SECOND BIRTHof an orca

PARROT SPERMevaluation

research

BREEDINGthe vasa parrot

HAPPY 40THBIRTHDAYLoro Parque

Nº 101 - 2012

The Newsletter of Loro Parque Fundación

40 years of love for nature

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the newsletter of loro parque fundación saving wildlife and habitats

Too much has happened in Loro Parque to fit everything into this small space in the newsletter, but here are some historical highlights of what the 40th Anniversary will be celebrating:

1972 ·Wolfgang Kiessling founded Loro Parque with 150 parrots and the first Parrot Show in Europe, in 13,000 m2.

1978 ·First other animals arrive: Galapagos tortoise, alligators y chimpanzees.

1982 ·Construction of the Black Continent with the “Loro-Vision” cinema and expansion to 60,000 m2.

1983 ·Construction of the first parrot breeding centre with 100 aviaries, under the advice of John Stoodley.

1986 ·I International Parrot Convention.

1987 ·Inauguration of the largest “Dolphinarium” in Europe.

1989 ·Opening of the “Orchidarium” and arrival of the sea-lions.

1990 ·The Gambian Market inaugurated by the President Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara

1991 ·Opening of “Tiger Island”.

1992 ·Expansion of the park to 135,000 m2.

1993 ·H.R.H. Princess Galyani Vadhana of Thailand gives her name to the Thai Village. ·Exhibits of gorillas, aquarium, Sea-lion Show and Porcelain Parrot Museum.

1994 ·Loro Parque Fundación is constituted. ·Birth of the first dolphin.

1996 ·H.M. Queen Sirikit de Thailand visits Loro Parque. ·“Naturavisión”, a spectacular building replaces “Loro-Vision”.

1997 ·The “Arab Palace” is inaugurated for the Parrot Show, and the jaguar crater.

1998 ·The new exhibit for the chimpanzees, “Chimpland”, is inaugurated. ·The first eggs of King Penguins arrive.

1999 · “Planet Penguin”, a gigantic representation of Antarctic habitat housing King, Gentoo and Rockhopper

penguins is inaugurated.

2001 ·The new “Discovery Tour” adventure, an excursion showing “behind the scenes”, begins.

2002 ·Arrival of the white Bengal tiger and his partner. ·“El Pacífico”, home for the Humboldt penguins, is created. ·Loro Parque lays the first stone of “Siam Park” in the south of Tenerife.

2003 ·Arrival of the puffins from Iceland.. ·Construction of the ‘kindergarten’ for parrots at the side of the Baby Station,

2004 ·Second visit of H.R.H. Princess Galyani Vadhana of Thailand. ·Inauguration of the new veterinary clinic “Villa Colina”.

2004 ·Breeding success of Spix’s Macaws.

2005 ·Inauguration of “Kinderlandia”, adventure park for children.

2006 ·Inauguration of “OrcaOcean” and the “Aula del Mar” education centre.

2007 ·First breeding in Europe of Lear’s Macaws. ·Construction of a free-flight aviaries for lories.

2008 ·Loro Parque is the world’s first zoological park to receive the Animal Embassy certification. ·Loro Parque S.A. inaugurates Siam Park, in the presence of Princess Maha Chakri Shirindhorn of Thailand.

2009 ·H.R.H Princess Chulaborn Mahidol of Thailand visits Loro Parque. ·Inauguration of the spectacular aviary “Katandra Treetops”.

2010 ·Inauguration of the Short-clawed otter exhibition.·VII International Parrot Convention. ·Birth of orca Adán.

2011 ·Premiere of the educational documentary “Planet Life”. ·Arrival of Morgan, an orca rescued in the Wadden Sea, Netherlands.

2012 ·Arrival of the new white Bengal tigers. ·Premiere of the new Loro Show with presentation and scenery totally renewed. ·Opening of new exhibitions: Aratingas, reptiles, giant anteaters and capybaras. ·Birth of orca Vicky.

And finally the great 40th Anniversary Celebration taking place in Loro Parque on 17th December, with Canarian food tasting to enjoy throughout the park from 15:00h and then at 16:00h the actual Anniversary Celebration in OrcaOcean, and culminating at 18:00h with a cocktail and closing show at the entrance of the park.

Happy Birthday Loro Parque, and congratulations for all your achievements.

Índex:Message from the Founder ...........................................2Happy 40th Birthday Loro Parque .................................3Hotel Botanico receives ISO9001..................................47 wonders campaign of AZE .........................................4LP/SP News .................................................................5LPF News ..................................................................11News of the parrot collection ......................................12Projects up-date .........................................................15Breeding the Greater Vasa Parrot ................................27Breeding the White-headed Parrot ...............................30Avian extinctions increase ..........................................33Thank you for helping Nature ......................................34

Cover photo:LORO PARQUE 40th ANNIVERSARY

editorial offiCe:Loro Parque S.A. 38400 Puerto de la Cruz Tenerife, Islas Canarias. España Tel.: +34 922 374 081 - Fax: +34 922 373 110 E-mail: lpf@loroparque-fundacion.org

editorial Consultant:Rosemary Low

editorial Committee:Javier Almunia, Wolfgang Kiessling, Simon Bruslund, David Waugh and Rafael Zamora.

visit our websites:www.loroparque-fundacion.org www.loroparque.com www.facebook.com/loroparquefundacion www.facebook.com/loroparque

membership:Become a member of loro Parque Fundación to support us in our activities. You will then receive our newsletter Cyanopsitta, as well as a supporter´s card permitting free entry to Loro Parque during the validity of your membership and a visit to our breeding centre. The current annual membership fees are:

Adult ............................................................... 100,00 €Children ............................................................ 50,00 €Life member ................................................ 1.500,00 €

Please send us your membership subscription by mail, fax or e-mail, or call us, and we will sign you up immediately.

bank aCCount:banca march, Puerto de la CruzAccount: 0061 0168 81 005034011-8 IBAN: ES40 0061 0168 8100 5034 0118 BIC: BMARES2M

banco santander, Puerto de la CruzAccount: 0049 0290 37 2113529526 IBAN: ES46 0049 0290 3721 1352 9526 BIC: BSCHESMM

bbva, Puerto de la CruzAccount: 0182 5310 61 001635615-8 IBAN: ES85 0182 5310 61 0016356158 BIC: BBVAESMM

Legal deposit: TF-1643/2003

Wolfgang Kiessling President, Loro Parque Fundación

Message from the FounderLoro Parque has very many friends, some from the very beginning, and with many more showing their friendship these days by using the modern communications opportunities such as Facebook. Now the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Loro Parque is upon us, and this grand moment gives me yet another opportunity to express my deep appreciation of such friendship, and for the encouragement received over the span of four decades.

This encouragement has constantly stimulated Loro Parque to attain levels of quality in the visitor experience and welfare of its animals each time higher than before, and always competing with the best at worldwide level. This desire to always do better, and to always give the visitors an inspiring experience, is truly alive and well in Loro Parque in 2012. Forty years after its inauguration, Loro Parque has made a spectacular re-creation of its Loro Show, completed a new Aratinga parakeet habitat and has created a new zone of very fine terrariums for nose-to-nose viewing of reptiles. But pride-of-place must go to its brand new South American exhibit of Giant Anteaters and Capybaras, where visitors can observe these animals for the first time ever in a way never achieved before in captivity, nor in nature. These innovations are what characterize the 40 years of Loro Parque, and even as I write this there are more astonishing developments in the pipeline.

The commitment of Loro Parque to the well-being of its animals is manifested in multiple ways, but it gives me pleasure to mention one case in particular, which is the gorilla Schorsch who this year shares his 40th birthday with Loro Parque. For an age contrast, but also very much the result of excellent welfare, is the birth this year of a second orca in the installation of Orca Ocean. Naturally, the birth of an orca grabs the headlines, but in fact it is only one of the impressive number of births that have happened in Loro Parque this year, and which are reported in the pages of this newsletter.

It truly is a pleasure to know that so many of you will be able to join us for the birthday party on the 17th of December, and equally gratifying to receive well-wishes from those not able to join us. To all of you I give my heartfelt thanks.

Happy 40th Birthday Loro Parque

Nº 101 - 2012C

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Wolfgang Kiessling and the first parrots

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the newsletter of loro parque fundación LP/SP NEWSsaving wildlife and habitats

Sites that also benefit peopleThe Hotel Botanico receives the ISO 9001 certification and intensifies its commitment to quality and sustainability

The Hotel Botanico intensifies its commitment to offer the maximum quality to its clients, as well as to respect to the environment and adds to its seals of quality the ISO 9001 certification, validated by the TÜV Rheinland Group of certifiers. This recognition is an international norm that endorses the evolution and the constant improvement of the system of quality management that increases the satisfaction of the guests and guarantees an optimum service.

This new accreditation complements the rest of the certifications which this 5-star great luxury hotel already has, reflecting its responsibility to the environment as well as its care of nature and the isle of Tenerife as tourist destination. Among the others there are the ISO 14001, EMAS III and BIOSPHERE HOTEL. The Hotel Botánico is the property of a company owned by Loro Parque and is managed by Inserhotel, S.L.

In addition, a new study conducted by Conservation International and NatureServe, and published in the journal PLoS ONE assessed, for the first time, more than 500 AZE sites around the world to review the potential and realized benefits which conserving these places would provide not just for species, but also for human well-being. The researchers determined that protecting habitats in these priority areas to halt the loss of biodiversity will yield multiple benefits to people in terms of ecosystem services such as climate change mitigation through reduced deforestation, supply of freshwater and the future “option value” of biodiversity and cultural services. The benefits found in the global network of AZE sites significantly exceeded those from randomly selected networks of sites within the same countries and regions used for comparison.

The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park and its surrounding areas in Colombia is an example of an AZE site that is very important for both species and people. The Loro Parque Fundación works here with its Colombian Partner, Fundación ProAves to conserve the Santa Marta Parakeet, one of 13 highly threatened species for which the site is the last refuge, but which also provides many benefits to people. The river basins are an important source of clean freshwater to downstream human populations and the tropical rainforest stores

a significant amount of carbon important for climate change mitigation. The site also has considerable cultural value as about 30,000 indigenous people of four ethnic groups are living in the area and consider it sacred. Further research will improve the understanding of the importance of the AZEs for additional ecosystem services, and enable scientists to understand how vital areas for biodiversity also deliver a variety of benefits to people on a local, regional and global scale.

Seven Wonders Campaign of the Alliance for Zero ExtinctionOn the 10th of September 2012, at the World Conservation Congress in Jeju, South Korea, a new initiative was announced by the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE). The congress was hosted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and about 8,000 people gathered there to address global conservation issues. AZE’s 7 Wonders (www.AZE7Wonders.org) campaign asks voters to help select seven sites from around the globe to highlight the plight of species on the brink of extinction. The winning sites will be featured in a campaign to help conserve endangered species.

AZE has posted a list of 20 candidate sites from which voters can select their choice of seven. The 20 shortlisted sites were chosen from among 587 sites around the world identified by scientists working with AZE; sites that are the last refuges for one or more endangered species. The 20 sites represent a variety of taxonomic groups, including birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles.

The Loro Parque Fundación for years has been a member of the AZE and IUCN and, in cooperation with its partners in several countries, it uses the AZE list of threatened sites and species to help prioritize its work. One of the proposed seven wonders is the site in north-east Brazil where the threatened Lear’s Macaw exists, the conservation of this species being a project that the LPF has supported for seven years. As a result of

conservation actions, the species has been down-listed in the IUCN Red List from ‘Critically Endangered’ to ‘Endangered’, and the project continues to reduce the threats from illegal trafficking and hábitat destruction. Other proposed sites and species include Poyang Hu, China for the Siberian Crane, Manas National Park, India for the Pygmy Hog, and Baly Bay National Park, Madagascar for the Angonoka Tortoise

Launching the inititiative, Mike Parr, AZE Chairman and Vice President of American Bird Conservancy (campaign sponsor) pointed out that the world rallies to preserve the heritage of priceless historical places like the Great Pyramid of Giza or the Colosseum, and that we should also protect the places on Earth that harbour the most endangered species.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species was used by AZE to help identify the 920 Endangered and Critically Endangered species restricted to 587 single sites worldwide.

