward reaching past. The Portuguese Empire that extended across continents was one of the largest and longest- lived empires in world history.

Holding almost one third of the maximum land area of the British Empire, the Zoo is influenced by the country’s past. Holding Animals from around the world, I would definitely recommend this Zoo to tourists from far away.

Living a busy urban claustrophobic life, somehow the idea of not connecting with wildlife seems unfortunate. There is nothing that can uplift your mood like interacting with nature in all forms.

Top reasons to visit a Zoo 

Moreover there are many educational reasons to visit a zoo. What we learn from a Zoo goes beyond mere information about wild animals.

Understanding the ecosystem and the role each animal plays in the wild provides immense learning about our role in preserving the environment.

A visit to the Zoo is also a great value for money deal. Honestly, I would even pay someone to bring a nice dog to my house for an hour.

We humans have distanced ourselves so much from our animal friends lately. A trip to the Zoo can really  help us reconnect with our animal instincts. By this, I mean that looking at the simple lives of animals can really help us to simply our own lives.

As silly as it may sound, you may actually learn a lot from these creatures.

Visiting the Lisbon Zoo during our Portugal visit was a rather spontaneous idea fortunately totally worth the visit. To come to think of it, with the Portuguese Empire spreading over vast territories during its peak, the possibilities of finding exotic animals was high and Lisbon Zoo surely didn’t disappoint. From Tigers, Lions, Gorillas and Bears to Mountain Goats, Sheep and a Dolphin the Zoo seemed to have almost everything.

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