Penguins Set to Make a Splash at Lagos Zoo
A passion for animals in his childhood led The Algarve´s very own Gerald Durrell, Paulo Figueiras, to establishing a zoo near Barão de São João. Having visited many times with my children I am excited to meet the owner and find out how he turned his parent´s land into an attraction and in the process, I stumble on an exclusive for Tomorrow Magazine readers!
There is a great deal of negative publicity nowadays surrounding zoos so I am keen to find out whether we should be supporting them or staying away.
I immediately warm to Paulo, he does not come across as a Cruella de Vil figure, on the contrary he is passionate about animal conservation. “People need to start looking at zoos in a different way, they are not about cages, it is all about conservation,” he says. One of the lovely things about Lagos zoo is that many of the primates live on islands surrounded by a lake so that you do not look at them through bars.
Paulo is very excited that in 2016 the zoo became a member of EAZA. (European Association of Zoos and Aquariums.) Normally it takes some time to achieve full membership but Lagos zoo achieved this after the initial application process.
Formed in 1992, EAZA’s mission is to facilitate cooperation within the European zoo and aquarium community towards the goals of education, research and conservation. Paulo works with schools in conjunction with the Portugal Ministry of Education aiming to instruct children in conservation and explain the problems caused by man´s commercial activities.
Lagos zoo is home to many endangered species from around the world, “you wouldn’t need zoos if people acted in a different way,” explains Paulo. “The 2 nd biggest illegal trade after guns is animals. On top of this deforestation is leading to many of these animal´s habitats disappearing. Zoos play a vital role in preventing species from becoming extinct and they put millions into conservation projects every year. None of our animals come from the wild and in fact, several of the schemes we co-operate with are working towards breeding animals to put back in the wild.”
One of the projects Lagos Zoo is involved with this year is helping to preserve the Socorro Dove which comes from an island in Mexico. After a military base was established on the island the dove numbers are dangerously low. Two breeding pairs are arriving in Barão to hopefully reproduce chicks that will be sent back to Mexico. In order that they will re-integrate into the wild 1 pair will be kept out of the sight of the public while the other pair will be visible.
Zoos now work in conjunction with each other, there is one designated custodian of a species who is responsible for the programmes for that breed throughout Europe. They will determine whether there is a surplus or if more breeding is required. Animals are then moved between locations for breeding programmes using a software programme that monitors all the animals and controls the gene pool, with the ultimate goal of releasing animals back into the wild. Paulo co-ordinates the White Cheek Horn Bills from Africa for all the zoos in the scheme. “It is just like being part of a big family; we meet regularly at conferences, the EAZA meeting was 4 weeks ago, in Belfast.”
The zoo has had many successes one of the most endangered monkeys, the Cotton-Top Tamarin from Colombia is currently pregnant and the coordinator will decide which zoo to send the babies, which will hopefully expand the population in other zoos. Paulo has just built a new flamingo pool which is a beautiful spectacle and home to the bright pink Cuban flamingos which have just arrived from Barcelona zoo. He is receiving 23 more European flamingos from Bristol zoo.
Fans of the endangered Pygmy hippos will be pleased to know that a boyfriend has just arrived for the two females, Flory and Luna. Paulo is hoping that this will result in some baby hippos soon. Once any young arrive though the male cannot be kept with the female as they are solitary animals so he will then be introduced to the 2nd female.
Paulo, who has done a course in animal welfare, tells me that it is not always the size of the enclosure which determines the animal´s quality of life but rather the enrichment they get through being able to carry out natural behaviour patterns. An example of this is seen in the Chimp enclosure where a termite hut has been provided from which the animals dig out food with sticks.
The two primates have both been rescued, one from having photos taken with tourists in Tenerife and another from a circus. “I deliberately do not have any animal shows,” says the zookeeper, “the only presentations we do to the public is showing the animals engaged in a natural activity such as using a stone to break open fruit. I get very happy when I see on TripAdvisor people saying that the zoo does not feel commercial because I don´t want it to be a spectacle.”
On this score, I would say that Paulo has achieved this his goal. You get a feeling of peace and tranquillity as you walk around the zoo and always come away feeling relaxed rather than exhausted, as you do when you leave some other tourist attractions in the Algarve. I can highly recommend that if you are a Resident or visit regularly that you buy one of the “Friends of Lagos Zoo” passes, which at only €45 for an adult and €30 for a child gives you a year’s unlimited access. If you have young children it is a magical and safe environment to bring them to run around in, or if you are an adult a calming place in which to unwind!
The zoo receives 70,000 visitors a year and it has taken many years of hard work and dedication to get to this point. I ask Paulo how he got things started; “It was very hard he says, “banks want to lend you money for a house, not a zoo. Of course, if we were more in the centre of the Algarve we would receive more visitors but I am happy that the zoo now pays for itself and I can re-invest in improving the zoo each year.”
Paulo started the zoo from scratch on land owned by his parents, each lake was dug out and is supplied by their bore hole. He started with some Capuchin monkeys from a zoo in Budapest and some birds from a zoo in Porto, opening on the 16 th November 2000 and has grown the project each year now employing 15 staff.
On which note I can exclusively reveal to Tomorrow´s readers the new addition to the zoo for summer 2017 is a swimming pool for visitors which will be separated by a glass partition from a penguin pool, giving you the feeling of swimming with the penguins. For anyone worrying that the pool might be a bit cold, these are African penguins which do not live on ice so the water will be a normal temperature, although there might be some refrigerated crevices which the penguins can retreat to in the height of summer.
I ask Paulo if he is proud of what he has achieved. “Of course, I am very proud and happy, I am a dreamer and this has been a life-long dream but you also have to confront reality on a daily basis. I love animals but have never wanted to pet them I like to observe them in their natural habitat. My next idea is to create an African savannah with giraffes.”
It has been an honour to meet such an inspirational character who shows that dreams can come true and I can´t wait to tell my kids about the penguin pool!