The campaign is sponsored by AZE member, American Bird Conservancy. AZE (www.zeroextinction.org) is a joint initiative that aims to prevent species extinctions by identifying and safeguarding key sites, each of which is the last remaining refuge for one or more Endangered or Critically Endangered species.Lear’s Macaws in Licuri palm

A second killer whale born in Loro Parque

Yellow-eared Parrot

On the 10th of August 2012, Loro Parque announced a unique event with the birth of the second orca, Victoria, in its OrcaOcean facility. This is a major milestone for the breeding programme, of which Loro Parque is extremely proud because reproduction is the most important factor confirming the well-being of the animals at the site, which was specially created for these marine mammals.

Kohana, the new mother, is 10 years old and was born in San Antonio in Sea World in the USA. She gave birth the previous night to her second calf, weighing in at 152 kilos, and after 2 hours of labour. She was attended and assisted constantly by a team of veterinarians, biologists and her trainers. Just moments after the birth, the baby, which measured 2.40 metres, instinctively swam to the surface to take his first breath. ‘It is a very important day for all of us at Loro Parque as this birth is clear evidence of the well-being that all our animals enjoy’ said Miguel Díaz, Orca trainer Chief. “The little calf is strong, swims with energy and we are very happy to have the privilege to see how it grows up” remarked Diaz.

“The experience with assisted-rearing of this species at Loro Parque is very important, proven by the appropriate growth and development of Adan, the first calf born in the park, which is now almost 2 years old” explained Dr. Javier Almunia, Deputy Director of the Loro Parque Foundation. However, the veterinarians and trainers

prudently await the progress of the calf, as the first few weeks are crucial for the development of the baby, which begins life with its basic immune system only, and it therefore takes time to strengthen it.

This is the second birth of a killer whale in the OrcaOcean facility which was inaugurated in 2006 and where there are 7 orcas living together including Adan (born at Loro Parque), the female Morgan coming from Holland and four others born in 2nd and 3rd generation in captivity at Sea World in the United States, where already a total of 30 orcas have been born in the breeding programme (including this birth) which is the most successful in the world with more than 40 years of experience. This exceptional case will provide scientific information and knowledge about breeding and the care of the baby, which will benefit future offspring of this and other cetacean species.

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LP/SP NEWS the newsletter of loro parque fundación LP/SP NEWSsaving wildlife and habitats

The life explosion in Loro Parque continues with 5 new Southern stingrays Loro Parque unveils a fabulous reptile exhibit

Loro Parque, one of the most beautiful zoological and environmental parks in the world, celebrates its 40 years of existence and kicked off the summer season giving homage to nature with amazing news for its visitors. In addition to the recently unveiled Loro Show, which is all the rage among the youngest of the family, the most amazing highlights

are a brand new terrarium full of impressive reptiles and a big aviary housing exotic parrots from South America, which will surprise visitors of all ages with their vivid colours and their refreshing dips into the built-in waterfalls.

The reptile exhibit offers a unique experience among European zoos

making it possible to get near and observe at close quarters these fascinating animals, thus discovering them in a completely different way. A fully open facility, which has been specifically designed to guarantee their well-being, includes heating systems hidden under the rocks which recreate the extreme conditions of the steppes and deserts from which they come. These echos of the dinosaurs will definitely delight all visitors with their changing colours and their prehistoric-like appearance.

Almost 40 years after it opened its doors for the first time, Loro Parque has also returned to its origins, the parrots, and bets more strongly than ever on showing their beauty. Hence, it has set up a giant glass-walled aviary where bright parakeets and Golden conures fly free and reveal their beauty while sharing their new home with Red-Footed tortoises and Rhinoceros iguanas.

10 years + 1 for Versele-Laga, Loro Parque and Loro Parque Fundación

Loro Parque celebrates the birth of five Southern stingrays (Dasyatis awwmericana), in the aquarium facilities of the park. This is a major milestone for the breeding programme of this species, as a breeding success indicates the good welfare of these animals, which belong to the shark family. They live in the aquarium facilities with more than 1,200,000 litres of seawater coming directly from the Atlantic Ocean.

With these five young, Loro Parque has now a group of 16 stingrays, seven males and nine females, living in the exhibition dedicated to the Caribbean ecosystem, the place that these tropical and subtropical animals inhabit, together with Lookdowns (Selene vomer), Porkfishes (Anisotremus virginicus), Spanish hogfishes (Bodianus rufus) and Sergeant majors (Abudefduf saxatilis).

Stingrays have a flat, diamond shaped body and usually stay several hours buried in sandy bottoms. Their gestation period reaches five months and they also stand out for having a poison

dart in the tip of the tail to ward of predators. However, “they are docile if treated well and are fed by humans, something they like especially at Loro Parque, because this creates a very good feeling with the keepers”, explains the Curator, Xoán Domínguez. Among the favourite foods of the stingrays are molluscs in big quantities, mussels, clams, razor clams, squid, prawns and blue fish, “a rich and varied menu that ensures healthy and

gradual growth of these young”, says Xoán Domínguez.

In Europe there are about 60 stingrays in zoos, of which only three of them have managed to reproduce his species in captivity and it is estimated that around 70 million sharks are killed each year in the wild, due to human activities such as overfishing and contamination.

The birth of the African spurred tortoises in Loro ParqueLoro Parque celebrated the beginning of term with an explosion of life and new African spurred tortoises (Geochelone sulcata). The

birth of the tortoises is a result of the well-being of the 10 adult tortoises which came to Loro Parque one year ago. The little tortoises, which

hatched in stages during recent weeks, now live in a terrarium especially made for babies. Loro Parque expects more births of this kind in the coming period.

The African spurred tortoises stand out for the grooves that appear between their scales and characterize them. Only a few years ago they lived in large areas of the territory of Africa along the southern border of the Sahara desert, but due to the urbanization of the territory and especially the desertification, their existence today is very vulnerable and they only survive within national parks and reserves. In the exhibition that Loro Parque designed for them, these little chelonians enjoy the sun and the excellent temperature in Tenerife during their long naps on the white sand.

Versele-Laga, with its headquarters in Belgium, is an innovative, internationally operating company which produces and markets quality pet-food, snacks and animal care products, respecting nature and the specific needs of each animal. It has been active in the pet-food market for more than 40 years and conducts continuous research in its own Pet Research Centre with specialized vets and nutritionists. To extend its product offer it also conducts research in collaboration with universities and leading national and international breeders, and especially with Loro Parque and the Loro Parque Fundación. In fact, Versele-Laga is also a major sponsor of the Loro Parque Fundación, the main part of its support being to provide various of its foods free of charge for the feeding of the parrot collection of the LPF. Loro Parque matches the contribution to the LPF, and also provides important promotional opportunities. In return, the LPF makes available its parrot

collection for research on parrot diets and nutrition in which Versele-Laga is involved.

The research collaboration has covered several fundamental areas of parrot nutrition, but perhaps the

most obvious manifestation of the research for parrot keepers are Versele-Laga’s Prestige Premium Loro Parque seed mixtures, designed for Australian parrots and parakeets, African parrots, Amazon parrots and Macaws.

Versele-Laga group with Curator Simon Bruslund in the LPF breeding centre

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LP/SP NEWS the newsletter of loro parque fundación LP/SP NEWSsaving wildlife and habitats

The white tigers in Loro Parque received a special surprise at Easter

Last year Versele-Laga, Loro Parque and Loro Parque Fundación were due to celebrate their ten years of cooperation, but given that Loro Parque marks its 40th Anniversary in 2012 it was decided celebrate everything this year, and thus make the event 10 years +1. And so, between the 20th and 23rd of September, Versele-Laga and Loro Parque jointly supported the visit to Tenerife of a group of journalists and photographers specialised in birds and aviculture. Included in the group were Frans Coppieters, Phillippe Rocher, Danny Roels, Dietmar Schmidt, Klaas Snijder, Henk van Hout and René Wüst, originating from Belgium, France, Germany and The Netherlands. They are closely associated with avicultural organisations, and between them are involved with at least 15 different specialist bird magazines.

Accompanied by Dr. Patrick Ghysels and Caroline Swen of Versele-Laga, the group stayed in the luxury surroundings of the Hotel Botanico, and arrived on the first day to the Thai Village of Loro Parque to receive presentations about the activities of the LPF from its director Dr. David Waugh and a short history of the Versele-Laga collaboration from Dr. Ghysels. The day continued with a visit to Katandra Treetops, the free-flight aviary and the macaw

jungle, arriving at the ‘Baby Station’ where Wageningen University nutrition student, Anouk Fens, explained about her research to test the effects of new Versele-Laga hand-rearing diets for Amazons and Macaws. The group then joined the ‘Discovery Tour’ to see most of the rest of the park, and completed the morning with a visit to the veterinary clinic, guided by Dr. David Perpiñan, Director of the Veterinary Department. The afternoon was left free for the group members to visit any part of Loro Parque at their own pace, the day culminating in a fine dinner at the Hotel Botanico.

Most of the morning of the following day was occupied with a visit to the breeding station of the LPF in La Vera Breeding, with Simon Bruslund, Curator, guiding the group through the installations. This was a visit where the fine detail of keeping and breeding of many different species could be discussed, and the group also had the opportunity to see at first-hand the diets of the parrots, including the Versele-Laga components, and also how these foods are stored prior to use. Leaving the breeding station, the group embarked on a tour of the Teide National Park and World Heritage site, taking time to stop and photograph endemic Teide finches (Fringilla teydea), and then descending the south side of the

mountain to arrive for a delicious lunch in Siam Park, with the chance to see the different attractions offered to visitors.

The final stop of the day was at an abandoned dog refuge in Fasnia on the Tenerife south coast. The abandonment of dogs is a problem in Tenerife, and Loro Parque and the Loro Parque Fundación are helping in the strengthening of a humane response to the problem by supporting the creation of suitable accommodation in buildings on land donated by the island government, the Cabildo of Tenerife. For some years, Versele-Laga has also been helping the situation of abandoned dogs in Tenerife by supplying quantities of dog food, and it was important to visit the refuge to see this side of its corporate responsibility. The importance of the dog refuge project was highlighted by the delegation which met the group at the refuge, this being led by the President of the Cabildo, Ricardo Melchior, and attended also by José Bethencourt, Island Councillor for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Barbara Bamberger, Assistant to Director of Travel Industry & Promotion and others.

The final day for the group involved another morning visit to freely wander around Loro Parque, and then a free afternoon before catching the flight back home, and then to share with others in magazine articles the magic of Loro Parque, the serious conservation work of the LPF, and their synergy with Versele-Laga.

The white Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) which came from Safari Park in China received a special Easter surprise. They were not only fed with their favorite food, but they received it under special circumstances. Yangiu and Linmao found their own Easter eggs adjusted to their eating necessities and appropriate for their feline habits. In this sense, whoever visited the park at this time could enjoy this activity of enrichment and watch these majestic white tigers fully in action of search and cunning. In addition, children were able to participate

for free in the workshop of decorative painting of eggs, and win a prize or gift of creative makeup with original designs that the elves had created especially in honour of the tigers.

The white Bengal tiger was during 100 years an animal unknown to humans. It is a natural gene mutation very difficult to find and Loro Parque wanted to bring them for the interest of the visitors. With their hypnotizing look and the strength they transmit, Yangyu and Linmao came more than 10,900 kilometers

to Tenerife, where they stimulate an authentic explosion of joy.

Social behaviour of male gorillasGreat apes and many other animal species are kept in captivity for breeding purposes and for behavioural research. However, the success of such socially-housed groups in terms of the individuals’ welfare and breeding performance is variable and often influenced by demographic factors.

Thus, in 2009 and 2010, Nerea Amezcua-Valmala, a Spanish researcher specialising in great apes, studied the social behaviour of the bachelor group of gorillas in Loro Parque. Nerea is affiliated to the UCM Animal and Human Behaviour Study

Group of Madrid’s Complutense University, and also the Higher Institute of Social and Political Scieneces of Lisbon’s Technical University. Following her observations in Loro Parque, Nerea made observations of the social behaviour of gorillas in a multi-male/multi-female group at Vallée des Singes, a zoo in France.

Together with Fernando Colmenares of Lisbon and Catarina Casanova of Madrid, Nerea compared the structure of social behaviour of the gorilla males living in these two demographically different social groups. Reporting the results this year, they found that

clusters of behaviours used by males during aggressive encounters varied between the groups. Compared to the multi-male/multi-female group, males from Loro Parque’s all-male group appeared to manage more successfully their agonistic confrontations by using a well-developed aggressive/submissive behavioural system.

Studies like these which assess the effects of group composition on behaviour can help design management protocols that maximize the individuals’ welfare and breeding success.

