mhale
Well-Known Member
Last week I visited Fuengirola Zoo on the Costa Del Sol in Spain, which is a fantastic place. The zoo prides itself on being an "immersion zoo" with no cages or bars, and I must say, this makes for a very exciting visit. The enclosures are all viewed by means of a mixture of windows and moats.
The zoo only exhibits creatures from the tropical forests of Madagascar, Equatorial Africa and Southeast Asia, so don't expect to see lions, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, etc. The "big" species exhibited are gorillas, Bornean orangs, chimps, Sumatran tigers and Sri Lankan leopards, but there are also a lot of very interesting smaller species, including birds and reptiles.
Here is my review:
Malagasy Forest
As soon as you enter the zoo, the first thing you notice is a huge fake Baobab tree. This is on the edge of an island which has a walk-through lemur enclosure (through which you are escorted by a guide in small groups) housing black lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, black and white ruffed lemurs and one red ruffed lemur. The ring-tailed lemurs had twin babies, but the whole family were up in the trees and I only saw one of the babies.
Wetlands
The species exhibited in this area include Nile crocodiles, lesser flamingoes, and a shared enclosure for West African sitatungas, yellow-billed storks, grey crowned cranes, Abdim's storks, vulturine guineafowls and comb ducks.
The Forest Floor
The species exhibited in this area include geckos, grant snails, scorpions, meerkats (including four 17 month old babies), South African porcupines, red river hogs, blue duikers and dwarf crocodiles.
Congo River Basin
The species exhibited in this area include the female pygmy hippo Liberia and her four month old daughter (who share the enclosure with Egyptian geese), chimpanzees, gorillas (who share the enclosure with De Brazza's monkeys, southern ground hornbills and Egyptian geese), kikuyu colobus monkeys (who share the enclosure with northern talapoins) and Sri Lankan leopards (including the two year old female cub).
The chimpanzees are a family group of Gordo, Lola, Julieta, Natalia and 18 month old Noelia.
The gorillas are a non-breeding pair called Ernst and Kim.
Angkor Temple
This enclosure is home to three Sumatran tigers (mother Ashmara, father and their two year old female cub Jungla), and has a lot of grass and a pool with waterfall.
Riverine Forest
The species exhibited in this area include Malayan tapirs (who share the enclosure with Philippine spotted deer, great cormorants and pelicans), lowland anoas, fulvous whistling ducks, white-faced whistling ducks, mandarin ducks, Radjah shellducks, Javanese green peafowl, Demoiselle cranes, Malaysian box turtles, New Guinea snapping turtles, giant Asian pond turtles, African soft-shelled turtles, small-clawed otters, bantengs, southern cassowaries, false gharials, fish and babirusa.
Forest Canopy
The species exhibited in this area include rhinoceros hornbills, rainbow lories, eclectus parrots, Goffin's cockatoos, Prevost's squirrels (including two 6 month old babies), buff-cheeked gibbons, siamang gibbons and Bornean orangutans Nakal (m), Mukah (f) and their two year old son Banggi. A second female called Sierah arrived last year but she was not on-show.
Abandoned Mine
The species exhibited in this area include Indian pythons, green tree pythons, sail-finned lizards, Indian ornamental tarantulas, thorny leaf insects and Indian stick insects.
Secondary Forest
The species exhibited in this area include Indian flying foxes, red whiskered bul buls, collared kingfishers, lesser Malay mousedeer (including a 6 month old fawn) and New Guinea masked lapwings.
Mangrove
The species exhibited in this area include fish, crabs and turtles.
There is a forest clearing in the corner of the zoo which is used as a living exhibition area. Unfortunately, I missed the show but it apparently includes appearances from species such as porcupines, herons, sitatungas, touracos, armadillos, macaws, conures, ring-tailed coatis, toucans, Indian hornbills, eclectus parrots, small-clawed otters, kookaburras and tawny frogmouths.
During July and August, the zoo stays open until 1:00 a.m. and nocturnal animals, such as servals, dholes and binturongs, appear in some of the enclosures under synthesized moonlight. This meant I didn't see any of these animals
, but it must be quite an experience to walk around the zoo in the "moonlight" and see certain animals more active than they are during the day.
The jungle theme of the zoo was well-thought out, in my opinion, and created a very nice environment for the visitor as well as the animals themselves. It is quite a small zoo, situated in the middle of the town, but it is easily worth staying for 4-6 hours.
