"Many of the animals acquired by the park have been rescued from illegal ownership"
Loro Parque - ("Parrot Park")
Whilst Loro Parque started off as a Parrot Park ("Loro" is the Spanish for "Parrot"), nowadays it's grown to include Europe's biggest dolphin show pool, the World's largest indoor penguin exhibition (where tonnes of snow fall every day - in the middle of Tenerife, quite an achievement!), and the longest shark tunnel in Europe. As you'd expect, the collection of Parrots here is amazing - it is actually the largest and most diverse collection of parrots anywhere in the World.
Other animals in the zoo include Chimpanzees, Marmosets and Gorillas, Sea Lions, Aligators, Tigers and Jaguars.
Recently, Loro Parque received to Orca (killer) Whales from SeaWorld in Florida. The Loro Parque trainers were flown to Orlando prior to the whales being shipped so that the whales could get to know their new keepers. Originally "on loan", SeaWorld were happy enough with the excellent facilities and welfare on offer at Loro Parque to make the arrangement permanent in 2006. As the only Orca Whales in the region, they have become quite an attraction in their own right!
The Sea-lion show runs in a special auditorium several times a day, and must not be missed! Here you can see how much fun these magnificent animals have performing for their trainers and their audiences. Don't sit too near the front unless you want to get wet! We have included some short videos of the Sea Lion shows at the bottom of this page for your entertainment!
Loro Parque houses a number of giant 'galapagos' tortoises, which can grow up to 2 metres in length and live for more than 100 years. There is also an aligator enclosure, one of the most technologically advanced in the world where the temperature of the air and sand inside is constantly controlled to mimic their natural North American (Mississippi area) environment.
Many of the animals acquired by the park have been rescued from illegal ownership and have since been re-settled in the park. The park holds the highest recognised international standards for animal welfare and conservation, including EMAS and ISO14001 certificates for environmental management.