Versele-Laga group in Siam Park

Visit to the Fasnia dog refuge. Left to right: Patrick

Ghysels, Versele-Laga, Ricardo Melchior, Cabildo

President, Barbara Bamberger, Tenerife Tourism,

José Bethencourt, Cabildo Councillor for Agriculture.

Schorsch, the oldest gorilla in Loro Parque, turns 40Loro Parque has celebrated a very special event: the 40th birthday of Schorsch, the oldest male gorilla of the group of western lowland gorilla bachelors living in Loro Parque. This is an important achievement from an animal welfare point of view, as well as the fact that gorillas belong to the list of critically endangered species. The age reached by Schorsch at Loro Parque is rare in individuals of this species, since only 2% of captive males turn 40. The lowland gorilla populations are in decline in the wild due to poaching and diseases such as Ebola virus, which has killed up to 90% of the gorillas in some areas.

In order to celebrate this day, Loro Parque keepers and veterinarians prepared a special activity of sensory enrichment consisting of a cake made with his favourite fruits and a special basket of delicious

vegetables presented in an original way with the aim to stimulate his curiosity. Schorsch is a gorilla whose patient, deliberate and noble behaviour always surprises his keepers, who strive to take care of him and give him constant attention.

Lowland gorillas live in tropical forests where they group in families consisting of a dominant male, and a group of several females and their offspring. When the young grow up, the males often leave family groups and temporarily form bachelor groups, until they form a new family or take over an existing one. Loro Parque was a pioneer among zoos around the world and managed to recreate this social structure in the park with a group of bachelors, thus solving the major problem faced by zoos in the mid-nineties due to the surplus of males in their family groups.

The worsening in the state of conservation of this species has made captive breeding efforts become much more important now. Fortunately, the population managed in a coordinated manner by European zoos (EEP) has a good number of individuals (over 450 in 2012), of which three quarters were born in captivity. The bachelor group of Loro Parque is a key player in this captive breeding programme in Europe, as it allows greater genetic exchange and helps to better manage family groups in other zoos.

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LP/SP NEWS the newsletter of loro parque fundación LPF NEWSsaving wildlife and habitats

Loro Parque receives the gold medal of the Centre for Tourism Initiatives of Puerto de la Cruz.

Loro Parque has been distinguished with the gold medal 2012 of the Centre for Tourism Initiatives (CIT) of Puerto de la Cruz for its 40 years of existence and for deserved recognition of its input to the tourism of the city. The event took place in the Gran Teide great hall of the Hotel Botanico, where CIT director Hortensia Hernández gave the official dinner speech and acclaimed the valuable input and the exemplary career of the world-famous Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz.

The silver medal was awarded to Francisco Javier Gonzalez Edodey, former general director of the Bahia Principe San Felipe Hotel for his 50-year-old career and altruistic collaboration in the development of tourism in Puerto de la Cruz. Moreover, Mickel Alfredo Antonio Mederos also received the CIT silver medal, as the person in charge of the business Columbus-Cafe de Paris, Rancho Grande, for his commitment overall and as professional caterer of the city.

Afterwards, thanks were given to Rita Schuldt, in recognition of her work for about 30 years as a tourist

guide of the tour operator TUI in Puerto de la Cruz, Pedro Juan Perez Hernandez, director of the hotels and restaurants „Maga“, for his work in the domain of gastronomy and the touristic city, and Cesar Borges, owner of „Blanco Bar“ for his determined commitment to a high quality offer in the entertainment sector.

The other addition, Sawasdee, which means ‘Welcome’ in Thai, is a brand new children’s zone offering inexhaustible fun, with an authentic water jungle that incorporates four different slides, two of which are specifically designed for racing and putting the children’s skills and abilities to the test. A miniature version of The Dragon, Siam Park’s most popular slide, has also been built for the children to enjoy, too. This totally new children’s area is in addition to the existing “The Lost City” making the Siam Park’s family fun offer second to none.

Moscow zoo welcomes the Expo Orca of the Loro Parque Fundacion in the summer months

Siam Park has opened two brand new areas, Kinnaree and Sawasdee: aquatic experiences unique in the world

Faithful to its promise of continued innovation, Siam Park has presented in July two new attractions for the whole family: Kinnaree and Sawasdee, for a total of 2.5 million Euros invested. With these unique new attractions, Siam Park confirms its position as a technology and quality standard for water parks.

To attend inauguration ceremony were the President of the Island Council, Ricardo Melchior, president of Loro Park, Wolfgang Kiessling, and the director of Siam Park Christoph Kiessling, who were accompanied by several members of the authorities of Adeje and Arona. In addition, other local celebrities were among the guests and more than 150 people attended the event.

After cutting the ribbons by those conducting the inauguration, the speeches by local authorities were made and the priest José Domingo has blessed the new project. Following the inauguration, a cocktail was celebrated with all the guests of honour, who also used the opportunity to try out the new attractions and dared to jump into the water. In consideration of the unique and novel offer without repetition in relation to other theme parks, the Water Kingdom is consolidated as the unprecedented reference in the field of new generation amusement parks featuring aquatic rides.

Kinnaree, finished at the beginning of July 2012, is a mega slide with a 200 metres long winding circuit to guarantee you triple enjoyment, intensity and fun. The adrenaline produced from speed after being launched from over 25 meters high is

only the beginning, and will prepare the visitor to experience the first of the many surprises being an exciting funnel with a 45° tilt which will evoke the first gasps of emotion. Then the journey continues through lush vegetation to plunge rapidly into a huge tornado wave. Other surprises will add to these experiences to complete the sensation of total enjoyment.

The Moscow zoo, arranged through its director Dr. Vladimir Spitsin, during the summer months an exhibition of the orca sculptures known as Expo Orca which, supported through the Loro Parque Fundacion, is the combination of art, nature and tourism together embodying symbolic expression, stimulating awareness and accentuating the importance of protecting and caring for the oceans. This exposition, which has the support of the Promotur, contributes to the promotion of tourism at the Canary Islands in this emerging market, bringing the best of the islands to more than 5 million people who visit the zoo in the summer months. In this sense, the sculpture collection is accompanied by promotional material of the individual islands and a special booth where the zoo visitors can discover and get to know more about the destination.

The 12 large artworks were created and produced by 11 of the most famous Canarian contemporary artists who, committed to the work of the Fundacion, express their support, creativity and artistic talent as applied to the sculptures. In this framework, the Loro Parque Fundacion and Moscow Zoo signed an agreement of collaboration with the objective to promote the marvels of the Canary Islands, bringing a message of conservation and the protection of the waters of the Archipelago.

Facundo Fierro, Ildefonso Aguilar, Elena Lecuona, Luis Kerch y José Antonio Zárate are just a few of the

versatile and abstract artists who took part in this project, in company with Pepe Dámaso, Carmen Cólogan, Iker Muro, Pedro González, Anibal del Rosario and Gonzalo González also paying homage to nature, producing modern pieces with dedicated content. Moreover they guided and sponsored the five social groups which also took part in this project with colourful designs and aesthetically pleasing materials and techniques.

This Expo Orca exposition has the aim to stimulate awareness within Canarian society towards the protection of

whales, linking environmental and sustainable tourism with culture and public participation. Thus, these famous artists have regarded each sculpture as their own, to finish them artistically and to leave their own mark and inspiration which characterizes them, resulting in a unique collection with a highly symbolic content. Having said this, the Loro Parque Fundación benefits from these sculptures in that the total proceeds from merchandising and catalogue sales of the exposition are donated 100% to help the projects of whales and dolphins within the Macaronesia initiative.

Christoph Kiessling receives the award from Hortensia Hernández of CIT

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40 parrot breeders from Switzerland participate in the 15th Workshop organized by Loro Parque Fundación

The Loro Parque Fundación brought together 40 parrot breeders from Switzerland to participate in the 15th practical workshop on parrots that took place in Puerto de la Cruz from 5th to 12th May. At this encounter, which coincided with World Migratory Bird Day, curators, veterinarians, biologists and keepers participated in various sessions of advanced parrot management, proper and balanced feeding practices, health and medical aspects, as well as new hand-rearing techniques for various species, many of them endangered.

The sessions took place in the breeding centre that Loro Parque Fundación has created especially for the tasks, and had the leading

specialists in this field. The next week a second session took place, also at the Loro Parque Fundación, with more than 50 breeders coming

from Germany and Austria. The conferences are, depending on the demand, held in English, Italian and Spanish.

and they just started breeding for the first time in December. Currently, the two now are tending youngsters and have reared them so far easily, an important step to preserve this species of Lorikeet, which is kept in very few places and for which Loro Parque coordinates the European Breeding Programme (EEP) among zoos.

March:

In the Baby Station, four beautiful young Keas (Nestor notabilis), which were previously artificially incubated in the incubator, are growing well. Hand-reared Keas thrive and grow very quickly, as they always properly digest the feeding formula. This fast grow should be monitored though, since their small legs often cannot withstand a rapid growth and this can easily lead to deformations.

Another challenge to hand-rearing the Keas is their vulnerability to overheating and thus collapse

leading quickly and unpredictably to an early death. Therefore, the temperature must be reduced much faster in the brooder, as is not the case of chicks from some Neotropical species. While the young Kea hatchlings in good condition are kept at only 28°C on the 15th day of life, macaws, cockatoos and Amazons can be kept at 34°C, for example.

Also the first Galah offspring (Eolophus roseicapillus) from the first eggs laid by our pairs are growing well under the care of our hand-rearing team in the Baby Station. This year, we have tried colony breeding in a large aviary with four pairs of Galahs, and it has worked out easily so far. All four pairs have laid eggs.

April:

Overall, we have six pairs of Blue-crowned Lories (Vini australis). For over ten years, we have been regularly breeding this species and have built from the original three pairs a beautiful breeding group. However, there have also repeatedly been unfertilized eggs, especially where the pairs have seen each other in the opposite aviaries, but we have now prevented this with screens and the eggs of two pairs were promptly fertilised, and each pair is now raising a young chick of its own.

From our Poicephalus parrots, young birds of three species have already been ringed: Senegal Parrot (Poicephalus senegalus), Brown-necked Parrot (P. robustus fuscicollis) and the Brown-headed Parrot (P. cryptoxyanthus). The first two species have been regularly bred for many years, and therefore the offspring of the third species have been particularly gratifying for us, as we have only two pairs of Brown-headed parrots, and after many years of no breeding they have once again had chicks.

May:

The breeding activities are now in full swing, with the first pair of Gang-gang cockatoos (Callocephallon

fimbriatum) already incubating two eggs. Also, the first pair of Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) has laid the first clutch of two eggs and is incubating them.

The Emma White-eared Parakeet (Pyrrhura leucotis emma) is among the species in the collection of the Loro Parque Foundation which in the past were been increasingly successful, but then were left behind since raising the last in 2002. With the objective to help them breed again, the three remaining animals were placed together in a new aviary. The sex ratio, two males and one female, but also the change of location had such a motivating and stimulating effect on this small group that these mature birds have already started breeding again. A clutch with five fertile eggs was the result, which has been incubated very well. Currently, the five young are being fed by all three parents, although as yet it is not clear if both males can be called fathers.

June:

Three young Purple-bellied Parrots (Triclaria malchitacea) are currently growing up in the exhibition aviary in Loro Parque after we had to intervene repeatedly in recent years to help raise the chicks, because the parents were not attentive enough at an early stage. Now it seems that this year, for first time, this pair in the park will not require human assistance. Sometimes an abrupt improvement can happen for no obvious reason, but successful breeding regularly takes place among the other four pairs located in the breeding station of the LPF.

The pairs are well bonded and the diet is right, being slightly altered to offering an annual variation with more protein just before breeding. This is achieved with Nutribird pellets from Versele Laga by changing from P15 to P19, the latter having a higher protein content but otherwise being identical in form and taste. This species has always been rare in aviculture and the LPF aims to continue to build a strong breeding stock of this species which includes setting up a number

News from the parrot collection of Loro Parque FundaciónJanuary:

Since late summer, four pairs of Yellow-cheeked Amazons (Amazona a. autumnalis) have been housed together as a flock in a large group aviary which is 20 m long, 3.5 m high and 12 m wide. Now, they have been put back as pairs into their breeding aviaries. We hope from now on to have better breeding success after previous group stimulation, since all four pairs had been previously unsuccessful.

