Glenn Wickman
VALENCIA’S Bioparc zoo is well and truly earning its stripes as a prime animal conservation and protection site.
Just one week after carers stepped in to hand-rear a newborn gazelle of a highly endangered species (as reported by The Olive Press), the park this week celebrated the birth of one of the most threatened types of primate in Africa.
Abuja, one of the two adult female drills resident at the Bioparc, gave birth to another baby and increased the family to 10 including the male Rafiki and the other female, Kianja.
The feat is highly significant given the fact that drills are on the red list for endangered African species and, with less than 4,000 specimens currently alive in the wild, could very soon enter the ‘critical’ phase, threatened mainly by loss of natural habitat and poaching.
Valencia Bioparc has become one of the main European conservation bodies for drills and other endangered species, working on site in Cameroon to protect the existing populations and promote their recovery.
Visitors to the Bioparc can now admire the whole family of drills in the large area replicating African forests, which the primates share with other endemic species in their native habitat.
Visit https://www.bioparcvalencia.es/ for more information.
READ MORE:
- IN PICS: Keepers hand-rear orphaned newborn gazelle from critically-endangered species at zoo in Spain’s Valencia
- ANIMAL HOUSE: Another good year for Valencia’s Bioparc
