Many things have come to a stand-still during the coronavirus pandemic, but one of them has continued in the background as the residents of Loro Parque still need feeding, training, and looking after even though the doors are closed to the public.
At the start of the state of alarm on 15th March last year, the world famous Loro Parque closed its doors for the first time since opening on 17th December 1972 due to the health pandemic. The park was conceived as a paradise for parrots and has developed over the years into one of the biggest attractions of the Canary Islands, with over 40 million visitors.
The park was founded by Wolfgang Kiessling and opened on 1.3 hectares (3.2 acres) with 150 parrots, but it has now grown to 13.5 hectares (33 acres) and is home to some 4,000 parrots representing 350 species and sub-species, as well as many other animals. This parrot collection is the largest in the world and makes the park one of the main references in the study and conservation of these animals worldwide.
Other records the park has set include Europe's largest dolphin show pool, the world's largest indoor penguin exhibition and the longest shark tunnel in Europe. The park is only the second place in Europe to house orcas.
During the last 14 months, staff have continued behind the scenes to look after the animals, who have only been seen by a privileged few on private tours for groups of 9 people at a time due to Covid regulations, but there are whispers that the park will be re-opening very shortly to the public with regulations and crowd controls in place.
An announcement is expected later this week with full details and protocols that are to be implemented… watch this space!!
