Loro Parque facts for kids
Loro Parque logotype
|
|
Sea lions perform in Loro Parque
|
|
| Date opened | 17 December 1972 |
|---|---|
| Location | Tenerife, Spain |
| Land area | 13.5 ha (33 acres) |
| Coordinates | 28°24′30″N 16°33′51″W / 28.40833°N 16.56417°W |
| No. of animals | 4,000 (parrots) |
| No. of species | about 350 (parrots) |
Loro Parque (which means "parrot park" in Spanish) is a famous zoo located on the island of Tenerife, Spain. It covers a huge area of 135,000 square meters (about 33 acres). The park is home to a wide variety of amazing animals and plants.
Loro Parque was first imagined as a special place for parrots. Over the years, it has grown into one of the most popular attractions in the Canary Islands. Millions of people have visited this incredible park.
Contents
History of Loro Parque
Loro Parque was started by Wolfgang Kiessling in 1972. When it first opened, it was much smaller, with only 13,000 square meters and about 150 parrots. Today, it has expanded to 135,000 square meters and is home to around 4,000 parrots! These parrots belong to 350 different species and sub-species. This makes Loro Parque's parrot collection the largest in the world. It's also a very important place for studying and protecting these beautiful birds.
The park holds several other impressive records. It has the biggest dolphin show pool in the European Union. It also features the world's largest indoor penguin exhibition. Plus, it has the longest shark tunnel in the European Union. Loro Parque is also one of only two places in the European Union where you can see orcas.
The owners of Loro Parque also built another exciting park called Siam Park. It's a huge water park located in the south of Tenerife, which opened in 2008.
Amazing Birds
Loro Parque is famous for its birds! You can see many different kinds, including parrots, black swans, golden pheasants, and flamingos. There are also pelicans, puffins, and laughing kookaburras.
The park has an incredible collection of parrots. Here are just some of the parrot species you can find there:
- Blue-headed parrot
- Burrowing parrot
- Eclectus parrot
- Rainbow lorikeet
- Alexandrine parakeet
- Crimson-bellied parakeet
- Green-cheeked parakeet
- Blue-winged parakeet
- Grey-headed parakeet
- Rose-ringed parakeet
- Blue-headed macaw
- Red-fronted macaw
- Golden-collared macaw
- Scarlet macaw
- Great green macaw
- Blue-and-yellow macaw
- Chestnut-fronted macaw
- Hyacinth macaw
- Red-bellied macaw
- Sulphur-crested cockatoo
- White cockatoo
- Salmon-crested cockatoo
- Blue-eyed cockatoo
- Gang-gang cockatoo
- Palm cockatoo
- Yellow-tailed black cockatoo
- Yellow-crowned amazon
- Red-spectacled amazon
- Red-lored amazon
- Blue-cheeked amazon
- Maroon-fronted parrot
- Kea
Other Animals to Discover
Besides dolphins and penguins, Loro Parque is home to many other fascinating creatures. You can see chimpanzees and western lowland gorillas. There are also tiny emperor tamarins and playful Asian small-clawed otters.
Look out for meerkats, red pandas, and powerful jaguars. You might even spot white tigers and lions. The park also has pygmy hippos, capybaras, and giant anteaters. Don't forget the American alligators and giant Galápagos tortoises! Plus, there are many exotic fish, seahorses, and various sharks.
Orcas at Orca Ocean
In 2006, Loro Parque welcomed four young orcas from SeaWorld. Their names were Keto, Tekoa, Kohana, and Skyla. Experts from SeaWorld helped the orcas settle into their new home. Trainers from Loro Parque also spent time at SeaWorld parks to learn how to care for these amazing animals.
In 2010, Kohana gave birth to a male calf named Adán. He weighed about 150 kg (330 lbs) and was two meters long. Adán was hand-reared by trainers.
In 2011, a sixth orca named Morgan joined the group. Morgan had been rescued in the Netherlands. Scientists later confirmed that Morgan has hearing loss.
In 2012, Kohana had another calf, a female named Vicky. Sadly, Vicky passed away in 2013.
In 2018, SeaWorld gave full ownership of the orcas to Loro Parque. Sadly, Skyla passed away in 2021, and Kohana passed away in 2022. As of 2022, Loro Parque is home to four orcas: Keto, Tekoa, Morgan, and Adán. In the wild, female orcas can live for up to 80 years.
Dolphins and Their Families
Loro Parque also has 10 bottlenose dolphins. Three of them were rescued off Florida in the 1980s. The other seven were born right there at the park! Their names are Paco, Ruffles, Pacina, Ulisse, Luna, Clara, Cesar, Achille, Ilse, and Robin.
Beautiful Plants
If you love plants, you'll enjoy the large orchid garden at Loro Parque. It has many rare and beautiful plants to see.
Exciting Shows and Attractions
Loro Parque offers many fun shows throughout the day:
- Sea lions perform 5 times a day.
- Dolphins put on a show 4 times a day.
- The Loro Show, featuring parrots, happens 6 times a day.
- The orca show takes place 3 times a day.
- You can also watch a 20-minute film in the indoor cinema called "Nature Vision."
Other fun attractions include "Kinderlandia," a special playground for kids. There's also a Gambian Market, a parrot baby station, and a huge parrot museum. You'll find many restaurants too!
Did you know? A scene from the 2005 movie The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was filmed at Loro Parque.
Loro Parque Fundación: Helping Animals
In 1994, Loro Parque started the Loro Parque Fundación. This is a special international foundation that works to protect nature and the environment. It is a member of IUCN, a global organization for conservation.
The foundation has supported 82 conservation projects in 28 countries around the world. About 31 of these projects are still active today, with around 150 people working daily to protect nature. Since it began, the foundation has spent over $10,000,000 on these important projects.
The Loro Parque Fundación is especially dedicated to saving the most endangered parrot species. They help by breeding parrots in captivity, like the critically endangered Spix's macaw. They also work on projects in the wild, such as with the indigo-winged parrot. Between 2017 and 2019, the foundation helped release fourteen captive-bred macaws into a reserve in Ecuador. These were critically endangered Ara ambiguus ssp. guayaquilensis birds.
Awards and Recognition
Loro Parque has received many awards for its work. In 2000, the Canary Islands Government gave Loro Parque the "Importante del Turismo 2000" award. This is a very important prize for tourism. The award recognized Loro Parque's contribution to making the Canary Islands a top tourist destination. Wolfgang Kiessling also received an award for "Friendly Tourism and Citizen Coexistence" in 1999.
See also
In Spanish: Loro Parque para niños
Images for kids
-
Dolphins performing at Loro Parque
-
Orcas at Loro Parque's Orca Show