This has been just the opposite to the reproduction stimulation for our Red-crowned Amazons (Amazona rhodocorytha). For this parrot species, the pairs are separated after one breeding season and then brought back into the group for the new season. Through this stimulation, the Red-crowned Amazons always move to the reproduction stage quickly. At our facilities, no pair of this parrot species has yet started breeding while only in pairing behaviour; both group stimulation and pairing behaviour have always been necessary for females to start laying eggs. It can be seen with these two examples that the needs within a

species and closely related species may be very different.

This accounts though for the appeal of parrot keeping, since there is no valid breeding method that suits all types and many years are needed before finding the appropriate way for one’s birds.

February:

The Lorikeets always belong to the first species starting the reproduction phase, right at the beginning of the year. Hence, the following Lorikeet species have already had descendents in mid-February and can be listed as follows: Rainbow Lorikeets (Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus), Pale-headed Lorikeet (Trichoglossus h. caeruleiceps), Scarlet-breasted Lorikeet (Trichoglossus h. forsteni), Scaly-breasted Lorikeet (Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus), Goldie’s Lorikeet (Psitteuteles goldiei), Yellow-streaked Lory (Chalcopsitta sintillata), Black Lory (Chalcopsitta atra) and Purple-bellied Lory (Lorius hypoinochrous devittatus).

The progeny of a pair of Mindanao Lorikeets (Trichoglossus johnstoniae) has particularly pleased us. Currently, we have five pairs of this species which are all closely related to each other. This is the reason why it was all the more gratifying that we could acquire a new and absolutely unrelated male last year into our collection. It was paired with a female of our progeny

Young Amazona rhodocorytha

Trichoglossus johnstoniae - chicks 20 days old

Isa and juvenile Galahs

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of new young pairs to rejuvenate the stock from one breeding season to the next.

July:

A very special breeding success this year for the Red-vented Cockatoos (Cacatua haematuropygia) is now is growing. A newly formed pair for the first time laid three eggs that were

all fertile and the three eggs were incubated by the parents. Now, all three chicks have hatched and are well supported, cared-for and raised by their parents. In past years the chicks in LPF were always reared under human care, but now we can observe for the first time a natural rearing. In the interest of conserving the species, this is a very important step in the European Breeding Programme (EEP).

The Red-Vented Cockatoo, once spread across Philippines, has now dwindled to a remnant population

of about 1.000 wild animals. Although there are now very hopeful approaches in the conservation efforts that, for example supported by the LPF, has enlarged the number from about 20 birds on Rasa Island to over 280 cockatoos, the habitat destruction still proceeds rapidly for this parrot species and, outside the sanctuaries, these birds are still hounded. This is the reason why it is so important to build up a safe genetic reserve under human care. Breeding successes such as described above give us hope for future breeding.

August:

Once again there are some very interesting and rare offspring to announce, including Hyacinth Macaws (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) reared in the Baby Station of Loro Parque,. Several

pairs have laid new eggs, which are still being incubated by the parents. The hand-rearing of macaws has for many years belonged to the daily routine of the hand rearing station. At the beginning, the Hyacinth Macaws were always a little more difficult in their breeding than other macaw species, but now we have found a food recipe that makes the young grow easily.

After we raised a Blue-checked Amazon (Amazona dufresniana) last year for the first time in the history of Loro Parque, the pair is breeding again this year. It seems that the spell is broken and breeding is not longer a single event, because this year two young hatched, and are currently growing in the Baby Station. This is a very important achievement for this Amazon species rarely kept in captivity.

September:

The breeding period of our Lear Macaws (Anodorhynchus leari) started very late this year. Our two breeding pairs each reared two young during the last year. After fledging of the young we left them with the parents in order to socialize them for as long as possible, and thus they were only separated from their parents in spring. This is probably the reason why the pairs have started breeding with some delay this year. Until now, only one pair has begun to breed, while the

other has moved to the nesting cliff, but as yet has no eggs. Two young hatched from the new eggs of the first pair, and they are being raised by their parents.

This year we tested for the first time a new maintenance system with our Finsch´s parakeets (Aratinga finschi). In all previous years, this South American parakeet has always been housed for breeding in pairs. This year, four pairs were put together in a group, to have a mutual stimulation between the pairs. Eventually, one of the pairs which previously was unsuccessful started breeding and two young hatched, and were successfully raised.

Brood of Pyrrhura leucotis emma chicks

Triclaria malachitacea pair

Breeding pair of Philippine cockatoos by their nest-

box

Amazona defresniana chick

Taking measurements of Amazona brasiliensis

rio+20: the Loro Parque Fundación conservation projects for parrots in 2012Twenty years after world leaders first met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to make their pledges to protect the planet, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development convened once again. Participants from governments, the private sector, NGOs and other groups, came together to try to ensure environmental protection, reduction of poverty, and advancement of social equity on an ever more crowded planet.

This year also, the Loro Parque Fundación (LPF) is continuing its commitment to protect some of the world’s most threatened species of parrots and their habitats, to help conserve biological diversity in general, and to promote sustainable use of natural resources. The annual direct financial commitment of the LPF to the projects has again attained a record level, now with US$1,266,014 committed for 2012. Of this total, 87.2% is for projects to benefit parrots, and the remainder is to help whales, dolphins and the marine environment. Specific research on captive parrots accounts for 6.1% of the budget, with the major portion being used to support projects for parrots in the wild.

In 2012 the LPF has a total of 36 active projects, of which 27 are to help parrots. There are 40

psittacine species which are priority for the projects to help, although other species of parrots and other animals and plants benefit from the project activities. Of the target parrot species, 70% are listed in the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Red List as species threatened with extinction, and another 12.5% are close to being listed. Unfortunately some of the projects might reveal situations where species will be added to the list. However, on the positive side the LPF projects are

helping to make threatened parrot species safer, the down-listing from ‘Critically Endangered’ to ‘Endangered’ of the Yellow-eared Parrot Ognorhynchus icterotis and the Lear’s Macaw Anodorhynchus leari being two excellent examples.

Table 1 provides a list of the active parrot projects in 2012, including (in parentheses) the principal partners in each case. The LPF will continue to work hard to uphold for parrots the spirit of Rio+20.

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Conservation support for Colombia’s threatened parrots: the good results continue

Spix’s Macaw Cyanopsitta spixii Recovery Programme, Brazil (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, Government of Brazil).Blue-throated Macaw Ara glaucogularis Conservation Programme, Bolivia (Asociación Armonía).Protection of Phu Khieo Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand (Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Government of Thailand)Conservation of the Yellow-eared Parrot Ognorhynchus icterotis in Colombia (Proyecto Ognorhynchus, Fundación ProAves).Philippine Cockatoo Cacatua haematuropygia Conservation Programme, Palawan, Philippines (Katala Fundación). Conservation of the El Oro Parakeet Pyrrhura orcesi in western Ecuador (University of Freiburg and Ecuatorian Museum of Natural Sciences).Project Hapalopsittaca: Threatened Parrots of the Cordillera Central, Colombia: (Hapalopsittaca fuertesi, H. amazonina, Leptosittaca branickii, Bolborhynchus ferrugineifrons) (Fundación ProAves).Threatened Psittacids of Margarita Island: Symbols for Conservation Education about Venezuela’s Insular Biodiversity (Amazona barbadensis, Aratinga acuticaudata neoxena) (Provita).The conservation of endemic parakeets (Eunymphicus cornuta and Cyanoramphus saisetti) in New Caledonia (Conservation Research New Caledonia). Ecology and conservation of endemic psittacids (Amazona leucocephala and Aratinga euops) in central Cuba (Institute of Ecology and Systematics).Project Pyrrhura: status and conservation of P. calliptera, P. viridicata, P. caeruleiceps and P. melanura pacifica in Colombia (Fundación ProAves).Monitoring and conservation of the Red-tailed Amazon in Paraná, Brazil (Sociedade de Pesquisa em Vida Selvagem e Educação Ambiental)Conservation program for the Lear’s Macaws Anodorhynchus leari, Brazil (Arara Azul Institute, Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation).Conservation of the Grey-breasted Parakeet Pyrrhura griseipectus, Brazil (AQUASIS)Protection of Aketajawe-Lolobata National Park, Halmahera, Indonesia (Cacatua alba, Lorius garrulus) (BirdLife Indonesia).Conservation status of the Grey-cheeked Parakeet (Brotogeris pyrrhopterus) in Peru and Ecuador, and the Blue-headed Macaw Propyrrhura couloni in Peru. - (National Service of State Protected Natural Areas – SERNANP, Government of Peru).Research and Conservation of the Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus) in Southeast Nicaragua and Northern Costa Rica. (Tropical Science Center, Costa Rica)Ecology and conservation of the endemic parrots of Luzon, Philippines. (University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)Artificial insemination in psittacine species: collection, evaluation and transfer of semen, Tenerife and Germany (University of Giessen).Scarlet Macaw Nest-site selection, nest survival and protection in Northern Mesoamerica, Belize and Guatemala (New Mexico State University, USA)Breeding biology and migratory behaviour of endangered swift parrots: key knowledge for effective conservation, Australia (Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University).Assessing distribution, abundance and impacts of trade and habitat change in western populations of African Grey Parrot. (Manchester Metropolitan University and BirdLife International, UK).Development of novel genetic techniques for conservation studies of large macaws (Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University).A travelling photographic exhibit documenting the extent and inhumane treatment of Peruvian wildlife in the illegal pet trade (Asociación Armonía, Bolivia).Feeding, nursing and fostering Scarlet Macaw chicks for improved recruitment (WCS Guatemala Program)Conservation incentives for protecting Nicaragua’s Yellow-naped Amazon Parrot (Paso Pacífico).Resource requirements of the Military Macaw (Ara militaris), and the potential for ecotourism on the coast of Jalisco, Mexico (National Autonomous University of Mexico).

Bird-watching often leads to greater interest in nature and conservation

Yellow-eared Parrots in the Colombia project

Table 1. LPF parrot conservation projects active in 2012

Since 1999 the Loro Parque Fundación has been supporting projects conducted by its Colombian partner, Fundación ProAves, for the conservation of the threatened parrots in Colombia, most notably to recover the Yellow-eared Parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis). During the past ten years this support has included a project in the higher zone of the Central Andes of Colombia especially for Fuertes’s Parrot (Hapalopsittaca fuertesi), listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ by

the IUCN, having last been seen in 1911 until in 2002 Fundación ProAves re-discovered it. The other globally threatened parrot species in this project are the Rufous-fronted Parakeet (Bolborhynchus ferrugineifrons), Golden-plumed Parakeet (Leptosittaca branickii), and the Rusty-faced Parrot (Hapalopsittaca amazonina), the latter being listed as ‘Endangered’. The project is conserving these parrots especially by using them as ambassadors for conservation

of the dwindling Andean forests. It includes searches for where they occur, the localities of roosting, foraging, and nesting sites, and the estimation of population sizes. It also involves awareness and education and working with key stakeholders and governmental bodies locally and nationally.

Fragmentation of the forests through continuous tree-cutting for timber and firewood has created a scarcity of mature trees with suitable natural nest cavities for the parrots. The project responded with a conservation initiative to increase potential nesting sites for endangered parrots, the Artificial Nest box Program, which has installed over 200 nest-boxes. In addition to increasing recruitment of new individuals to the parrot popualtions, with the occupation of the nest boxes the reproductive behaviour of each species can be studied. Although eight parrot species including Fuertes’s Parrots have been recorded using the boxes, it is sometimes difficult to entice certain species to nest in them. In this context, ProAves has sent the good news that thanks to the installation of nest-boxes in the Colibrí del Sol Reserve in Antioquia, a pair of the Rusty-faced Parrots have for the first time successfully nested and raised one young.

The pair of Rusty-faced Parrots laid a single egg on 11th April, and then raised the single chick until 13th July when the chick successfully fledged from the nest. Lina Daza, Executive Director of ProAves, remarked that this first record of the use of nest-boxes by the Rusty-faced Parrot is of great importance and provides hope for the conservation of this species. Many individuals of the Rusty-faced Parrot made explorations of the 41 nest boxes provided, so perhaps more pairs of the species could occupy nests in the next breeding season.

Fundación ProAves performs monthly activities of conservation,

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research and environmental education in the Colibrí del Sol Bird Reserve to raise awareness in the community regarding the protection and conservation of Hapalopsittaca amazonina. The Colibrí del Sol Nature Reserve was created in 2005 with the support of American Bird Conservancy and is located in the municipality of Urrao, Antioquia, with an area of over 730 hectares of high Andean forest and paramo habitat which also protects the Dusky starfrontlet hummingbird (Coligena orina) and Fenwick’s Antpitta (Grallaria fenwickorum) which are both ‘Critically Endangered’.

