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Parques Reunidos, one of the leading firms in the leisure sector on the Costa del Sol, has reopened the doors of its three attractions on the Malaga coast: Selwo Aventura, in Estepona, and Selwo Marina and Teleférico (cable car), both in Benalmádena. This is the start of the season in facilities that generate more than 220 direct jobs.
"We have improved facilities and introduced new species," said Alberto Martín, director of Selwo Costa del Sol, who predicts a good year in terms of visitor numbers. "Last year was a good year and the forecast is that the figures will improve, something we have been achieving every year for some time," he added. To this end, he acknowledges that the parks act as "communicating vessels", so that there may be a year in which some of them see a drop in performance, but others see a rise, and in the end the total is always the same.
As with every season, the three facilities closed their doors after Christmas and both the animal parks and the cable car took advantage of the closure to carry out technical maintenance work, as well as the revision or remodelling of the facilities.
In the case of Selwo Aventura in Estepona, the big news this year is the arrival of three Atlas lions. The two females, Ghalíya and Ghizléne, both sisters, are from the Zoo Plzeň park (Czech Republic), and the male, Tayo, is from the Hannover Zoo (Germany). All three lions belong to a subspecies of lions extinct in the wild.
The Atlas lion is a subspecies of lion that inhabited North Africa, in the territory where the Amazigh or Berber community settled (to which more than a quarter of Morocco's current population belongs). "These lions became extinct in the wild in the 1950s," explained Sandra Hernández Paez, from Selwo's education department.
At present, there are several animal parks that continue to keep specimens of this subspecies of lion. "By coordinating a breeding programme for endangered species, the aim is to maintain a genetically healthy population that could, in the future, serve as a basis for bringing back the original Atlas lion," explained Cecilia Sierra, the park's chief veterinary officer.
At Selwo Marina, in Benalmádena, the changes come with the arrival of three new female California sea lions, and the improvements made to the penguinarium, the only one of its kind in Andalucía. Specifically, the facility has been adapted to improve the welfare of the different species of penguins it houses, improving the filtration system, water quality and temperature and air conditioning. The lighting system has also been updated to respect the photoperiod cycle adapted to these birds.
The penguinarium will now have a larger and more interactive area for both visitors and animals. "Visitors will be able to walk through the new themed area where the penguins will have another pool at their disposal. It will be an open facility, so they will have the option to enter and enjoy this new area all year round," added the park's head of conservation, Nacho Barrio.
The Benalmádena cable car, on the other hand, is a recreational installation that travels across a height difference of 636 metres, from its station in Arroyo de la Miel to the summit of Mount Calamorro, during a journey of approximately 15 minutes.
Once at the top of the mountain, thanks to the work of the Fundación Valle de las Águilas, you can watch demonstrations with the more than 150 birds of prey.
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