Orcas in Loro Parque: It Isn't A Black And White Situation

Dave and I visited Puerto Cruz, Tenerife last week for our first holiday in the sun together. Our hotel was a 10 minute walk (or for our sunburnt butts, a 5 min taxi) from the world famous Loro Parque. Now, as a hater of all things Sea World, and with the reason for this fatal incident in mind, I was adamant that I did not want to go to Loro Parque due to the fact that they keep SeaWorld orcas. Which in turn would suggest that they are as cruel and uncaring as SeaWorld.  My confliction began as David showed more and more interest in the park. He really wanted to go, and I didn’t want to ruin his holiday so I went with him. While we were there, we watched the shows, we ate the food, we bought souvenirs & wandered around the park for hours. After a day in the park, I formed my own opinion of them and how they treat the animals in their care. 









Walking into the park is beautiful, the natural trees hang over the pathways towards the enclosures, with subtle yet readable signage directing you to wherever you'd like to go. The main entrance takes you over a beautiful koi pond. The layout is very readable, and you are less than a 10 minute walk from most of the enclosures no matter where you are. 



















The enclosures were clean and natural, with real trees coming out of the enclosures and waterfall installments providing a flowing river to drink from. The animals had places to escape the view of the public if they chose & the overall atmosphere was very relaxed. Unlike places I have visited such as Beijing Zoo & various Aqualand parks, I felt as though the animals were happy in their enclosures from simply watching them interact with each other. This is the first zoo I have visited where most of the animals have been active throughout the day. 

Some of the enclosures were rather small, like a few of the bird cages and at one point they were re-painting the cages whilst the animals were still inside. Their new lion enclosure is beautifully decorated, but I would have preferred the animals had more space to move around. 

The park also has various informational attractions, like their theatre showing a film dedicated to waking the public up about various environmental issues. 

 While wandering around and checking out the free map you receive on entry, I noticed that they have an “Animal Embassy” beside the kids play centre. At first, I thought it was a children's attraction or another form of "kids club" for younger children. It turns out this is where they show you the hatching stations, parts of the animal clinic & how they look after the young parrots. You can see how the staff members care for and prepare the newborn parrots for adult life. 

 My main concern was how they were treating their orcas. I had heard horror stories of Morgan "attempting suicide" and of course, of the tragic event with Keto, which resulted in the death of Alexis Martínez.

I attended the Orca Ocean show twice.
From what I saw whilst I was there, the younger orcas had clearly been there most of their lives and had zero scratches on their body. We had a front row seat, to both shows, and I only ever noticed Keto's dorsal fin flopping over.

The way the trainers interact with the animals is beautiful. From the arena, you can watch them interact with the orcas backstage and the joy in their eyes is very real. 

There was an issue while we were there, one of the orcas (who I assumed to be Keto with his distinctive fin) did not look happy nor “into it” during the last show we saw. The trainers basically paused the show to play their routine conservation video early and as the crowd was learning about how to reduce their plastic intake in order to save the animals, the trainer spent quality time with him trying to work out the issue. He fed the whale & checked around his body for any injuries. Everything seemed to be well, I'm assuming he had simply had a long day.

At the end of my visit, I came to the conclusion that I did not have to allow activists on the internet to bully me into believing something that is simply untrue. There is no black and white in this situation.  I still believe animals should not participate in shows like those at Loro Parque, but you can really see that the animals in this park are well looked after. It seems as if they’ve changed their tune to prove how much they care for the animals. 

My recommendation is if you’re going with someone and they’d enjoy it, go ahead. Don’t let the internet bully you into not experiencing and deciding for yourself.

More Photos 

Loro Parque Info: Modern Zoos
An Open Letter From The President of Loro Parque