Earlier in the year, Fuertes’s Parrot and eleven other globally threatened species of birds, mammals, and amphibians started to receive greater protections thanks to the doubling of the size of the Giles-Fuertesi Nature Reserve, a private protected area managed by ProAves. An additional 145 hectares of land were acquired with the help of the World Land Trust-US, Robert Giles and the American Bird Conservancy, helping expansion of the conservation activities supported by the Loro Parque Fundación.

With less than 250 individuals thought to exist, the sole habitat of the Fuertes’s Parrot remains in an area of only 50 square kilometers. Within this area it exists only at two sites where it depends on epiphytic mistletoe fruits for food. One of the world’s largest discoveries of gold was recently made by AngloGold Ashanti only a few kilometers distance from this key population of the Fuertes’s Parrot, and therefore with the risk of deforestation sharply rising, the conservation organisations were quickly able to purchase and permanently protecting the critical site. The Giles-Fuertesi Reserve was originally established in 2009, and now protects roughly one fifth of the global population of the Fuertes’s Parrot. The nest-box programme taking place within this habitat 23 pairs of Fuertes’s Parrots nesting in the boxes by 2005, all successfully raising broods, and this vital work continues.

Rusty-faced Parrot in the nest

Fuertes’s Parrot

ProAves and other conservation groups have established a series of reserves known collectively as the Threatened Parrot Corridor, which includes one municipal and three private reserves, all managed by ProAves. With the new additions, these reserves conserve over 7,285 hectares of key habitat, and protect approximately 70% of the Fuertes’s Parrot population, as well as populations of the other threatened species of parrots, including the Yellow-eared Parrot.

However, ProAves has recently gone one step further by formulating an agreement for the creation of the protection of watersheds and endangered species, in collaboration with the Municipal government of Roncesvalles, and the public utility services of Roncesvalles, again supported by Loro Parque Fundacion and

the organisation RARE. This is the first municipal agreement in Roncesvalles, a place especially important for the Yellow-eared Parrot, that has been created for the conservation of watersheds and micro-watersheds that supply the town and several villages. This agreement not only benefits the community of Roncesvalles, but also other towns and cities lower down the Cucuana river watershed, such as El Espinal, and the rice, cotton and sorghum farmers which are the economic base of the region.

With the creation of this agreement, the municipality now has a Water Fund with a committee that will support the establishment of “Reciprocal Water Agreements” (ARAs), or any other agreements to ensure the maintenance of forests and paramo in the municipality. A voluntary fee will be charged on

the water bill so consumers can contribution to the protection of these areas. These funds, overseen and administered by a committee including the main stakeholders with ProAves, will allocate funds to ensure long-term incentives for landowners to preserve the forests and endangered species found in the area, especially the Yellow-eared Parrot. The next step will be the second environmental service agreement by the Municipal government of El Espinal to provide additional resources to protect their water supplies coming from Roncesvalles municipality.

These new agreements are an exciting complement to the other activities of the projects, in particular those which involve the local communities and encourage a strong sense of pride in their unique natural heritage.

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The Lear’s Macaw project: Licuri palms for macaws and people

Carmela (green shirt) with her team and guards

Still common: Bolbopsittacus lunulatus

Lear’s macaw eating Licuri palm fruits

Cattle also eat Licuri palm fruits

The Lear’s Macaw (Anodorhynchus leari) is found only in a small arid region of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. It has a close relationship with the Licuri palm, because most of its diet consists of hard fruits of the palm. It is associated especially with a few spectacular sandstone cliffs, used as shelter by night, and for breeding of the colonies, which are located at two sites, Serra Branca near to the town of Jeremoabo, and Toca Velha at Canudos. The Lear’s Macaw is threatened due to the capture of chicks for illegal trade, persecution by farmers when the adults eat maize crops, and the degradation of the habitat mainly by over-grazing of livestock. Local people also use the fruits and leaves of the Licuri palm, which means less resource for the birds.

To help recover the species, the Loro Parque Fundación conducts a project in partnership with the Brazilian Instituto Ara Azul (Blue Macaw Institute), and the Government of Brazil (ICMBIO - Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity and Conservation, and CEMAVE - National Centre for Wild Bird Conservation). This project focuses on awareness and environmental education of local people about the Lear’s Macaw and the sustainable use of resources. The project aims to protect the Licuri palm

and the Lear’s Macaw long term, by improving craft-making based on the responsible use of Licuri and other native plants in the region, and thus strengthen the local economy. In 2001 there were 246 specimens in the wild population of the Lear’s macaw. With the effect of the project, this population has increased to over 1,100 in 2012, and the degree of threat has been reduced from “Critically Endangered” to “Endangered” in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The project contributes to fulfillment of the National Action Plan for the conservation of Lear’s Macaw, overseen by ICMBio, and which in the past year has undergone a revision and the project director, Simone Tenorio, participated in this process.

The project focuses especially on the area of Euclides da Cunha, an area of almost 2,385 km², with its highest point being 472m above sea level and harbouring about 56,625 inhabitants. The main economic activities in the region are mixed agriculture, cattle and other livestock ranching, and mining. The area of Euclides da Cunha covers 51% of the known area of feeding of the species, and thus is of prime importance for the implementation of alternatives to promote income generation for local communities, improving their quality

of life and at the same time protecting the habitat necessary to safe-guard the Lear’s Macaw. To help develop these sustainable activities, the Brazilian Service to Support Small Businesses (SEBRAE) is affiliated to the project to provide training, especially in the production and marketing of Licuri braided straw crafts. In this way, the project has encouraged various local weaving associations to create a special collection of crafts using Lear’s Macaws as the main theme. Early successes in the project have persuaded the Euclides da Cunha and and Jeremoabo Municipal Governments to give their support.

Following the Management Plan, the harvesting of raw materials continues with methods that do not affect the survival of the plants, and this is especially important for the Licuri palms. After the early success of the sales of craft products there was also a higher demand for purchase, and the need to create a local regulatory framework to meet market demand without causing damage to the palms. Thus, from any single palm of sufficient maturity fronds can be cut to provide the dried straw for weaving, but a minimum number must be left for the palm to remain healthy and produce fruits. A similar regulation exists for the harvesting of leaves from a kind of bromeliad called the

Caroá, from which strong fibres can be extracted for the weaving of items such as mats and hammocks. The craft associations also have artesans specialized in carving the wood of a local tree, the Umburana, and this is also done on a sustainable basis by only using wood that has died naturally.

The native parrots of Luzon in the Philippines: risky search, crisis situation

Searching for native parrots in Luzon, the main northern island of the Philippines, is definitely no picnic. The person who can most attest to this is Carmela Española, a feisty Philippine field researcher from the University of the Philippines who has been leading a project over the last three years to accumulate information vital for the conservation of these parrots. This project, in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, has been funded by the Loro Parque Fundación and includes other forest birds important for the dispersal of fruit, notably pigeons and hornbills.

Field researchers can always expect some discomforts and difficulties, but Carmela’s case shows some of the

risks attending her dedicated search of the Luzon forests. For a start, she is responsable for eight undergraduate and five postgraduate students from three Philippine universities who have joined her searches and gained valuable experience in exchange. Before even thinking about which natural risks exist, Carmela and her team know that humans make some areas unsafe, and so to do what they have to do, they have entered those areas under armed guard. It’s not everybody’s idea of tranquil fieldwork, but it has enabled Carmela to obtain data vital to the project. Then there are the natural risks, such a venomous animals in the forests, a beautiful but mortal example being the Philippine pit

viper (Trimeresurus flavomaculatus). Carmela can back away from a pit viper, but physical hazards can be even more challenging, especially the need to cross rivers and keep all the supplies dry!

However, Carmela and her team completed the task, walking almost 500 kilometers of line transects over a period of ten months in 14 sites across Luzon. The results will contribute a doctorate for Carmela, and also send out an alert to the world about the plight of the parrots and the other fruit-dispersers. Effectively what Carmela and her team have found is a crisis situation for these groups of birds. They are threatened by massive loss of habitat, with only 7% of Philippine forests remaining, as well as direct exploitation through hunting and the pet trade. Even though the fieldwork has increased the known geographical distribution of some species, there is an alarming absence of large parrots in the majority of sites. For example, the Green Racquet-tail (Prioniturus luconensis) has been recorded from only seven confirmed sites in the last ten years. Ten of 18 species (four parrots, five pigeons and one hornbill) have densities less than five individuals per square km at any site, and four parrot species have densities less than one individual per square km at any site [House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) average 165 per square km]. Population sizes were estimated for species in reserves representing the current protected area network. Four of six parrot species (and eight from twenty fruit-dispersing species) had likely populations of less than 1,000 individuals in any reserve, and more than one third of populations in reserves were under 100.

Most species were rare in most regions, and fruit-eating bird communities in all but 2–3 of the largest reserves are predicted to lose high proportions of their frugivore species. Carmela has taken the risks, and her results predict a long-term collapse of fruit-eating bird communities across Luzon if appropriate safe-guards are not put in place.

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In recent months two new associations have been formed, with another in training but already producing its crafts. In Brazil, initiatives involving rural communities and environmental conservation programs are well regarded because their results are so visible. For example, for the most recent cultural fair at Euclides da Cunha, the project and craft associations had a display about the conservation of the Lear’s Macaw, with models and information about the macaws, and also licuri palm fruits and leaves and a selection of handicrafts. Project work was shown by students of the Serra Branca area, and some craftsmen demonstrated how the handicrafts are made. These presentations were repeated not just in the local agricultural fairs, but also in the entrepreneur fair in the city of Salvador where many more people were exposed to the project, and the head of SEBRAE of Bahia State praised the work done and the product quality.

The national programme of Brazilian Handicraft visited Serra Branca to familiarize itself with recent production of local craft and made a large purchase of items from the project. This is also a very important way to disseminate of the project, as the sale of these products takes on national and international dimensions, and all products come with labels in the form of a Lear`s Macaw bookmark with

information on the species, the project and its partners. The annual sales forecast of the associations related to the project was 10,000 Brazilian reais (US$4,965), but the actual sales amount to 15,000 Brazilian reais (US$7,445) which represents a real gain for these communities where unemployment is very high. This strongly improves awareness about conserving the local vegetation, and that it is not necessary to remove it for money, but on the contrary it is the maintenance and expansion of these natural areas that will provide prosperity for these poor families and a future for the Lear’s Macaw.

In relation to the public events, the project also achieved a broad dissemination at national level on TV and radio, in magazines and the internet, gaining the confidence of important partners such as the Brazilian airline TAM. Regular interviews by project staff on local radio stations, reaching an audience of 200,000 people in urban and rural areas between Euclides da Cunha and Canudos has also been part of the awareness strategy. Listeners participate by calling the radio station to ask questions and even give information, and in this way the project has the opportunity to evaluate that even in the urban areas the people are becoming well informed about the species and project work. Again, the craft work is a strong point, because after each radio programme, more hotels, shops and restaurants decide to sell the handicraft items. Furthermore, this year the Euclides da Cunha Municipality produced and distributed 5,000 calendars with a photo and information about the Lear’s Macaw and the project.

In addition to the schools and teachers training activities, the project continues to develop additional ways for local people to protect their own macaw. An eco-tourism proposal prepared by Simone Tenorio called “The Blue Wilderness Trail” has been accepted for support by TAM airlines, and this will be developed over the coming months.

research on parrot sperm evaluation to improve assisted reproduction

Making baskets with dried Licuri palm leaves

Microscopic evidence of sperm penetration of the

perivitelline membraneCarvings of Lear’s Macaws from wood of the Umburana tree

A research collaboration between the Loro Parque Fundación of Tenerife, Spain and the Clinic for Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians and Fish of the University of Giessen in Germany is using a new technique to help the recovery of threatened species of parrots by improving assisted reproduction. The main objective of the project is to increase the number of young birds being recruited to captive and wild populations, by the use of sperm collection and artificial insemination (AI). Although successful in humans, many other mammals, and some other types of birds, sperm collection and AI in parrots have had very limited success. However, the use of this new technique shows very promising results, and hopefully will lead to an improved breeding success in many species of parrots.

The initial phase of the project started in 2009/2010, during which time the new technique was successful, with semen collection and AI performed in over 100 species of large species in the collection of parrots of the Loro Parque Fundación, the world’s largest and most diverse. For the first time sperm was collected from the Spix’s Macaw (Cyanopsitta spixii), a species that is almost certainly extinct in the wild since the year 2000, in the Spix’s Macaw Breeding Centre of the Loro Parque Fundación in Tenerife. There are seven macaws on loan from the Brazilian Government, which gave its permission for this technique to be tested.

