Regardless of your age you will be fascinated by Loro Parque. Originally a Parrot Park, it has now grown into Tenerife's second biggest attraction after mount Teide.
The Loro parque is home to the worlds most important Parrot collection with over 300 species, an amazing Sea-Lion show, Dolphin Show, Parrot Show, Aquarium with Shark tunnel, Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Tigers, Jaguars, Flamingos, Alligators, Tortoises, Orchid House, Gambian Market, a 'NaturaVision' Cinema and the worlds largest Penguinarium with a reproduction Antarctic climate within which 12 tons of snow falls a day.
Since opening in 1972, more than 19 million visitors have passed through its doors that are open all year round, and from an original 35.000m2, the park now occupies an impressive 135.000m2.
The founder and owner of Loro Parque, Mr. Wolfgang Kiessling is now an international figure with his unique collection of over 3.000 parrots which include 300 species and sub-species.
About 700 are in the park, and the rest are housed in the breeding station. In 1994 the whole collection was donated to Loro Parque Foundation whose aim is to preserve endangered species of parrots and their habitats, raise funds for field studies, research and conservation projects and to organise the breeding programmes aimed at reintroducing these rare parrots back into the wild.
Loro Parque has over 3.000 parrots
The Foundation takes part in 18 captive breeding programmes and is directly involved in co-ordinating the Spix´s Macaw Recovery Project, the Blue-throated Macaw and the Red-browed Amazon.
The newest attraction , which opened in December of 1999, is the world´s biggest Penguinarium.
Imagine standing in shorts at a temperature of 22ºC and being transported into an authentic Antarctic eco- system. By means of huge glass panels enclosing the biggest fridge in the world, 3 different species of penguin, including the King penguin, can be observed.
These penguins and other Antarctic sea birds will be inhabiting a replica of an antarctic island at a temperature of -2ºC, and swimming in seas at 10ºC. Monitors will be describing the life and natural habitat of these graceful and elegant marine birds.
A further treat is a visit to the dolphinarium; here these 8 dolphins from the Gulf of Mexico will astound and delight you with their intelligence and love of fun and games. This dolphin pools are the biggest in Europe, containing a total of 7.000.000l, between the holding pool, the show pool and the quarantine pool. All are interconnected and continuously daily with fresh seawater.
As the absolute stars of the show, you will be able to enjoy many unforgettable moments while watching them in the dolphinarium that is able to seat 1.500 persons.
Another impressive work of art is the futuristic design of the roof of the californian sea-lion enclosure; home to these delightful creatures.Through transparent panels the show can also be observed under water that is pumped through filters into the 1.200.000l pool.
In the world's most modern aquarium that contains over 20.000 aquatic animals and plants, the visitor is transported through a silent, mysterious but breath-taking submarine world.
One can appreciate the rich variety of life that inhabits the Amazon region, and shudder at the sight of hundreds of piranhas and be enchanted by thousands of brightly lit neon fish gliding about in an acrylic cylinder.
The walk through the 18m shark tunnel where sharks from 7 different species glide above your head close enough to touch and see into their huge jaws with all their sharp teeth that are continously being renewed, is for many, the highlight of their visit.
The chimpanzees are lucky to be alive. In the 1980´s these lovable chimps were rescued from street photographers that had abandoned them. Last year they were moved to their new enclosure, a wonderful area of 1.500m2 containing plenty of vegetation, waterfalls, streams, and a baby chimp called Ovidio.
The imitation rock-faces were hand made in these bizarre shapes in the south of Tenerife.
The Gorilla enclosure is an expanse of jungle like vegetation covering 3.500m2. The 6 male Gorillas are an experimental group on loan from various European Zoos and form part of the European Breeding Programme for endangered species.
Its principal objective is to ensure a greater genetic variety within the European gorilla population, thus contributing to the conservation of this highly endangered species.
As with all the animals in the park, the Gorillas are fed only the best fruit and vegetables and their living quarters are quite luxurious with constant ventilation and under floor heating.