• During October 21 and 22, this event organized by the Iberian Association of Wild Animal Caretakers has become one of the most important meeting points nationwide for professionals involved in the care and management of wild fauna.
• In this ninth edition, the Malaga conservation center participates with the help of two caregivers belonging to the departments of Herpetology and Zoology

In this 21st century, the protection of nature has gained indisputable strength and the new zoos have assumed a key role in this issue, in some cases, becoming the only hope for many threatened species.

For animal parks like BIOPARC Fuengirola, this mission is made up of three essential pillars: conservation, education and research. To achieve them, the work carried out by one of the professionals who are part of these centers is essential: the caregiver.

On October 21 and 22, the IX Congress of the Iberian Association of Wild Animal Keepers will be held in Zaragoza (AICAS) an event that under the motto “Care, Train, Educate and Conserve” will bring together dozens of caregivers from Portugal and Spain. During these two days, all people involved in the care and management of wild fauna in zoos, aquariums, wildlife recovery and reintroduction centers, reserves and natural parks demonstrate, through presentations and workshops, the importance of the role of the caregiver to guarantee the animal well-being and conservation of these threatened species.

In their presentations they will present the work that has achieved both the milestone achieved last March with the birth of baby Komodo dragons, and the research carried out to improve and guarantee the well-being of the animals in charge of their daily care.

BIOPARC Fuengirola will be present with the participation, on the one hand, of Milagros Robledo, head of the Herpetology department, who will present all the work carried out by this team to achieve the successful reproduction of the pair of Komodo dragons that the park houses. After it, last March five babies of this reptile hatched, placing the park in a European benchmark.. It is the only center that, in the last ten years, has managed to reproduce this monitor in Spain and the fifth in Europe. “It is important to share experiences with more caretakers from other parks and make known our profession, which goes beyond the mere fact of cleaning shelters and providing diets,” says Robledo.

On the other hand, María José Roldán, member of the Zoology department, through the presentation 'Is it necessary to carry out clinical training in captive animals?' will express the importance of carrying out this type of training to achieve the well-being of the animal and its safety. All this through the exhibition of Roldán's work carried out for five years with Echo, the male lowland gorilla that lives in BIOPARC Fuengirola. "With training programs, objectives are set, that is, the animal is guided and taught to perform certain behaviors, which will provide well-being and security, since We manage to both enhance cognitive capacity in certain animal species, as well as carry out veterinary check-ups., which guarantee an optimal state of health. The training programs avoid anesthesia of the animal, which eliminates the risk that this chemical treatment entails,” Roldan explains about your work.

Como 21st century zoo, who understands and practices his educational, research and conservation function of threatened species, BIOPARC Fuengirola participates in more than 50 'exsitu' conservation programs. Projects that are developed thanks to the existing coordination between the zoos of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA), and the Iberian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AIZA), associations of which Bioparc Fuengirola is a member.

Since the beginning and in these more than 20 years, BIOPARC Fuengirola It has evolved to become a benchmark in Andalusia and beyond. With objectives in which conservation work, research and the educational function are the protagonists.