Dr Enrique Mendoza-Salazar, a Mexican zoo expert, is visiting Guyana to assist the Protected Areas Commission (PAC) in improving Guyana’s Zoo.
A release from the Ministry of Natural Re-sources and the Environ-ment said the visit from November 11 to 15, 2013, facilitated by the Mexican Embassy, is the first step in a planned long-term technical cooperation programme between the two countries.
The expert is the Deputy Director of the Mexico City Chapultepec Zoo, the largest zoo in Mexico. During his visit, Dr Mendoza will provide advice and training in the areas of animal nutrition, health and treatment regimes, education and awareness, enclosure design and cage enhancement.
The ministry said that through this partnership, local capacity will be strengthened by equipping the zoo’s personnel with new skills and techniques to better manage the facility and care for its animals.
This technical support will bolster the recently developed Zoo Master Plan, which outlines a long-term vision for the modernisation of the Guyana Zoo.
The ministry and the PAC are continuously working with corporate and private sponsors to support the overhaul of a number of enclosures.
The release said that the effort to improve the zoo is part of the larger Three Parks Initiative launched by Minister Robert Persaud, which also aims to rehabilitate the National Park and Botanical Gardens. The ministry is inviting individuals and organisations interested in supporting this initiative to contact the Protected Areas Commission office at the National Park, Thomas Lands, the release added.
