Gran Canaria Zoos
Zoos in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria Zoos
There is only one Zoo in Gran Canaria, Parque de los Cocodrilo - which means Crocodile Park and is Gran Canaria's only zoological park. Although not a typical zoo, it is a park that is devoted purely to adopting ill treated animals, buying them privately and from circuses. Now the organisation SEPRONA, which is the Environmental Protection Police, after seeing the success of the first adoptions has placed many animals in the Balser family's capable hands!
It all began when the Balser family were asked to take of just a few crocodiles and now it has the largest collection in Europe! Among the crocodiles are now other animals including; Monkeys and Tigers. It was first opened to the public in 1988 and is still family run. The family of Bengal Tigers was reared by the family itself.
Other animals – chimpanzees, various monkeys, birds, among many others, started arriving unfortunately, usually in very bad health conditions due to being cruelly mistreated and confiscated from cargo ships, but they all have now recovered under the professional care of the family!
There are plenty of extremely sad stories that come from the park including one about; ‘Babu’, which is one of the Baboons that was handed to the park and family in the past. Babu was kept tied with the same chain around its waist until it was 8 years old. It took two operations and months of treatment to get his health back and make him happy again - but he is now and so are many more animals!
Due to the high amount of animals that are still being confiscated and the successful breeding, Cocodrilo Park is now becoming too small and shows a few signs of needing a little more living space to accommodate them, although even under these confined conditions, the animals are so much happier in their surroundings and are breeding, which truly is a brilliant outcome for the animals and the park!
Other attractions at the park include the treasure island parrot show, cacti garden, over 300 crocodiles and other animals and the wonderful species of tropical fish!
All the proceeds from the entry fee's that are charged, go to the upkeep of the park and salaries of its professionals and care staff.
It really is a lovely day out for all ages, groups and families and it is definitely worth a visit! The park is open all year round Sunday to Friday from 10am till 6pm.
It is located in Carretera del Hoyo - Tocodomán - San Nicolás de Tolentino.
There is a reptile park in Gran Canaria too, although far from being a zoo has many interesting species. Reptilandia Park - with more than a 150 species of reptiles in big outdoor terrariums plus three different indoor exhibition rooms. Animals include snakes, lizards, frogs, iguanas, tortoises, crocodiles, caimans and alligators. It also hosts tarantulas, scorpions as well as monkeys, lemurs and parrots plus many more...Reptilandia Park is all year round, daily from 11am till 5.30pm. It is located in Parque Rural de Amagro – between Gáldar and Agaete.
Gran Canaria Site Map | ||
Gran Canaria Zoos
Zoos in Gran Canaria Spain