The Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park (AWCP) is a small wildlife park situated in the Botanic Gardens in

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History

The Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park began in 1994 as a collection of parrots, tortoises and

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

s all confiscated from illegal traders who were passing through Gibraltar. The local Customs authorities handed these animals to the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society (GONHS). In 1996 the Alameda Miniature Golf Course was cleared after many years of neglect and modified into a small conservation park, again entirely through volunteer help.

Today

Although the main purpose of the park was to house confiscated animals, it became apparent that, if finished properly, it could also be open to the public to make people aware not only about illegal animal trade, but also about local wildlife conservation. The park has also become important for the care of native species that are considered for future re-introduction to the

Upper Rock Nature Reserve The Gibraltar Nature Reserve (formerly the Upper Rock Nature Reserve) is a protected nature reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar that covers over 40% of the country's land area. It was established as the Upper Rock Nature Rese ...

, such as the

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

, the

raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

and the

Barbary partridge The Barbary partridge (''Alectoris barbara'') is a gamebird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae) of the order Galliformes. It is native to North Africa. Distribution The Barbary partridge has its main native range in North Africa, and is also na ...

. The park has become an important educational resource for local schools, helping to raise awareness of not only the rich local biodiversity but also of wider conservation issues.

Entrance information

The park is open all year except

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

, National Day (10 September) and Christmas Day. Entrance fees are used to cover general maintenance, food bills and veterinarian expenses.

Species in the park

;Reptiles * Green iguana * Spur-thighed tortoise * Terrapin *

Hermann's tortoise Hermann's tortoise (''Testudo hermanni'') is a species of tortoise. Two subspecies are known: the western Hermann's tortoise (''T. h. hermanni'' ) and the eastern Hermann's tortoise (''T. h. boettgeri'' ). Sometimes mentioned as a subspecies, ...

* Snapping turtle *

Chinese water dragon The Chinese water dragon (''Physignathus cocincinus'') is a species of agamid lizard native to China and mainland Southeast Asia. It is also known as the Asian water dragon, Thai water dragon, and green water dragon. The genus name is Greek for " ...

;Mammals *

Prairie dog Prairie dogs (genus ''Cynomys'') are herbivorous burrowing ground squirrels native to the grasslands of North America. Within the genus are five species: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. In Mexico, p ...

Barbary macaque The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar. It is the type species of the ...

* Pig-tailed macaque * Long tailed macaque * Cotton-topped tamarin * Prevost's squirrel * Egyptian fruit bat * Vietnamese potbelly pig *

Asian small-clawed otter The Asian small-clawed otter (''Aonyx cinereus''), also known as the oriental small-clawed otter and the small-clawed otter, is an otter species native to South and Southeast Asia. It has short claws that do not extend beyond the pads of its web ...

Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

* Masked dormice ;Birds * Grey parrot * Patagonian conure * Yellow fronted amazon * Orange-winged amazon *

Red lory The red lory (''Eos bornea'') is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is the second-most commonly kept lory in captivity, after the rainbow lorikeet. Taxonomy In 1751 the English naturalist George Edwards included an illustration ...

Black lory The black lory (''Chalcopsitta atra''), also known as the rajah lory or red-quilled lory, is a medium-sized, blackish parrot with black bill, dark grey feet and long rounded tail. It has yellow and red under-tail. The sexes are similar. It is nat ...

* Monk parakeet * Mitred conure * Sulphur-crested cockatoo *

Raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

Senegal parrot The Senegal parrot (''Poicephalus senegalus'') is a parrot which is a resident breeder across a wide range of west Africa. It makes migrations within west Africa, according to the availability of the fruit, seeds and blossoms which make up its ...

*Free Indian peafowl

Events

The park organizes two open days each year, in May and in October. Others events are offered by the Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park.

References

External links

* Fauna of Gibraltar Tourist attractions in Gibraltar Conservation projects Parks in Gibraltar {{zoo-stub