Chiapas, with its huge range of natural environments, has the highest concentration of animal species in North America, including several varieties of big cat, 1200 butterfly species and more than 600 birds. About 180 of these species, many of them in danger of extinction, are found in spacious, forested and generally natural-looking enclosures at Tuxtla’s excellent zoo. Beasts you’ll see here include ocelots, jaguars, pumas, tapirs, red macaws, toucans, snakes, spider monkeys and three species of crocodile.
Most interpretive materials are in both English and Spanish. To get to the zoo, take a Ruta 60 ‘Zoológico’ colectivo (M$7, 30 minutes) from the corner of 1a Calle Oriente Sur and 7a Avenida Sur Oriente. A taxi from the center costs around M$60.