The Valencian park has become an international reference in this time and on its anniversary it is especially grateful for the support of Valencians. And it is a good time to remember its role as a center of awareness and education for the protection of nature and an institution committed to the conservation of endangered species.
Such a day as today 14 years ago BIOPARC opened its doors for the first time. For many it was a truly special day because, after more than 40 years, the old Viveros Zoo gave way to a modern zoological institution that was to become a reference for Valencians. The Spanish company Rain Forest had taken on this important challenge and, after 7 years of intense work, the result was truly surprising for the first people who visited the park.
This new and innovative animal park concept, designed with the technique of zoodipping allowed you to enter beautiful places on the African continent and contemplate BIOPARC's now internationally recognized multispecies enclosures. 14 years ago discovering BIOPARC was an exciting experience for Valencians and in this time it has become meeting point for families and a large nature classroom where thousands of girls and boys have grown up. In just a few years it has positioned itself as one of the best animal parks in the world and an outstanding tourist attraction.
Today the feeling for many Valencians It is as if BIOPARC has always been there and now it is pride motive. She took in animals that had been linked to childhood memories, such as chimpanzees, giraffes, lions or rhinos. For these animals, a new stage began with which they would enjoy maximum comfort. Some have been moved to other cities, others, now elderly, have died and one of the most beloved “families”, the hippos, still continue enjoying the impressive aquatic facilities designed for them.
During this time the facilities have been improved each year. On the one hand, aimed at increase animal welfare and also with the aim of making the visit optimal and offering BIOPARC's characteristic “leisure with a cause”. One of the icons was the sculpture of Scipio, the welcoming elephant that signifies that majesty of nature that is in danger and we must protect. This square has become meeting center for people committed to animals, where solidarity events such as the parades of abandoned dogs or the Can-rreras take place.
But the most emotional part, the one that shows us the magic of natural life, are the births and these have been produced by hundreds every year. Arrive the first Valencian gorilla, Ebo, who was followed by several brothers and who we now see playing and interacting as if we were in the middle of the jungle. Right next door, we live with great emotion the happy outcome of the orphaned chimpanzee's baby Djibril who was adopted by the BIOPARC family and who today teaches a life lesson while developing with his brother Coco. Lions, giraffes, leopards, different antelopes, lemurs, oricteropos, zebras, meerkats, mongooses and a long etcetera that also remind us of its fragility and need for commitment to protect it. In this sense, BIOPARC is also an international reference. So with its participation in 50 European programs for the preservation of endangered species as in the so-called conservation in situ, developed through the BIOPARC Foundation.
And it is worth highlighting the dedication towards dissemination. Not only with the proposals aimed at schoolchildren, but also the free activities for park visitors, including, la Educational exhibition “The Cycle of Life”, a true “live documentary”. Only through education and emotion can we change towards responsible behavior with the preservation of our biodiversity and this is experienced very intensely by the participants of Africa Expedition editions, vacation school.
The anniversary celebration has maintained that spirit of mobilization of “leisure with a cause” involving society in the commitment to the protection of nature with the symbolic “+1€”. Every gesture is important, since it is in our hands to change our future to live in harmony with the rest of the living beings with which we share the Earth.
