Barcelona Zoo looks to the future with a €25 million investment, captive breeding and the introduction of new animals

Barcelona (ACN).- Barcelona city council plans to invest €25 million in order to modernise facilities between 2012 and 2020. The strategic plan puts an end to a possible transfer meaning the Zoo will remain in the Ciutadella Park. They have also decided to build a dolphinarium alongside it with private funding, which would end the project to create a marine zoo at the Forum. While the Zoo’s future was under negotiation, a pair of Komodo dragons have been paired and 23 eggs have been laid as a result. Also, an elephant joined the other two which were already living there.

The future of the Zoo has been under hot debate over the last decade. In 1999, a transfer was proposed to open up land in the city centre. The animals would go to a nature reserve in the Vallès, and the sea animals would be transferred to a platform in the Besòs river. However, the idea to transfer Barcelona's Zoo has been at a deadlock after local rejection of the proposals, a negative response from the Spanish Environment Ministry and the economic crisis. Now, the council has decided to maintain the current structure and invest in modernising its facilities. The main objective of this decision is to turn the Zoo into an international leader for the number visitors, conservation programs and education.

The proposal to transfer the Zoo was designed in order to expand the area it currently occupies at the Cituadella Park, next to the Parliament of Catalonia and the Pompeu Fabra University. The land occupied by the Zoo is limited to 8 hectares with reduced expandability. The proposed move involved building a major theme park of about 124 hectares, as well as an additional 13 hectares by the sea for a marine zoo.

The benefits would also allow the expansion of the Parliament and University facilities. However, immediately after hearing the proposals of possible locations, the citizenry started protesting against the project. The first idea was to place the new zoo on protected land in Sabadell and Castellar del Vallès.

The next attempt was to move Barcelona Zoo to Caldes de Montbui, in the region of Vallès Oriental. This is an area of 117 hectares held by the Barcelona Provincial Council, but quickly met collective opposition, arguing public access to the property and that they wanted to have an environmental, agriculture and forestry school built there. The council and the opposition finally agreed to open a platform for debate on the future of the area.

The negotiations about the future of the zoo stopped at this point. The first to speak about the proposal was the mayor of Sabadell, the first city where it had been proposed to be moved. He suggested not moving the zoo because of the high cost that it would represent. Indeed, budget reasons and the Spanish Environment Ministry’s project 'no' to the marine zoo, caused the President of Barcelona's Zoo to stop the transfer.

The new idea was to modernise the existing Zoo and its facilities. That's why Barcelona Zoo has clearly opted for innovation and for following the European Breeding Programme (EEP) recommendations. In fact, the mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, considered that “sacrificing” the Zoo to expand the Parliament of Catalonia would be meaningless.

The council plan has two phases. By 2015, the Zoo will receive €12 million to expand and improve the facilities of hippos, lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, lemurs and orangutans. It will also allow the building of a high walkway of 9,000 square kilometres which will run throughout the Zoo, allowing the possibility to see the animals from new perspectives. The highest point will reach nine feet.

Next to the Ciutadella Park a new dolphinarium is to be built. However, this project requires a big investment, so the council is considering turning to private capital. They have begun negotiations with several investment groups. The exact location has not been specified yet, but it is well known that the management would be public and would be tied to the zoo.

Between 2015 and 2020, the city proposes rearranging the Zoo so that is organised according to species and ecosystems. The planned renovations would result in creating three distinct areas: the first is the African savanna for mainly large mammals like elephants and giraffes. The second would be the Asian, African an American rainforest, where the protagonists are the big cats. Finally, the Mediterranean area will cover native species such as wolves and the Mediterranean tortoise. This change will allow some animals to live together, and those that cannot, to be seen from a joint perspective with the help of the elevated walkway. This change will have a limited effect on some species such as primates and reptiles, which will remain in a more enclosed space.In addition, the Zoo wants to consolidate the Barcelona Zoo Foundation, which will give continuity to research programs, conservation and innovation.

The Komodo dragons, a successful couple in Barcelona

Along with the proposals to modernise the zoo, there are the baby Komodo dragons. The female, Asmara, has laid 23 eggs and the first offspring should appear in seven or eight months. Since March, the zoo staff have been attempting to mate Asmare with one of two males, Omback and Guntur, who maintained visual contact with the female. Finally, they decided to try with Guntur, with whom the female showed more interest.

Before the mating, they did several tests on the female such as scans, blood samples and hormone level tests. Finally, in March, the first attempts at mating were made. But the association between the two reptiles did not work as intended. The zoo staff decided to wait until the female was well into the mating season. On 12 April, the mating was successful and in early May she laid 23 eggs.

The zoo staff found the eggs thanks to two signs: the animal was filling the galleries with sand that she had dug the previous days, and she also quickly lost two kilos in weight. A search among the galleries began, and more than three hours was needed to find the eggs. The technicians located them a meter deep. The eggs were removed and they are currently being incubated artificially. 16 of the 23 eggs the female laid are in good condition, 7 presumably will not be viable for hatching.

The captive breeding of this species has been achieved recently in some zoos around the world. Among them Washington, Cincinnati, Honolulu, Miami and Jarkarta. In Europe it has only been possible in Prague, London, Chester and Reptilàndia on the Gran Canaria Island. This last zoo is where the two males come from, while Asmara was hosted from Prague.

Bully, the new elephant in Barcelona

A 27 year old elephant female has arrived from Valencia. With this arrival, three elephants are now living in the Ciutadella Park area. This incorporation has raised criticism from some groups in defence of animal rights, who believe that the Zoo does not have enough space to accommodate a third elephant. However, the President of Barcelona Zoo, Sònia Recasens, responded that the arrival is authorised by international organisations. There are currently four sleeping areas for the elephants and to accommodate this new animal, the elephant enclosure has undergone major improvements. Also, the strategic plan has made provisions to continue working on the expansion of the outdoor facilities until 2015.