El Nispero Zoo

Description

This nearly seven-acre botanical garden and zoo began as a privately owned nursery, for which the owner gradually began collecting animals and birds. Other people donated animals as well, with the most famous having once belonged to the dictator Manuel Noriega. In time, the site evolved into a public zoo, which now has animals from all around the world, some even from as far away as Madagascar.,
Among the endemic animals are the Capuchin and spider monkeys, ocelots, toucans, jaguars, macaws and sloths. This is also one of the best places to see the striking, endangered, Panama native rana dorada, also known as the golden frog.,
The onsite Centro de Conservacin de Anfibios, with anquarium and exhibits, serves as a center for amphibian studies, sponsored by zoos from the United States. The zoo is surrounded by trees and a botanical garden, a pleasant area to picnic.