One interesting point is that no food is allowed into the zoo, so there are no picnic sites.
All in all, I believe this is an excellent place to visit
The zoo only exhibits creatures from the tropical forests of Madagascar, Equatorial Africa and Southeast Asia, so don't expect to see lions, elephants, giraffes, rhinos, etc. The "big" species exhibited are gorillas, Bornean orangs, chimps, Sumatran tigers and Sri Lankan leopards, but there are also a lot of very interesting smaller species, including birds and reptiles.
Here is my review:
Malagasy Forest
As soon as you enter the zoo, the first thing you notice is a huge fake Baobab tree. This is on the edge of an island which has a walk-through lemur enclosure (through which you are escorted by a guide in small groups) housing black lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, black and white ruffed lemurs and one red ruffed lemur. The ring-tailed lemurs had twin babies, but the whole family were up in the trees and I only saw one of the babies.
Wetlands
The species exhibited in this area include Nile crocodiles, lesser flamingoes, and a shared enclosure for West African sitatungas, yellow-billed storks, grey crowned cranes, Abdim's storks, vulturine guineafowls and comb ducks.
The Forest Floor
The species exhibited in this area include geckos, grant snails, scorpions, meerkats (including four 17 month old babies), South African porcupines, red river hogs, blue duikers and dwarf crocodiles.
Congo River Basin
The species exhibited in this area include the female pygmy hippo Liberia and her four month old daughter (who share the enclosure with Egyptian geese), chimpanzees, gorillas (who share the enclosure with De Brazza's monkeys, southern ground hornbills and Egyptian geese), kikuyu colobus monkeys (who share the enclosure with northern talapoins) and Sri Lankan leopards (including the two year old female cub).
The chimpanzees are a family group of Gordo, Lola, Julieta, Natalia and 18 month old Noelia.
The gorillas are a non-breeding pair called Ernst and Kim.
Angkor Temple
This enclosure is home to three Sumatran tigers (mother Ashmara, father and their two year old female cub Jungla), and has a lot of grass and a pool with waterfall.
Riverine Forest
The species exhibited in this area include Malayan tapirs (who share the enclosure with Philippine spotted deer, great cormorants and pelicans), lowland anoas, fulvous whistling ducks, white-faced whistling ducks, mandarin ducks, Radjah shellducks, Javanese green peafowl, Demoiselle cranes, Malaysian box turtles, New Guinea snapping turtles, giant Asian pond turtles, African soft-shelled turtles, small-clawed otters, bantengs, southern cassowaries, false gharials, fish and babirusa.
Forest Canopy
The species exhibited in this area include rhinoceros hornbills, rainbow lories, eclectus parrots, Goffin's cockatoos, Prevost's squirrels (including two 6 month old babies), buff-cheeked gibbons, siamang gibbons and Bornean orangutans Nakal (m), Mukah (f) and their two year old son Banggi. A second female called Sierah arrived last year but she was not on-show.
Abandoned Mine
The species exhibited in this area include Indian pythons, green tree pythons, sail-finned lizards, Indian ornamental tarantulas, thorny leaf insects and Indian stick insects.
Secondary Forest
The species exhibited in this area include Indian flying foxes, red whiskered bul buls, collared kingfishers, lesser Malay mousedeer (including a 6 month old fawn) and New Guinea masked lapwings.
Mangrove
The species exhibited in this area include fish, crabs and turtles.
There is a forest clearing in the corner of the zoo which is used as a living exhibition area. Unfortunately, I missed the show but it apparently includes appearances from species such as porcupines, herons, sitatungas, touracos, armadillos, macaws, conures, ring-tailed coatis, toucans, Indian hornbills, eclectus parrots, small-clawed otters, kookaburras and tawny frogmouths.
During July and August, the zoo stays open until 1:00 a.m. and nocturnal animals, such as servals, dholes and binturongs, appear in some of the enclosures under synthesized moonlight. This meant I didn't see any of these animals
, but it must be quite an experience to walk around the zoo in the "moonlight" and see certain animals more active than they are during the day.The jungle theme of the zoo was well-thought out, in my opinion, and created a very nice environment for the visitor as well as the animals themselves. It is quite a small zoo, situated in the middle of the town, but it is easily worth staying for 4-6 hours.
One interesting point is that no food is allowed into the zoo, so there are no picnic sites.
All in all, I believe this is an excellent place to visit
Last edited:
. I didn't want to upload them to the Spain - Other gallery and then have to move them later.
