Bioparc Valencia

Bioparc Valencia is a 10-hectare (25-acre) zoo park in Valencia, Spain. The zoo is owned by the City Council of Valencia and designed and managed by Rainforest (a private Spanish company devoted to building and managing zoos). It has a large collection of African fauna. Most of the animals moved to the new Bioparc facilities, located in Valencia's Turia riverbed, from the old city's zoo when the park opened in 2008. The concept of the zoo, called Zooimersion in Spanish, consists of immersing visitors into the animals' habitat and not vice versa. This is achieved by not using the traditional railings and cages that are common in many zoos, using instead rivers, ponds, streams and rocks to separate visitors from the animals. Also, great care has been taken in reproducing the eco-systems, including an important collection of African flora. The zoo is the birthplace of Makena, the first elephant born in the Valencian Community.