The drill is one of the most endangered primates in Africa and Rafiki has left, with 14 descendants, an enormous legacy of hope for the international conservation program for his species in which the Valencian park participates.

The name BIOPARC itself announces a “park of life” and, whether we like it or not, inherent to life is always death. Rafiki was born in 2002 at the Hannover Zoo (Germany) and arrived in Valencia in 2007. within the important duck conservation program coordinated by the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA). The objective was for BIOPARC to create a reproductive group of this tremendously threatened species to try to guarantee its survival.. With the female Kianja, who arrived with him, to whom Abuja joined, he formed a beautiful “family” with which He has had a large brood of 14 children. An exemplary alpha male to keep the group cohesive and protective of both the females and their offspring, his valuable genetics have left their mark on the numerous European parks to which 8 descendants have been transferred, while the other 6 remain in Valencia.

He impressed with his bearing, character and exemplary behavior as an alpha male and his loss has been a hard blow for the BIOPARC team.

In this species that has a notable sexual dimorphism, Rafiki's bearing was impressive. It presented all the typical characteristics of its genus: a “crown” that resembles a lion, the striking red color under the lip that stands out on the intense black face that looks like a mask, prominent fangs and bright purple-blue colors on the buttocks. and ruby ​​in the genital area. In fact, his weight loss and deterioration in his appearance were what raised alarm bells among the park's technical team.

Veterinary tests predicted the worst when diagnosing lymphoma and, in addition to the pampering and attention of his caregivers, the oral chemotherapy treatment allowed him to prolong his life for a while. Despite the love we had for this animal, the difficult decision finally had to be made to euthanize it to prevent its suffering.

The drills (Mandrillus leucophaeus) with a population in dangerous decline and estimated at less than 4.000 individuals, they are included in the IUCN red list (International Union for Conservation of Nature) as “endangered”, the step prior to “critical”. In BIOPARC they can be seen in the area that recreates the riparian forests of the Equatorial Africa area, in the beautiful “multispecies” enclosure where they coexist with sitatungas, pygmy hippos, talapoines and Nile geese.

In addition to the ex situ conservation carried out in the park, the BIOPARC Foundation collaborates in the in situ conservation of this little-known primate, protecting its habitat through several projects in which it participates in Africa.