Loro Parque Tenerife

I have just returned from Tenerife where my partner and I visited Loro Parque. He had been before some years previous but this was my first time.

I want to try and give as fair a review as I can to hopefully help you make an informed choice as to the worthiness of a visit but as with any review it is only my opinion.

Firstly I think the entrance fee is expensive ('32 per adult) for what you get to see. (And they asked me to make a donation to use the loo!!)However, when you see all of the enclosures, animals and staff you have to understand that it will take a vast amount of money to maintain this and perhaps it is a fair charge.

Being in the Veterinary profession I have a real battle of conscience when I visit zoos because I believe that animals are always better in the wild, but still most of us have pets.

I will start by saying that without exception all of the animals and birds appeared to be healthy and their enclosures were very clean.

It is the size of the enclosures that concern me most, or rather the lack of size.

The Orcas for instance, there are 4 of them, apparently bred in captivity, so shouldn't know of anything else (but does that make it right?) Their pools are just too small, they focus on how deep they are and the fact that they have 22.5 million litres of seawater but that appears to be all they have, nothing in the water. I'm no marine expert and may be talking a load of rubbish but I would assume that in the wild they interact with their surroundings and the sea vegetation and surely they need the space to just enjoy a good swim!

People say the whales look happy, who knows, I hope they are.

The parrots that are all around the park have the most tiny, dismal cages, and several of them have far too many birds in, certainly no where near enough room to have proper flight. What I don't understand is why? The park has a lot of space they could utilise to make bigger aviaries to allow free flight.

There is a huge dome called naturavision which shows a boring nature film, this space would be much better used as a vast aviary.

Many of the animals have come as rescues from bad places, for instance the chimps and the tigers were used as entertainment acts in the circus so their lives are greatly improved.

But many have been bred in captivity purely for us to look at and ultimately be entertained as with the orcas, dolphins and friends ..is this that far removed???

Would I go back ..probably not!

Would I recommend you go if you are in the area, because the park needs continual funds to care for the animals and birds they have. I wouldn't suggest you take the long journey from the South of the island just to visit here.

Watched all the shows in the Loro Parque, dolphins by far the best, their trainers obviously had a strong bond. Orca Killer whales were fantastic first time I've seen them, very informative presentation clearly shows they're loved and well looked after.

Loads of different species of Parrots were lovely to see all the colours.

There was a tunnel running through a shark tank which was really good to see.

Excellent value for money

Loro Parque is the best day out and the Loro show was best of the shows, I sat where the parrots flew over my head. This day was excellent in many ways, no weak areas Loro Parque is excellent especially for children. No bad points.