This pioneering first phase of the research made a significant advance in conservation efforts for species of parrots, and the results acts as an excellent foundation for further work in the evaluation of sperm, and in establishing a method for cryopreservation (frozen storage) so as to establish a parrot sperm

bank. Given that nearly one third of living parrot species are listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as threatened species, the possibility to have viable sperm available over the long-term (cryopreserved) could make a significant contribution to parrot conservation. A pilot project is now underway to establish an effective procedure for the cryopreservation of psittacine sperm. The first part of the project is to evaluate an appropriate solution in which to dilute the parrot (the diluent), then the matching solution to protect the viability of the sperm against freezing (the cryoprotectant) must be found, and finally the optimal cooling rate of the sperm must be established so that the greatest proportion are healthy when after the thawing process.

Parrot semen samples are investigated by several in-vitro quality checks including sperm motility, sperm viability, pathomorphology (deformities), membrane integrity as seen by electron microscopy, and the possibility to undergo the acrosomal reaction. The acrosome is a cap-like structure over the anterior half of the head of the sperm. As the sperm approaches the egg, the membrane surrounding the acrosome fuses with the plasma membrane of the oocyte, exposing the contents of the acrosome which are responsible for breaking through the egg’s tough coating and allowing fertilization to occur. The project will go on to make quality checks which compare sperm function in native samples and after the addition of diluent and cryoprotectant in different concentrations.

Additionally, an entirely novel quality test called the perivitelline membrane penetration assay (PVMA) has been developed in cooperation with the Clinic for Gynaecology, Obstetrics and Andrology of small and large animals at the University of Giessen. In birds, the perivitelline membrane surrounds the egg and plays an important role in fertilization. The aim of this part of the project was to investigate if the PVMA, which is based on counting holes left by sperm when they penetrate the perivitelline membrane of avian eggs, is suitable to distinguish fertilized and unfertilized eggs during different time

periods after egg-laying and incubation. Additional to parrots, the PVMA was tested for applicability in different avian species (Galliformes: chicken, quail, pheasant; Anseriformes: goose, duck; Falconiformes: falcon), and was successful in every tested species except geese.

Important preliminary research has been conducted on the physiology of Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) semen, and a successful protocol for electron microscopy of avian spermatozoa has been assessed for the evaluation of spermatozoal membrane integrity. Following cryopreservation further samples will be scanned by electron microscopy in order to be able to address membrane defects resulting from the freezing process.

Furthermore semen samples have been analyzed with the help of a computerized analysis method named CASA (Computer Assisted Semen Analysis). This programme is able to measure motility and velocity of sperm, and is equipped with a fluorescence microscope. Using special fluorescence stains like SYBR® Green and propidium iodide, a quick differentiation in live and dead spermatozoa is possible. As SYBR® Green penetrates the spermatozoal membrane of intact cells, fluorescing bright green, propidium iodide only penetrates the perforated cell membrane of dead spermatozoa, fluorescing red. For verification the live/dead ratio is additionally determined by manual evaluation using an Eosin B-stain.

Concluding a fertility trial, where female parrots are inseminated with both fresh and previously cryopreserved semen, will indicate whether formerly frozen spermatozoa are effectively capable of fertilizing an egg cell. The project continues towards this trial.

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A novel genetic tool to help conserve large macaws The Loro Parque dolphin group participates in a pioneering project for the conservation of the species

George Olah with young Scarlet Macaw

Checking the diet of the Loro Parque dolphins

Miniscule biopsy of the skin

Through the Loro Parque Fundación, Loro Parque is collaborating with a team of researchers from the National Research Council (CSIC), CIRCE (Conservation Information and Research of Cetaceans) and CEBC-CNRS (Biological Studies Centre of Chizé, National Centre for Scientific Research), in a scientific study of the diet of dolphins in the Gulf of Cadiz, data that will help regulate the use and management of fisheries resources. The main objective of this research is to define the key factors that permit accurately to determine the diet of wild dolphin populations, thereby promoting the conservation of these marine mammals worldwide. This research, based on stable isotopes, is pioneering in the world, and has the support of the National Plan R+D+i of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Government of Spain.

Until now all isotopic studies on the diet of dolphins were based on references obtained in experiments with terrestrial mammals and seals, which questioned the reliability in determination of the prey of wild cetaceans. In this sense, the experimental work that has just been set up with the group of dolphins at Loro Parque offers more accurate indices when calculating the diets in populations of this particular species. Such precise information is the key to establishing plans and management of fishery resources properly, and contributing to the sustainable use of the oceans and biodiversity conservation.

The only way to obtain these

keys for interpreting the feeding ecology of dolphins is to conduct an experiment under controlled conditions, where the diet of the dolphins can be determined and analyzed very precisely. This is the experiment started in October in Loro Parque, and will consist of feeding the dolphins on a diet of 90% sprats and 10% herring over a period of approximately three months. After this first phase there will be a change of diet to feeding 10% sprats and 90% capelin for another three months. The ratio of stable isotopes of carbon (13C) and nitrogen (15N) in both diets is known, which permits the calculation of enrichment in the isotope ratio in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), simply by measuring isotope ratios in samples of skin and blood of the dolphins in the experimental group. The change of diet will also set the time it takes the

isotopic signal of what the dolphins have been feeding on to be reflected in the skin and blood of the animals. Every two weeks, small samples of skin and blood of the dolphins in the experimental group will be taken and sent to the laboratory of the CSIC in the Doñana Biological Station to determine its isotopic content.

Although this kind of experiment has been done before, never before

Genetic studies can be important for understanding conservation issues such as the impact on fauna of habitat fragmentation, degradation and loss. Loro Parque Fundación is supporting a four-year project, the first of its kind, to test a novel genetic technique to help the conservation of large macaws, as well as to be used with other wild parrots, including endangered species. The project is conducted by George Olah, postgraduate researcher of the Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University. The field work for this project is taking place in the Tambopata National Reserve and Bahuaja-Sonene National Park of the Madre de Dios Region of Peru.

The project analyses DNA extracted from feathers dropped by wild Scarlet Macaws (Ara macao) and Red-and-green Macaws (Ara chloropterus) at clay licks, as well as collecting and analysing samples from nest-sites. Analysis allows the identification of individual macaws, and the possibility to study individual movements and to estimate home range size. It should also provide information on the demographic and genetic characteristics of the macaw populations. This information can be used to assess the impact of human disturbances to the environment, including the new Inter-oceanic Highway through south-eastern Peru and expanded oil exploration in wilderness areas such as the Candamo Valley.

There have been two field seasons between 2009 and 2011, and in the second one between November 2010 and April 2011 in Madre de Dios, high rainfall and higher river levels enabled the researchers to gain access to the Candamo Basin, an isolated valley in the foothills of the Andes, without any human inhabitants. This is the first time any researcher has managed to obtain genetic samples from Scarlet Macaws from this region, and they will have great importance for the genetic analyses of this and other macaw species across the study region. The field team monitored 1061 km of river system in the SE Peruvian Amazon

and collected samples from places where no scientific field research was conducted before, including previously un-described clay-licks. The study area extends to both sides of the Inter-oceanic Highway, and comparing the samples from both sides will enable the researchers to draw conclusions about the effect of the highway, especially habitat fragmentation and human disturbance near this road.

With their newly developed trapping system, the researchers trapped eight adult macaws at artificial

nests placed in the vicinity of the Tambopata Research Center. For the success of this research project it is important not to only sample chicks, but also their parents as this gives the chance to find their feathers in the landscape and estimate their home ranges, as well as the population size. The researchers collected 623 feathers and 53 blood samples of Scarlet Macaw and 428 feathers and 17 blood samples of Red-and-green Macaw.

George spent two months at the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center of Texas A&M University, USA, another institution fundamentally involved in the project, where kits for extracting DNA from macaw feathers were successfully tested. Laboratory analysis of collected samples has continued September 2011 in Lima, Peru in collaboration with the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Hereida. The project extracts the DNA from the feathers using one protocol, and with another it extracts DNA from blood samples stored on so-called FTA cards. Only feathers that are preserved with a good quality are used, and the project plans to extract around 800 samples. Texas A&M University hosts the Scarlet Macaw Genome Project, and as such has well equipped laboratories for genotyping the extracted DNA.

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The Keeping and Breeding of the greater Vasa Parrothas the isotopic concentration in the skin of dolphins been studied, only in the blood. Therefore until now it has not been possible to use the results directly with wild populations of dolphins, because samples obtained in field projects are usually skin biopsies. Thus, the results of the experiment begun in Loro Parque will be able to be used directly by field researchers to accurately determine the diet of wild dolphins. The diet of these cetaceans is essential information when establishing programmes for the use and management of fishery resources, to prevent overfishing which could affect the conservation of small cetaceans.

The experiment to determine the diet of bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf

of Cadiz is integrated into a much larger project, which will culminate with the proposed plans for the use and management of the maritime area of the Gulf of Cadiz and the Strait of Gibraltar. This is an area with a huge diversity of cetaceans and it is necessary to ensure that the exploitation of fisheries resources is conducted in sustainable and responsible manner, without affecting the viability of populations of small cetaceans.

Loro Parque has already participated in a project of this type carrying out an experiment of isotopic fractionation in 2007 with its group of orcas. In this case the results were used to determine the huge dependence on bluefin tuna of several family groups of orcas that

live in the Strait of Gibraltar. This dependence has been most evident in recent years, during which none of the pod of orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar reproduced, probably because of the huge reduction in the stock of bluefin tuna and banning some of the fisheries on which the orcas regularly preyed (stealing fish caught by fishermen). Fortunately, this year the Commission for the Conservation of the Bluefin Tuna in the Mediterranean has witnessed a significant and hopeful recovery of stocks of bluefin tuna spawning. In parallel, CIRCE researchers who are conducting a project tagging and satellite-tracking orcas, funded by Loro Parque Fundación, this year have been able to confirm the presence of baby orcas for the first time in several seasons.

Looking at the numerous species within parrot families, it is obvious that most of them have varied plumage colourations. One of the species inconspicuously coloured is the Greater Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa). Over the last few decades, only a few people have been interested in this species and its breeding, due to its dull colouration. However, behind simply its plumage colouration, the Greater Vasa Parrot conceals a lot of incentives for breeding that nobody would suspect at first glance. Until now, no other parrot species has been found to have such an unusual breeding behaviour as the Greater Vasa Parrot.

The Greater Vasa Parrot’s body size is 50cm and its weight is about 480 g. The plumage colouration is black-brown whereas the wings have a grey shade. The eye rings and ceres are naked and coloured grey to dark grey. The enormous beak is grey-

blackish and much bigger than the Lesser Vasa Parrot’s (Coracopsis nigra) beak. A distinction is made between three different subspecies: others than the nominate form are the Western Greater Vasa Parrot (Coracopsis vasa drouhardi) and the Greater Vasa Parrot from the Comoro Islands (Coracopsis vasa comorensis). They resemble the nominate Vasa but the plumage colouration is paler and the birds are a bit smaller. The Western Greater Vasa Parrot can be recognized easily because of the whitish undertail, while the Comoro Greater Vasa Parrot has a light brown touch. The Vasa’s nominate form lives in the eastern part of Madagascar, the subspecies drouhardi in the western part of the island.

The Greater Vasa Parrot can be found in all types of forests, but it also is not afraid of urban areas and sometimes can be found in parks. Outside the

breeding period, huge flocks can be seen, that cause great damage to grain fields. The parrots are most active in the early morning and in the late afternoon. They fly around in search of food screaming loudly and they sometimes join other bird species like the Madagascar Starling (Hartlaubius auratus) and the Bulbul (Pycnonotidae). These are loud birds, and even on clear moonlight nights their loud voices can be heard.

Housing

In Loro Parque Fundación’s breeding station Greater Vasa Parrots have been kept for years. They are housed in hanging cages that are 5m long, 1,5m high and 1,2m wide. In the front part of the cages, there is a feeding station added, in which food and water bowls are placed. The aviaries are equipped with two perches, a swing and pine branches for gnawing which are replaced every 14 days. During breeding period, a vertical nest-box is available for the birds, being attached to the aviary’s exterior so that it can be checked from outside. The basal area is 30 x 30 cm and the height is 80cm. Although Vasa Parrots are well-built birds, they prefer a nesting hole that appears considerably smaller than their own body size, and through which they have to squeeze.

