Barcelona begins works to turn Zoo's Aquarama marine animal enclosure into wildlife sanctuary
Swimming pool opened in 1968 and saw orca ‘Ulises’ and dolphins’ shows until 2015
Barcelona’s Zoo has officially farewelled one of its most famous areas, the Aquarama, or the swimming pool that saw orca ‘Ulises’ and the zoo’s dolphins perform for years. On Tuesday, authorities started works to turn the Aquarama marine animal enclosure into a wildlife sanctuary that will open in 2024.
From then, it will temporarily host species whose enclosure is under renovation works. The Barcelona mayor, Ada Colau, defended the new zoo model as it "preserves diversity" as "animals have rights and feelings, and are not here for the show," she added in a press conference.
The swimming pool was first opened in 1968 and has been home to the orca ‘Ulises’ from 1983 to 1994 when he was moved to San Diego’s Sea World, where he is still performing. Aquarama has also been a swimming pool where kids and Zoo-goers could get to enjoy dolphins jumping and swimming.
The city mayor has reminded everyone that the Zoo has already had "a paradigm change" as it is now focused on being part of the XXIst century and having a "different relationship" between animals and humans. Despite being a "city’s attraction" with plenty of residents attending, Aquarama did not have any possible future in Barcelona, authorities claim.
The future enclosure will have 3,500 square meters and five outdoor patios, visible to visitors, but also three chambers. All these areas will be fully equipped and will be able to host all the necessary species and their caretakers while their usual enclosures are under renovations.
In order to copy the normal areas, authorities will have rocks, branches, and shadow areas, but also climate and technical rooms. Works will last longer than they could have been because the zoo has decided to use another kind of machinery as they "were worried the noise and vibrations could affect the rest of animal species," Sito Alarcón, the zoo director, said.
Research or recreation, conservation or captivity
Founded in 1892, Barcelona Zoo is part of the fabric of the city. But what should its role be in the 21st century? Catalan News published a Filling the Sink podcast episode on the future of the zoo back in November 2021.
At the time, Sito Alarcón, and zookeeper Núria Moreno Gutiérrez, argued that zoos are essential for protecting biodiversity, but animal rights activist Rosi Carro of the ZooXXI group says that more action on agreed changes are urgently needed.