Santa Fe Zoo: Institutional Practices of Animal Care and Protection in Medellín, Colombia
No. 99 (2026-01-29)Author(s)
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Laura Posada GómezUniversidad Nacional de Colombia, sede MedellínORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4630-0814
Abstract
Objective/Context: This article examines the institutional practices of animal care and protection that emerged in Medellín, Colombia, between 1960 and 1989, specifically focusing on the case of the Santa Fe Zoo. It was created by the Sociedad de Mejoras Públicas de Medellín as part of a social and political project aimed at giving the city an image similar to that of other major cities around the world. The institutional dis-course of the Sociedad de Mejoras Públicas, which sought to present the zoo as a space designed to care for and protect wildlife, is contrasted with the perception held by the city’s inhabitants. For them, the zoo was a place for entertainment and recreation rather than for wildlife conservation and environmental education. Methodology: Institutional sources from the Sociedad de Mejoras Públicas Archive, as well as newspaper and magazine articles, are contrasted with other sources such as photographs and oral history, in order to highlight the marked differences in how animals were considered, represented, and treated. Originality: This research contributes to the field of animal history and to our understanding of their presence in urban con-texts. It analyzes human-animal relationships from the perspective of care and protection—elements that have been little studied by animal historiography, which has largely focused on human-fauna relations from a consumption standpoint. Conclusions: The article examines the tensions between the zoo’s educational and conservation discourse and its real purpose of animal exhibition and public entertainment, exposing contradictions and conflicts within the administration of the Sociedad de Mejoras Públicas. It also addresses the divergences in the image the zoo projected among different social classes in the city. This research con-tributes to the historiography of animals in Colombia by offering a critical view of the development of zoos.
References
Fuentes primarias
Archivos
Archivo Sociedad de Mejoras Públicas de Medellín (asmpm), Medellín-Colombia, sección Zoológico Santa Fe.
Prensa periódica
El Colombiano, Medellín, 1960-1989.
Progreso, Medellín, 1960-1968.
Entrevistas
Chavarriaga Merino, Nora (ama de casa), 10 de agosto de 2022, Medellín, Colombia.
González Gómez, Lina (profesora de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia, sede Medellín), 14 de septiembre de 2022, Medellín, Colombia.
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