The first natural sea-grass already can be seen in the Loro Parque aquarium

The first plants of Cymodoceanodosa (sea-grass) germinated within the project of the Faculty of Marine Sciences at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria can be seen in the aquarium of the sea-horses at Loro Parque. This group of marine seed-producing plants (Phanerogams) were germinated from seed in the laboratories of the Faculty of Marine Sciences and were developed over several weeks in the quarantine of the aquarium. In early September were transplanted to the exhibition area, planting them in the sand of the sea-horse aquarium. The ultimate goal of this project, funded by the Loro Parque Fundación, is

to produce seeds independently in a controlled environment, so that plants can be generated for restocking of sea-grass prairies.

The submerged grasslands of Phanerogams are of key importance in coastal marine ecosystems, and are often compared with tropical forests, since they serve as shelter for a variety of fish fry and harbor enormous biodiversity. Unfortunately, in recent decades many sea-grass meadows have been reducing their extension by a kind of “underwater deforestation” due to pollution, trawling gear, and generally by increased coastal

development.

The activities of “reforestation” or regeneration of sea-grass meadows are extremely complex, as they must be under water, and require the availability of germinated plants. Until now, researchers at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria have achieved the germination of sea-grass seeds to produce plants with which to undertake the regeneration. However, these seeds have to be collected from mature sea-grass meadows, and continuous extraction can affect the development and future conservation of the grassland itself. Thus, the aim of this project is to get Cymodoceanodosa to flower and produce seeds under controlled conditions, closing its cycle in cultivation, and producing seeds for replanting that do not depend on natural prairies.

The project also permits the use of live plants for the environmental enrichment of the aquarium, an element that certainly improves the welfare of animals, besides the educational potential of the exhibition. The development of these seedlings will also be very useful in breeding of species like the sea-horse.

Sea-grass and sea-horse

Greater Vasa Parrot

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Food

The Loro Parque Fundación Vasa Parrots are fed twice a day. The first feeding takes place at 8 o’clock in the morning, where all year round they receive the feed mixture “Parrot Dinner” from Versele Laga, that has been macerated in water for 24 hours, and then cooked so that also the legumes are still firm to the bite. This mixture is offered with different fruits and vegetables of various types, depending on the time of the year. Every day the food is mixed with Korvimin (a calcium and vitamin preparation). During breeding periods an egg food will also be mixed in. The Vasa Parrots receive their second feeding at 2 p.m. which, outside of the breeding period consists of pellets type P15 from Versele Laga, and during the breeding period type P19 pellets, in addition to the “African” seed mixture from the same manufacturer. The mixture’s ratio is 70% pellets and 30% seeds.

Breeding behaviour

The Greater Vasa Parrot’s breeding behaviour is unique within the parrot family and still not explored completely. The parrot’s black-grey beak changes colour to horn –whitish normally in March, weeks before the breeding period begins. We recognized that this phenomenon took place in all three breeding pairs at the same time. During this time, the

Vasa Parrots start to use their voices and their somewhat melodic calls can be heard all the time.

Now, the females often stay in the nest-box, which otherwise is disregarded outside the breeding period. However, the males stay out of the nest-boxes, although they linger right next to them. It is common that the females chase their partners and request them to feed. If the female finally remains still, it huddles its head against the male’s chest and rubs the head up and down. Shortly afterwards, the male begins to feed its female.

Another indication for the upcoming breeding is the swelling of the Vasa Parrot’s cloaca. Daily copulations can be seen during the morning hours. The male puts its cloaca over the females, both partners being able to evert the cloaca to about 10cm. During the copulation itself, both birds sit closely side by side and persevere like this from several minutes up to an hour. From time to time they make some quiet sounds. If the birds get frightened for some reason, they are not able to disengage and get tangled-up. This type of copulation is unique and differs from the copulations of other parrots. The egg-laying of Vasa Parrots at the LPF normally takes place in April. Only the females stay in the nest-boxes and lay three or four eggs at two-day intervals. During this time the female gradually loses the

head feathers, and the extent of the loss may vary. Some of them have a bald head and others only have some gaps in their plumage. The visible and bald scalp, as well as the feet, turn a bright orange-yellow.

The incubation period is very short for such a big bird. It only lasts 15-17 days until the chicks hatch out, these being thinly covered with fluffy feathers that they lose after only a few days and then are completely naked. Young Vasa Parrots differ considerably from other parrot chicks. On the top of the upper beak they have tiny “tactile buttons”, that are reminiscent of pearls. They disappear or grow together while the bird is getting older. It is still unclear what is the function of the “buttons”, but it is suspected that they help as a stimulus to feeding by the female. On the one hand it is possible that they cause the chick’s begging, and on the other hand they may be an orientation for the female to find the right beak position during feeding in the tight and dark nesting holes. Twenty-five days after hatching, the chick’s “tactile buttons” are barely noticeable, until they completely disappear few days later. Males play a passive role in rearing. As mentioned before, they are seen only outside the nest-box and they continue with this behaviour during the chick’s rearing, which is unusual for other parrots. Fortunately the female cares for the chicks and is very busy with feeding them. This happens with all of our breeding pairs, and checking the nestlings shows their crops to be filled up completely. Another characteristic of the Vasa Parrot is the female’s throat sac that emerges during the breeding. This stretching of the area is probably is traced to the feed, as the crop is constantly is exposed to extreme loads because of enormous amounts of food carried during the rearing.

In relation to the development of other parrots, Vasa Parrots do not differ except for its rapidity. After seven to nine days, the chick’s eyes are wide open and the fledglings are completely naked except from some few fluffy feathers. Eleven days after hatching, the contour feathers break

through the chick’s skin and they already have a length of 2 to 3cm with 14 to 15 days. After 24 days, the fledglings look like little hedgehogs because on the entire body there are quills where the tops are broken. This is called the “porcupine” stage, a description that fits the Vasa Parrot’s appearance. At the age of 30 days, they have nearly all their feathers. The

chick’s scalp after 15 days can also be lightly coloured orange-yellow like the female’s, and is probably an indication of the fledgling’s sex. In past years, there were no records about this in the breeding station, but within the recent broods the female’s scalp colour has been orange-yellow and the male’s scalp colour has been pink. At the age of 35 days, the fledglings leave the

nest and they only need a few days until they can eat independently. A short time after hatching, the male’s beak turns dark again, in contrast to the young female’s beak that turns black-greyish only at the end of the breeding in September or October.

The Greater Vasa Parrot’s breeding behaviour still raises many issues that can only be answered in the natural habitat, although keeping and breeding in captivity can help to find more information about this phenomenon, when the holders record and publish their observations and experiences. For example, there is no explanation why the females lose their head feathers but possibly it has to do with the rearing of nestlings. The fast development of the nestlings is only possible because of the enormous amount of work the female does without its partner. It is always busy with food intake and the care of its chicks. If the food consists of soft fruits the head plumage permanently sticks together so a bird without head plumage has many advantages. A similar connection is suspected for the Pesquet’s Parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus) and the Vulturine Parrot (Pyrilia vulturina), but that is just a wild guess because little is known about the Greater Vasa Parrot’s habits of consumption. Forshaw (1989) even says that the specie’s nutrition is less focussed on fruits than that of the Lesser Vasa Parrot whose females do not lose their head plumage during the breeding period. Besides, the females do not have to search for food themselves in their natural habitats, as Ekstrom et al. (2007) explains in detail (see below).

Another question would be: What tasks does the male have in breeding and why doesn’t it participate in rearing in captivity? Studies by Ekstrom et al. (2007) in natural habitats show that females are copulated by five different males and they also are provided with food during the breeding period. With loud calls the females attract males with which they have not previously copulated. Females that call louder are more successful than those that are less attractive. In captivity, there

Breeding female with typical yellow head without feathers. Povl Jorgensen

Chick 10 days old

Chick 24 days old

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in northern Ecuador are less than

is enough food nearby so that the female does not have to “request” the male’s help, thus explaining the male’s passivity.

It also would be very interesting to know why the Vasa Parrot’s beak changes colour in both sexes during the breeding period. The colouration of the female’s beak makes sense because in the dark nesting hole the dark beak cannot be seen, but for the passive male it does not make any sense. An explanation could

be hormonally caused colouration that signals the beginning of breeding but in contradiction are the observations of birds that do not breed but also have a change in their beak colouration.

Conclusion

Overall, the Greater Vasa Parrot is a very interesting bird that has its own secure place in the Loro Parque Fundatión’s breeding station. I only can commend to all parrot lovers

the keeping and breeding of this bird. It would be a pity if one day the species would disappear from our aviaries because of lack of interest.

references

Ekstrom, J. M. M., T. Burke, L. Randrianaina & T. R. Birkhead (2007): Unusual sex roles in a highly promiscuous parrot: the Greater Vasa Parrot Coracopsis vasa. Ibis 149: 313–320Forshaw, J. M. (1989): Parrots of the World. Willoughby

those of the not-so-humid forests in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia.

Occasionally the P. seniloides also eat farmers’ crops, such as corn. But in general they are very reserved and afraid of people in the highlands of the Andes. In the Loro Parque Fundación we keep and raise this nice parrot to the second generation, and this article gives more detail.

Both sexes of P. seniloides have the same color, with green to olive plumage. The forehead and the front area of the head have white feathers bordered pale pink. These pink-bordered feathers in some specimens may exist on the cheeks, although some individuals have no pink edging. The rest of

the head and neck and nape are brownish-gray with white spots. Our specimens show clear differences in the plumage of the head. Some specimens have an almost entirely white edge in the plumage of the nape. The back and wings are dark green, the chest and belly have burgundy color, the underside of the tail is red, the tail feathers are green and beak is horn-coloured. Young birds have a duller plumage and the white head rarely exists. The belly and chest are still green. After 6 months the colour intensity increases, and at the end of one year they assume adult colour.

Feeding

Our Pionus species, like all parrots in the Loro Parque Fundación

breeding station, get fresh food twice a day. The first meal is delivered between 8am and 9am. At such time the P. seniloides outside the breeding season get the following food: different types of fruits and vegetables depending on the season of the year, presented in small pieces. To these fruits are aded a cooked food mixture for parrots from the Versele-Laga company in a ratio of 2 to 1. This mixture is enriched with vitamins and a calcium preparation. The food consists of seeds and boiled vegetables: yellow and green peas, maple peas, chickpeas, white beans, red and mung beans, quail and pigeon beans, corn, peas, lentils, cadi, buckwheat, millet grain, Dari, paddy rice, oats and wheat. We let the mixture soak in water for 24 hours to soften and for the different pulses to swell well in the water. Then the food is cooked until it is soft but also “al dente”.

Between 14 and 15 hours the P. seniloides receive NutriBird P15 (of Versele-Laga) consisting of the following ingredients: cereals, seeds (at least 10% of shelled peanuts), fruit (at least 5% of fruit), an extract of albumin, vegetable protein extracts, whole herbs, sugar, minerals, L-Lysine, methonine, yucca extract, fructose oligosaccharides, vitamins and trace elements. During the breeding season we changed the food to stimulate reproductive activity of P. seniloides for better success. To the boiled food is added Orlux Gold (of Versele-Laga), a meal of egg (with 17% crude protein). Also we add a paté of insects to increase protein, and hemp for stimulation. In the

The Keeping and Breeding of the White-headed ParrotThe genus Pionus consists of eight species which are divided into 19 subspecies. They range over much of Central and South America. Long ago some pioneers of this species reached Europe and are set up today in aviculture. They feature as very nice parrots in human care and breeding and since this time have been very popular with fans of parrots, and many species of this

genus are kept. One of the most popular among them is the Blue-headed Parrot (Pionus menstruus) followed by Scaly-headed Parrot (Pionus maximiliani). But also in the genus there are species that breed in captivity such as the Plum-headed Parrot (Pionus tumultuosus) and even more, the White-headed Parrot (Pionus seniloides). The range of P. seniliodes extends from western

Venezuela to the south and west towards the Andes in Colombia, and western Ecuador to north-western Peru. Outside the breeding season, P. seniloides gathers in flocks of 10-20 individuals. They make seasonal trips which have to do with the existence of food plants. These excursions can be more than 100km because humid cloud forests with fruiting trees in the mountains

Adult Pionus seniloides

Pionus tumultuosus: a close relative

Breeding pair of White-headed Parrots

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BrEEdINg the newsletter of loro parque fundación saving wildlife and habitats

afternoon we serve NutriBird P19 (from Versele-Laga) consisting of 19% crude protein. Additionally we provide about a tablespoon of seeds so that parrots have a remarkable change of forage. During the breeding season at noon we offer a ,ot of fruit and half-ripe corn to pairs.

