One of the most frequently asked questions from our visitors is, on the one hand, Where do the animals in the zoo come from? and on the other, What do we do with those born at BIOPARC Fuengirola?

The answer seems obvious, but it surprises many. The first thing is that the animals they are not bought or sold, but are exchanged between different zoological institutions. Something totally different from the operation of the old zoos, twenty or thirty years ago. At the moment, Animals do not have an economic value, but rather their value is purely CONSERVATION.

Starting in the 70s, a general change began to develop regarding the need to conserve species and nature, and this caused many zoological institutions to begin their transformation process towards what we know today as XNUMXst century zoos. Work with animals evolved to guarantee their well-being and these went from being mere collections to becoming key pieces for the conservation of their species.

A work that evolves to be developed in cooperation, through EAZA

A successful captive breeding project could not be carried out individually. And a single zoo does not have space to grow the animal population and, in addition, faces significant risks such as the appearance of diseases or the effects of inbreeding if related animals reproduce - affecting fertility, the survival of offspring or producing genetic abnormalities.

To avoid aspects like these and promote cooperation between zoological institutions that work in the breeding and protection of species, the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) in 1992. Within the EAZA regulatory framework, animal populations are managed in a coordinated manner and with a clear purpose: promote the well-being, scientific knowledge and conservation of species.

How does this idea work in practice? Each zoo that becomes part of EAZA makes available the animals it already had. Let's say transfers “property” of individuals so that they are managed in a common way throughout Europe. At the same time, if a zoo wants to start working with a certain species, it only has to ask EAZA.

Each species has a specific conservation program, a coordinator and a working group dedicated to collecting information from zoological institutions throughout Europe. These establish the best ways to care for and feed them and also plan the pairing of each individual and which zoo the resulting offspring should go to. The coordinated and homogeneous work in all the zoos that participate in the program guarantees the well-being of all the animals and makes it very easy to adapt when they go to another zoo since the care will be very similar.

EAZA's ex situ programs (EEP) aim to conserve healthy animal populations and make them demographically and genetically sustainable.

All EAZA animals must come from a reliable source and accompanied by all relevant legislative documentation. Any details about the health, diet/nutrition, reproductive and genetic status and behavior that may affect the management of a transferring animal (or other animals in the group at the receiving institution) must be disclosed between zoos.

An example?

At BIOPARC Fuengirola we wanted to collaborate in the conservation of the Sumatran tiger. It is critically endangered and there is a EAZA, an EEP (European Ex Situ Program) working to coordinate its breeding in captivity and the conservation of the species in the field.

At the time, we requested to participate in this EEP and provided reports on the state of our facilities or the different management that we would carry out with this species, in order to evaluate if we were qualified for this care. Once approved, the program coordinator assigned us two young tigers, from a zoo in Germany and another in England. Once in Fuengirola, the entire team must follow the care guidelines for the tigers and reproduction recommendations.. When tiger cubs were born at our center, the program coordinator was able to plan and give us specific instructions to send the young tigers, once they were independent, to the appropriate zoos so that they could reproduce there, with the pairs selected by the program.

All this handling and transportation of animals is carried out without any type of economic compensation. A necessary movement so that the animals are guaranteed the best opportunities and conditions for reproduction.

And requirements from the EEP that ensure that, if a zoo is not taking adequate care of the animals, the program will remove them and make them available to another center where it does guarantee the necessary care.

In some cases, each zoo fulfills a different role

In the case of lemurs, at BIOPARC Fuengirola we maintain a group of single males of black-and-white lemurs. The management of males is a common problem in species, since many times we can have a group of one male with several females, but two adult males are not tolerated in the same territory.

In nature, when young males become independent from their natal group, they form small groups of “bachelors” until some of them are able to take control of a territory and some females to form a new group. This is also imitated in zoos and some of them have the role of caring for these males until there is a need in some other center to include a male or form a new group.

The EAZA black and white lemur program asked us a few years ago to send one of our bachelors to another zoo in Denmark to start a family with two females there.

All this cooperative management of different species represents a challenge for all zoos.. On the one hand, it requires intense work from the coordinators of the different programs and, on the other, it represents a greater effort for the centers involved in terms of animal transport, health and legal requirements to transfer an animal to another country in Europe and, of course, the work of adapting new animals.

All this effort is justified to comply with the global conservation strategy of the new zoos: maintain a healthy and stable population of animals, safeguarding it in case it is necessary to use the offspring of those populations to repopulate the habitat in the event of extinction.

For us there is always a sad side when one of the animals is born in Fuengirola and we have to transfer it to another center. On the other hand, it is the law of life that young people have to face the adventure of colonizing new territories and forming new families to preserve the future of their species.

Jesus Recuero
Technical director, veterinarian and conservator at BIOPARC Fuengirola