After months of wintry weather, spring has arrived on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain. The spring weather tempted the writer to take a stroll to the Bioparc Fuengirola to catch up with the residents there.
As spring gradually creeps in, along with quite a few tourists, and with Semana Santa (Saint Week) holidays leading up to the Easter weekend, the writer decided to sneak out of the office today.
Bioparc Fuengirola is literally just around the corner, and it has been a while since the last visit to the former Fuengirola Zoo.
The first thing this writer noticed was that expansion work is going on with some of the animal enclosures, and it was quite strange to actually see the surrounding apartment blocks from within the Bioparc.
These are normally hidden by walls and trees to keep the feeling of being in a jungle environment. Apparently the construction work will be concluded soon however.
Besides the work going on, the animals appear to be happy and healthy. A visit to the chimpanzees caused much amusement, as this fellow sat on a rock and blew "raspberries" at the surrounding audience, interspersed with huge toothy grins.
A visit to the orangutans from Borneo was surprising. Dad wasn't there. It seems the father orangutan has moved along to another Bioparc in the country, and a youngster has turned up in his place.
Mother and daughter are still doing fine, and it looks like the new addition is a young male. Possibly the Bioparc is thinking ahead to breeding with the young female who is a couple of years old now.
There was an addition of a rope climbing set up in the orangutans' enclosure, and as can be seen in the photo and video above, they were taking full advantage of it, swinging and climbing around.
These Northern Talapoin monkeys appeared to be a new addition, shown here with a baby Colobus monkey in the background:
If you are planning a spring or early summer trip to southern Spain, Fuengirola and its lovely Bioparc are well worth the visit. However, if you prefer not to stay over in this seaside city, there are many lovely villages in the surrounding countryside where you could spend the night in a charming bed & breakfast.
Bear in mind that the weather will be pleasant for the next two to three months before the crazy summer heat sets in.
Read more and see more photos at: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/346037
A visit to the orangutans from Borneo was surprising. Dad wasn't there. It seems the father orangutan has moved along to another Bioparc in the country, and a youngster has turned up in his place.
Mother and daughter are still doing fine, and it looks like the new addition is a young male. Possibly the Bioparc is thinking ahead to breeding with the young female who is a couple of years old now.
There was an addition of a rope climbing set up in the orangutans' enclosure, and as can be seen in the photo and video above, they were taking full advantage of it, swinging and climbing around.
These Northern Talapoin monkeys appeared to be a new addition, shown here with a baby Colobus monkey in the background:
The buff-cheeked gibbons were a little more outgoing - they have always been very shy, but last year had a baby, who is now an adult:
If you are planning a spring or early summer trip to southern Spain, Fuengirola and its lovely Bioparc are well worth the visit. However, if you prefer not to stay over in this seaside city, there are many lovely villages in the surrounding countryside where you could spend the night in a charming bed & breakfast.
Bear in mind that the weather will be pleasant for the next two to three months before the crazy summer heat sets in.
Read more and see more photos at: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/346037
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