Keeping and breeding

As mentioned earlier, in the breeding station in La Vera have several pairs of P. seniloides. In breeding centre facilities the parrots are separated into different areas. On the one hand we have an area that is covered with a blue net which is very transparent. Here we take care of the species living in open landscapes that receive more sunlight. The other area is covered by a black net that give a lot of shade. Here are the species that live in the rain forest or forests with high density of trees. Some species of Pionus, such as P. seniloides, living in the cloud forests have found their place here. Parrots live in pairs in suspended aviaries 1m high, 1m wide and 5m long. The aviary contains two natural perches, a swing and a small branch below the roof. Each pair ready to breed has two vertical nest-boxes each with a base of 25cm x 25cm and a height of 40cm. One of these nests

is located in the roof area and the other in the open area. Pairs prefer the nests in the open area. As substrate we use wood chips that parrots gnaw into tiny pieces inside the nest. Such activity stimulates reproduction next well.

Like all the parrots, P. seniloides is given every 14 days pine branches to chew, and this seems a favorite activity. P. seniloides is a relatively quiet species and can stay hours sitting on a perch or at the entrance of the nest without moving much, and does not use its voice much. These behaviours make them very pleasant. Because it is quiet and shy, until now there has been no observation of copulation. The on-coming breeding is announced when the female and the male spend much time in the nest. Many times we have also observed (in all our pairs) that one of them is at the entrance of the nest. This behaviour can also be observed with the male throughout the breeding. Before laying the first egg the substrate has to be nibbled very fine. This behaviour is certainly very stimulating for the pair and promotes successful breeding.

After laying the first egg the female rarely leaves the nest. The clutch of P. seniloides consists of 3-4 eggs,

which are laid between two and two and a half days. The female incubates the eggs alone. Another peculiarity is that the pair buries its eggs in the substrate. In this regard it is interesting that this has also been experienced elsewhere. After an incubation period of about 26 to 27 days the chicks hatch out. It is striking that they have a very thick down. This phenomenon can be observed with parrot species that breed in cold to very cold regions. At the age of 12 to 14 days they open their eyes. At this stage of its development, each chick receives a ring of 8.5 mm on the right leg. After eight days the feathers start to emerge on the wings and tail. P. seniloides chicks already 16 days have a very thick down and do not have to be brooded by the parents. If hand-rearing P. seniloides one has to be careful at this stage to ensure a lower temperature in the breeding box. In case of not taking this measure, there is a risk that the chicks are too hot and can die.

After the feathers have emerged on the wings and tail, they start to come out on the head, chest, stomach and back. At the age of 50 days the P. seniloides chicks almost have their full plumage. After another six to eight days they begin to leave the nest. At first they fly really awkwardly from perch to parch in the aviary, but this changes after a few days of practice and intensive trial and error. A few days after leaving the nest they begin to feed themselves, but also continue to receive food from their parents when they beg. We leave together P. seniloides fledglings with parents about eight weeks to receive full and adequate food and also that in the family they achieve good socialization.

Young P. seniloides seem very reserved and shy. Also, hand-reared specimens quickly lose their confidence and maintain a safe distance from their caregivers.

P. seniloides is a species of Pionus rarely kept in captivity. Through our successful breeding pairs in the Loro Parque Fundación we are helping to create a viable population in captivity.

The rate of avian extinctions is accelerating

Amazona brasiliensis

Threatened subspecies mitchelli of Trichoglossus

haematodus

In each edition of its magazine Cyanopsitta, the Loro Parque Fundación reports on the problems facing parrots in today’s world, but also the successes of its projects in being able to move some of the most threatened species away from extinction towards a safer existence. As measured by the category of threat in the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Red List some notable examples of these successes are the Yellow-eared Parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis) in Colombia, moved from ‘Critically Endangered - CR’ to ‘Endangered - EN’, and in Brazil the Lear’s Macaw (Anodorhynchus leari), from CR to EN and Red-tailed Amazon (Amazona brasiliensis) from EN to ‘Vulnerable – VU’. Other examples, such as the Blue-throated Macaw (Ara glaucogularis) and Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia) have their wild populations increasing, such that they should become candidates for moving to a safer category in the Red List.

However, much still needs to be done, and this situation has been reinforced by a recent study showing that the rate of bird extinctions is accelerating at an alarming rate. Researchers from BirdLife International and Charles Darwin

University, Australia have published a new paper* which reveals 279 bird species and subspecies from across the globe have become extinct in the last 500 years. The study shows that species extinctions peaked in the early 20th century, then fell until the mid-20th century, and have subsequently accelerated. Historically most extinctions have occurred on islands, particularly those in the Pacific, but most of the really susceptible species went extinct long ago, and therefore until this recent study it had been hoped

the rate of extinction was slowing.

Interestingly, until this study information on subspecies extinctions had never previously been analyzed comprehensively. The researchers found that in general, the distribution and drivers of sub-specific extinctions are similar to those for species extinctions. However, their alarming finding is that, when subspecies are considered, the extinction rate has accelerated in recent decades. Many sub-species are very distinct and, especially on islands, can be described as incipient species. Furthermore, new information becoming available about them, especially from molecular genetic analysis, shows that they can be sufficiently distinct to merit separate species status. This can be well seen with parrots, an example being the Rainbow Lory (Trichoglossus haematodus) which overall is common as a species, but some of its small island subspecies are threatened with extinction.

The study shows that humans are directly or indirectly responsible for these extinctions. Unsustainable hunting and the introduction of alien species, such as cats and rats, have been the main causes of extinctions in the past, but the destruction of native habitat for agriculture is currently the main cause. Biodiversity is the word describing the richness of life on Earth, and the world’s nations had agreed through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to slow the loss of biodiversity by 2010, and having failed to reach this goal, the target has now been adjusted to 2020. Therefore, on a positive note, the recent Conference of the Parties of the CBD in Hyderabad, India agreed to double the support to biodiversity conservation from developed to developing countries to US$10 billion by 2015.

*Szabo JK, Khwaja N, Garnett ST, Butchart SHM (2012) Global Patterns and Drivers of Avian Extinctions at the Species and Subspecies Level. PLoS ONE 7 (10): e47080. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0047080

Pionus seniloides chick at 21 days

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Loro Parque is the Foundation’s principal sponsor. Therefore, the financial support provided by our sponsors, members and donors can be dedicated 100% to the wide range of parrot and biodiversity conservation activities of Loro Parque Fundación.

Chester Zoo, ZGAP, CEPA, Zoo-Verein Wuppertal e.V., Dispayta Canarias S.L., Netzing Solutions AG, Cerza Lisieux Zoo, Pencovi S.L., D.H.E., Clax Italia S.R.L., Association Beauval, Vereinung F.R. Zucht und ERH, Ute Goerth, Sergio Pérez Máquinas Expendedoras, Dialte S.A., University of Giessen (students), Emerencio e hijos S.L., Global Sistemas Integrales S.L., Zoo Stella Canarias, Frutas Cruz Santa, Rohersa S.L., Juan Luis Garcia Rodulfo, Melinda Pennoy Chouinard, Klaus Murmann, Vogelfreunde Höchstadt, Vogelfreunde Achern, Vogelfreunde Kevelaer, Vogelverein Dingolfing, HSH Henri D’arenberg, Banif, Club Leones de Puerto de la Cruz, Papageienfreunde Nord e. V., Westerwälder Vogelfreunde e.V., Lemmikkilinnut Kaijuli Ry.

Sponsors and donors of Loro Parque Fundación

Our thanks to all our sponsors, donors and other supporters.Students from the University of Giessen make a donation to Mr. Kiessling

Thank you for your commitment to Nature

Many persons reading this edition of Cyanopsitta have over the years supported the conservation work of the Loro Parque Fundación, and have even been supporting friends of Loro Parque well before the LPF came into existence in 1994. Your commitment to our work has been your commitment to Nature, to protect the parrots, whales and dolphins, and all other species and the natural places where they live. Our commitment to you is constantly do our best to make this protection happen effectively and to have a long-lasting effect.

The same can be said of our loyal sponsors, many of them featured on the opposite page, who also contribute year after year to the LPF, and in doing so can reinforce their

social responsibility for protection of the environment.

So, we thank you from the heart for how you have supported us until now, and we would like to thank you for making a commitment to support the activities of the LPF into the future. For its part, the LPF is determined to stay an efficient organisation that continues to build on its existing achievements and provide the best possible value to all its supporters. In this context, the 40th Anniversary of Loro Parque is a very appropriate milestone at which to remark on its great generosity to cover all operational costs of the LPF, thus giving you the peace of mind that 100% of your donations goes directly to the conservation projects.

While it is true that the economic situation has been uncertain in recent times, there is no doubt, and the previous article is evidence of the fact, that we face an ecological crisis which, if we don’t try to resolve it, will produce far greater economic harm. Therefore, we ask you please to keep supporting us, or to even start supporting us as a new member or sponsor. All donations, whatever their value, will be used wisely in our conservation projects. There are different ways that you can support our work, even to considering leaving a legacy to the LPF after you have provided for your loved ones.

The LPF is very fortunate to have “Ambassadors”, persons with a high public profile such as Brian May (lead guitarist of rock band Queen), Frank Elstner (TV presenter) and Boris Izaguirre (author and TV presenter), who are willing endorse the work that we do. At another level we feel that there are supporters among you who would be willing to help the LPF in a more formal capacity by becoming its voluntary representatives to help spread the word about our work and achievements, and to help us increase our activities and positive impact in as many places as possible.

For all these possibilities, please do not hesitate to contact us in the following ways:

Telephone: +34 922 374081 E x t . 3 7 2 Email: lpf@loroparque-fundacion.org

For a direct donation, the bank accounts of the LPF:

Banca March, Puerto de la Cruz Account: 0061 0168 81 005034011-8 IBAN: ES40 0061 0168 8100 5034 0118 BIC: BMARES2M Banco Santander, Puerto de la Cruz Account: 0049 0290 37 2113529526 IBAN: ES46 0049 0290 3721 1352 9526 BIC: BSCHESMM BBVA , Puerto de la Cruz Account: 0182 5310 61 001635615-8 IBAN: ES85 0182 5310 61 0016356158 BIC: BBVAESMM

Thank you again for all your help.

Donation from the company Activa

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Hospitality is our tradition

SPECIAL 7 NIGHTS PACKAGE FOR FRIENDS OF LORO PARQUE

We have created a special package, “Friends of Loro Parque”, so that you can benefit from the services and facilities offered to you by Hotel Botánico & The Oriental Spa Garden. In order for you to enjoy your stay in Puerto de La Cruz, the package includes an entrance ticket to Loro Parque and its magnificent facilities, as well as an entrance to “The Oriental Spa Garden” Thermal Circuit, with its own gardens,

themed saunas, experience showers and jacuzzis. We recommend you visit the Thermal Circuit when you are back at the hotel.

The Hotel Botánico, member of one of the Leading Hotels of the World, offers you unbeatable facilities and a friendly, professional team. In our three “à la carte” themed restaurants you can enjoy the finest cuisine: “The Oriental”, offering Oriental and Thai cuisine; the

Mediterranean-inspired “Il Pappagallo” and “La Parrilla”, with European and regional specialties.

This package includes accommodation for 7 nights in a luxurious bedroom overlooking the garden, the sea or Mount Teide. For families with children, we can offer you connecting double rooms, a sheer luxury for your complete relaxation.

Prices per room for seven days, including buffet breakfast (5% tax not included)

Tenerife, Spain Puerto de la Cruz | Tel: +34 922 381 400 | Fax: +34 922 381 504 | e-mail: hotelbotanico@hotelbotanico.com

www.hotelbotanico.com

Optional services: Limousine service from Reina Sofía Airport (South) to the Hotel Botánico (one way) 120 € Limousine service from Los Rodeos Airport (North) to the Hotel Botánico (one way) 70 €

We also offer a great promotion for stays from 14 days: free private limousine transfer from both airports to the Hotel Botánico.

08 April-31 Oct 2012 01 Nov-11 Dec 2012 08 Jan-28 April 2013

12 Dec-24 Dec 2012 Loro Parque´s 40th anniversary

25 Dec 2012-07 Jan 2013

Single room 938 € 1175 € 936 € 1563 €

Double room 1250 € 1725 € 1228 € 2501 €