Loro Parque

Yes, the second "must do thing" whilst in Tenerife is to visit Loro Parque. It is so unlike the average zoo or tacky american animal show. If you are not familiar with the place, then have a look at Trip Advisor . Apparently this is the number 1 attraction in Europe if you believe the trip advisor information. As an animal protection foundation they do some interesting stuff - although there was lots of controversy about setting up and running an orca show.

So, the gorillas are a prime attraction:

Some get a little fed up with having their picture taken though:

Or perhaps he was just chilly - remember that it was the coldest winter on record etc etc.

The white scary guy came out to inspect us as well:

As did some slightly smaller and much less scary meerkats. To help the non UK readers (or those who never watch commercial TV) to understand the obsession with meerkats we seem to have as a nation, look at  Wikipedia. Here is the website that was spawned from one TV advert in January 2009 which has gained a cult following compare the meerkat and life of its own:

The sealion show involved one giving the kiss of life to a trainer:

Considering how many fish the monster sealion had been given by then, the trainer must have serious sinus trouble or a very strong stomach. Naturally we had to watch the dolphin show to see if they were as good as the ones that like to play in our bow wave. You can judge for yourself:

Of course, we haven't seen one go backwards, rapidly, with only his tail in the water out to sea:

The clincher is that none of those we have seen seemed prepared to offer us a high speed surfing experience:

Loro Parque dolphins are ahead slightly we guess - although when the wild ones share some time with you it seems more special...

The most controversial thing seems to be the orca display. It was impressive though:

The orcas enjoy soaking the audience of course - a nice move by the park owners who sell splash protection gear at 4 Euros a pop. A nice little earner....

The very best bit of the park is, to our eyes, Planet Penguin. More of that in the next post, just to keep you coming back.....