Animals & Co

Animals & Co

What better fun family outing than a day at the zoo? Ever since Lorenzo de' Medici astounded and entertained Florentines by keeping a giraffe in his menagerie in 1486, Tuscans have kept collections of exotic animals to admire and educate. The zoo in Pistoia was founded in 1970, covers 7

bookmark
Thu 21 Jun 2012 12:00 AM

What better fun
family outing than a day at the zoo? Ever since Lorenzo de’ Medici astounded
and entertained Florentines by keeping a giraffe in his menagerie in 1486,
Tuscans have kept collections of exotic animals to admire and educate. The zoo
in Pistoia was founded in 1970, covers 7 hectares and houses around 400
animals. With baby animals, feeding times, shows and parties, educational
events and playgrounds, kids will be entertained from morning til night, and as
Keith Sheldrake explains, even parents may find it hard to drag themselves
away!

 

 

Most young kids enjoy
nothing more than being with animals. If your kids are among these, then take
them to the zoo in Pistoia (www.zoodipistoia.it). My 5- and 6-year-olds like it
so much that we have a season ticket (for the cost of two entrances for a
family of 4 you can go as many times as you like). We go at least every school
break, and sometimes more often. Having a season ticket also means we can go
just for a couple of hours in the afternoon rather than the whole day for no
extra cost. It is worth the 30-minute drive from Florence to Pistoia West (see
box).

 

A day at the zoo is
not only a fun day out for all the family, but also teaches kids respect for
animals and the environment. Here are some highlights.

 

 

ROOM TO GROW

 

Yes, I agree animals
should be best left in the wild, where nature intended, but the fact is that
years ago they were not and the question should be, ‘What do we do with them
now?’ Pistoia Zoo started its renovation project in 2001 and whilst there are
still some old-fashioned cramped zoo cages there are projects in progress to
change that. The zoo has just purchased a neighbouring strip of land that adds
significantly to its size, part of which is destined for a new elephant
enclosure, which is another goal proving that the Pistoia Zoo is well on the
way to reform. The lions, tigers and wolves all have new large environments,
and in 2010, two brown bears arrived to a vast new enclosure on the hill with a
stream running through it. The polar bears have now been transferred to Germany
and Hungary fro more suitable environments, and if you had seen the three large
bears in their old and rickety, small cage in Pistoia you can imagine how much
happier they must be now.

 

 

NEW ARRIVALS

 

Meanwhile, the
animals at the zoo continue to produce new attractions. In April, the penguins,
which arrived last year, hatched a baby. Born on March 4, Futura, the baby
giraffe is already taller than I am! Menelik, the hippo, will turn two in July,
but you wouldn’t call him a baby either.

 

 

MOVE IT, MOVE IT!

 

‘What is the best thing about the zoo?’ I asked my son.
He replied, ‘The “move it, move it”; feeding the animals and the shows.’ If you
have ever seen the movie Madagascar,
you will have seen King Julian the Lemur singing ‘I like to move it’ (hence our
family nickname for the lemurs). The zoo in Pistoia has a cage with two types:
the ring-tailed lemur, like King Julian, and the black and white indri lemur.
Not only can you see them in the cage but you can even go into the cage with
them. No touching is allowed, but a keeper guides you through and gives a short
talk about the life and habits of the lemurs, as well as the ‘great gaffe’ in
the film Madagascar (or maybe the
producers did it on purpose?).

 

 

FEEDING THE ANIMALS

 

With active kids,
getting involved is even more exciting. Feeding the animals is one of the
highlights. There are farm animals such as goats, pigs, cows and donkeys that
can be fed as well as the elephants and giraffes. Three useful tips: Tip #1:
take lots of 20 cent coins-the animals should only be given special pellet food
that you can buy from the ‘bubble gum’ machines-the machines only accept 20
cent coins (alternatively get change at the kiosk when you go in; there is
usually a good stock). Tip #2: take some plastic cups as the machines just spit
out the pellets and a lot of them end up on the floor. Tip # 3: take some wet
wipes for afterwards-if you have ever touched a black long and slimy giraffe
tongue, you will know why.

 

 

SHOWS FOR KIDS

 

On weekends and
holidays the zoo offers shows where kids can see animals up close and learn
about animal habits and the importance of respect towards animals. This
educational work is something that Pistoia Zoo does quite well. There are
various shows, including ‘Exotic Domestic Animals’ and ‘Birds of Prey.’ One of
the keepers explains the dangers of keeping exotic animals, such as lizards,
and how different birds have evolved to catch their prey. The only drawback for
some expats and tourists is that the talks are only in Italian-but you can
still get to see the animals up close.

 

 

PLAYGROUND

 

After a hard day
studying animals the kids deserve to run around and there is a good-sized
playground with activities for all ages.

 

 

BIRTHDAYS AND SUMMER ACTIVITIES

 

The zoo organizes
birthday parties that focus on understanding and respecting animals and the
environment, as well as introducing some of the smaller animals. This is
followed by food preparation activities, which of course leads to feeding time!
For kids fluent in Italian, there are also weeklong educational summer camps.

 

 

How to get there

By car: exit at Pistoia on the highway A11 Florence – Pisa
North. Past the tollbooth, then turn left and take the motorway. Exit at
Pistoia West, at the first stop sign, turn left and follow the signs for the
Pistoia Zoo (it’s about 4 km from the highway exit).

 

By train: Get off at
the Pistoia station, along the Florence-Pistoia-Lucca-Viareggio route. Outside
the train station, take the local bus line 59 (takes about 15 minutes) or a
taxi.

 

 

Related articles

COMMUNITY

Shaped by spring: Editor’s letter

Spring brings a flurry of art shows, flower picking opportunities and creative possibilities.

COMMUNITY

Biblioteca dei Ragazzi children’s library reopens

The Biblioteca dei Ragazzi returns with books, workshops and readings to delight children of all ages.

COMMUNITY

Creative People in Florence opens a community space

The centre on Via dei Serragli will host talks, workshops, temporary exhibitions and much more.

LIGHT MODE
DARK MODE