Palmitos Park is a botanical garden, aviary and zoo on the island of Gran Canaria,

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

, Spain.

Geography & climate

The park is located in a countryside area, near Pilancones Natural Park, towards south of the island; about north of the tourist beaches and dunes of Maspalomas, but towards the interior. The park has a humid subtropical climate.

Layout

There is a terrace near a fountain, along a path that leads up to the amphitheater where flying birds of prey perform in shows. Next to the amphitheater there is a snack bar, and a small cafe can be found in the park. One feature of the park is the great wealth of cacti and succulents. There are over 160 different cactus types, and 1000 palm trees of 42 different types. Parrot-like birds are well represented in the park, but other types of birds can also be found, including

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

s and ducks. Overall, there are over 1,500 exotic birds of 230 different species. Many fly freely around the park. Palmitos Park holds Europe's largest butterfly venue, as well as the biggest Orchid collection on the island. Near the exit - behind the souvenir shop, one can admire

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

s that fly very visibly in front of their food.

Sections of the park

*Butterfly house with (mainly living) butterflies. *Pond with water birds *Dolphinarium with 6 dolphins, and live dolphin shows interacting with the audience. *Dolphin Photo Opportunity where members of the public can have their photo taken while stroking a dolphin (additional fee) *Swim with Dolphins opportunity (additional fee) *Glass cages with hummingbirds *House of orchids *Terrace near fountain *Amphitheater with shows with flying birds of prey *Presentation room with documentaries and shows with trained parrots *Souvenir shop *Aquaria with many kinds of fish and other underwater animals

Gallery

File:20100222-0306 Gran Canaria (1114).jpg, Variety of plants in Palmitos Park File:Palmitos Park-entrance.jpg, The entrance in 2006, shortly before the fire that destroyed the park File:PPark Acuario 1.jpg, Tourists watching fish in the aquarium File:Herichthys carpintis 01.jpg, A herichthys carpintis fish at Palmitos Park File:Haliaeetus leucocephalus -Palmitos Park, Gran Canaria, Canary islands, Spain -zoo keeper-8a.jpg, A

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

during a show File:Meerkat palmitos park.jpg, A

meerkat MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Kilom ...

at Palmitos Park File:Danaus plexippus IMG 8218 Palmitos Park gran canaria.JPG, A

monarch butterfly The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. It ...

in the Butterfly House File:Greifvogelvorführung.jpg, A birds of prey display File:Gran canaria-881.JPG, A bird show in progress at Palmitos Park File:White Peacock, Palmitos Park, May 2018.jpg, White Peacock File:Common Bottlenose Dolphins, Palmitos Park, May 2018.jpg, The Dolphin Show File:Bald Eagle, Palmitos Park, May 2018.jpg, Bald Eagle in flight

2007 Gran Canaria forest fires

On July 31, 2007 it was reported in the media that almost 65% of the park was burned due to ten forest fires, and that some exotic bird species - such as the toucan - may have been killed. The forest fires caused evacuations of certain parts of Gran Canaria and Tenerife. A local Forest Ranger was accused of starting the fires intentionally in order to keep him in employment as his contract was due to expire. Over 2000 people from the village of

Mogán Mogán is a town and a Spanish municipality in the southwestern part of the island of Gran Canaria, which is one of the three main islands making up the Province of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, Spain. Its population is (2013),

were evacuated, as well as El Salobre. No human people died during the fire, but many houses were burned to the ground. Smoke was clearly visible from space. Because Palmitos Park was severely affected by the fire, it was closed for a whole year. The park opened for the public again August 4, 2008. It has a new section with information about the forest fire.

Notes

External links

* {{authority control Gran Canaria Aviaries Botanical gardens in the Canary Islands Tourist attractions in the Canary Islands Zoos in Spain Aspro Parks attractions