Two rhinos, a male and a female, join the park's two females to complete the breeding group and reinforce their commitment to the international conservation project for this endangered species.
The fight to avoid the extinction of species is today a global task and cooperation between institutions is essential to achieve this common goal. In the case of the impressive southern white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum simum) the conservation program specialist group (EEP) has considered priority the role of BIOPARC Valencia to form a group within the controlled breeding strategy and during these months several actions have been carried out in this regard. After the arrival in October of the young Ami and her magnificent integration with Nombula, the sad loss of the male Cirilo occurred. In this sense, the European committee has expedited the incorporation of the also young female Kwanza and the 30-year-old male Martin, who has already had offspring.
The IUCN Red List warns of the worrying decreasing trend whose main cause is the lucrative poaching business with 1.000 rhino deaths a year for their horns.
El size and characteristics of rhinos entails a great complexity in transfers, as well as the use of specialized transport and qualified personnel. In these cases everything has happened normally, the female has arrived from CERZA Center d'Etude et de Recherche Zoologique Augeron (France) and the male from Serengeti-Park Hodenhagen (Germany). At the moment both They are in the process of acclimatization in the indoor facilities from BIOPARC, under the monitoring protocol of the animal care team. The objective is to guarantee the maximum well-being of the animals and that the different unions are carried out progressively. Currently, in the extraordinary multispecies enclosure that recreates the savannah, you can see the females Ami and Nombula along with Hartmann's zebras (Equus zebra hartmannae), ostriches (Struthio camelus), marabou (Leptoptiles crumeniferus), pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and sacred ibises (Threskiornis aethiopicus).
The situation of this giant is terrible, since the main threat to the rhinoceros is poaching that slaughters an average of 1.000 animals per year all with tear off its imposing horn. BIOPARC Valencia is committed once again with the protección of these species, on this occasion, through the so-called “ex situ” preservation and participation in the international conservation program (EEP). In this way, with 4 rhinos, has formed the largest group in Spain of this emblematic species included among the “Big five” of Africa.
When we still have many days of holidays ahead of us, BIOPARC wants to remember that until the January 7 available the double promotion “with a cause” of Wild Christmas. The proposal is especially attractive for families, since the ticket for ages 4 to 12 has a single price of €1, both for the 1-day ticket (available only on the website and at least the day before the visit) like pass B! 1 year. As usual, every euro is intended for the nature conservation through BIOPARC Foundation. Also until January 7, every day the park offers attractive free activities throughout the day that complement the visit. The opening is from 10 a.m. to 18 p.m. and with special hours on December 31 it closes at 17 p.m. and on January 1 it opens at 11 a.m.
