Today, the vision of zoos has radically changed and, with it, the way of working in them. We no longer like to see animals enclosed within four walls, and we understand the needs of these wild living beings that require their own and characteristic environment. Something that they have explained to us in the Selwo Aventura Park, located in Estepona, where we have wanted from the Costa del Sol Area to know first-hand the four cassowary specimens recently born in the park and for them to tell us how they work there and see in what circumstances the animals are found. “I also do not like zoos where the animals do not have a safe environment and where they are not in their natural habitat. I have been working on the conservation of these environments for more than 25 years and I assure you that I would not be here if the animals were not well cared for. A zoo is one thing and a zoological institution is another ”, Eloy Serrano, curator of Selwo Park, told us.
And what difference is there? A traditional zoo that we have always known, where we have gone to see animals to find out what they are like, what they eat or how they look at us between four walls, is gradually ceasing to be a reality. An awareness that is growing in terms of animals and the respect they deserve that has made the role of these centers change today and go further. In the case of Selwo, we are talking about a zoological institution which is based on three fundamental pillars: conservation and protection of species in their natural environment, education and research. «We have been allies of diversity for a long time, with conservation programs like the one we have with cassowaries, recovering species and, in many zoos, species are already being reintroduced into their natural environment. Education and research into possible causes of diseases that these animals may have in the wild is also essential, ”added Serrano.
Animals that live in an environment that simulates every detail of their habitat, in which they have a large team of professionals so that they do not lack anything. “Many of these animals would not survive in their habitat. Here everything you are seeing, even the smallest twig is conscientious, for something. The way to feed them, the position of the rocks, the trees … We do everything possible so that they develop their behavior in a natural way and have a full life«Declared the park curator.
Selwo even has endangered species and adheres to conservation programs. In the case of cassowaries, they are in the framework of a conservation program at European level in which the different zoos come together to protect these species.
Currently, in low season, the park is open on weekends, from Friday to Sunday, and on holidays, from 10:00 to 18:00. The true wild world is in Estepona.