Touching hearts and awakening minds
There is no doubt that Zoomarine is a huge financial asset to the Algarve, frequently ranking in Trip Advisor`s Top 10 Best European Parks and employing 80 full time staff increasing to 450 in the summer months. But is it an asset to be proud of? We sent our reporter Sophie Sadler to find out.
I set out to meet Joáo Neves, Zoomarine’s conservation biologist and head of education, to get to the bottom of what goes on behind the scenes of the aqua theme park. In the process I discover how important the attraction is for our children’s education.
João is an enthusiastic and engaging ambassador for the park and his role underpins Zoomarine´s philosophy. At the heart of the theme park is an ethos based on environmental education. There’s a belief that by observing different species and learning directly from them people will get a better understanding of wildlife and awareness of environmental problems that pose a serious threat to the planet and its oceans.
I am pleased to learn that the founder, Pedro Lavia, is still the president and spends a lot of time in the park.
Pedro Lavia came up with the concept with the help of a dolphin called Sam. Sr Lavia was originally from Argentina. In 1969 he got Sam from another park and started his own show in South America to educate people about dolphins. In those days many did not realise they were intelligent mammals and he wanted to share his love of the species.
Sr Lavia travelled to (a very different) Guia back in 1989 with an idea to combine education with fun in Portugal. After 22 months of negotiations, he opened the park in 1991.
His mission was clear. He wanted “to transport adults and children to a world of dream and fantasy by creating unique emotions and moments that touch hearts and awaken minds.”
Sam was the main attraction and head of the new dolphin family. Sr Lavia was devastated when Sam died in 2011 but commented that “Sam had departed long after teaching us, in his extraordinary old age that one should always strive to go a little bit further than what was expected.”
Last year Zoomarine celebrated its 25th birthday. Pedro Lavia said in their commemorative book: “They were 25 years of hard work and struggle, of conquests and special events. My dream is called Zoomarine and aims to help us all believe in the future and build a happier world.”
These are incredibly noble intentions but many people are critical of animals performing and are opposed to keeping them in captivity.
But as a conservation biologist what does João think? “Well, it is something we are being asked more and more today, which is a good thing because it makes us and parks like us better and spend more time and effort on the animal´s welfare.
“I cannot answer this question because it is down to your personal ethics. It has been illegal to take dolphins from the wild since 1991 and these dolphins, who reproduce on average one calf per year, would not survive in the ocean.”
The dolphins at Zoomarine take part in valuable research projects, for example, it is impossible to study the bachelor groups in the wild as they move around so much. But a researcher at Zoomarine has just been discovering the hierarchy of the males in the bachelor group.
Another research endeavour has been to study the mammals in their sleep patterns by monitoring their brain activity when they are in rest mode, this could tell us whether ‘dolphin watching tours’ should approach the pods when they are in their restive state.
The dolphins at Zoomarine have also been trained to accept ultrasounds whilst pregnant, which allowed the National Geographic channel to come to Zoomarine to monitor the gestation of the calves and understand the developmental stages which was shown in the programme called “Life in the Womb.”
João´s main role is to educate young people and it is a credit to Zoomarine that they have a biologist fulfilling this role. His team brings schools to learn about the dolphins, informing and increasing their sensitivity to issues in the ocean.
They have summer camps, five-day programmes which mix of fun and education. The children help the staff and watch their routines which gives them the experience of being a trainer and increases their awareness of animal welfare. They are also required to make toys for the tropical birds out of recycled materials and during the week they can participate in games, treasure hunts and educators teach them about co-operative behaviour and to enhance their perspective of conservation. If you would like your child to participate it is open to children between 6 and 13 and registration is open now.
So what is new for you if you have been to Zoomarine before? Well, there is a re-modelled square with a new aqua splash ride, where you children can enjoy a type of aquatic roundabout with boats and water guns. The Zoomarine express has become longer so is now more appealing to older children. There is a new alligator display and best of all a new aquatic playground called Treasure Island with a pirate ship and water-slides.
However, if I could give you any advice if you are spending a day there it would be to look at the park with another slant. Take some time to go into the exhibition centre and read about the conservation projects Zoomarine supports and the zoological awards they have won. Check out the marine wildlife rehabilitation centre which attempts to rescue animals and return them to the wild, even returning a seal which had been stranded by air back to Cornwall. There is also a backstage tour which João urges you to book at reception which will give children a different perspective and is priced at around €10 per ticket.
The Dolphin Emotions, although pricey at €169, takes the experience to the next level. You will have a 30-minute talk from an educator before swimming with the dolphins. “Touching the dolphin raises awareness in people by using emotion to make people assimilate information, leaving an impression you will never forget,” explains João.
In between the awesome wave pool and the pirate show take a second to tell your kids why the park exists.
In the days before we knew much about conservation, a man had a dream to make more people love dolphins and explain that if we do we must take better care of our oceans.
If you live here, or are a regular visitor, chances are you love the Atlantic and it´s ours to take care of, so let´s use Zoomarine to educate our kids as well as ourselves.
Tel: (+351) 289 560 300
https://www.facebook.com/ZoomarineAlgarve/
