International Antelope and Giraffe Meeting at Oasys MiniHollywood

Last Friday Oasys MiniHollywood together with the CSIC of Almería organized the international meeting of experts on Antelopes and Giraffes from the different zoological institutions belonging to the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA).

The first day of the meeting was held at the La Hoya Experimental Farm in Almería and on the second the development was carried out at Oasys MiniHollywood, where the present state of threat and danger of extinction in which a large number of ungulates and giraffes, as well as on the conservation and captive breeding actions that are being carried out for their protection.

Oasys MiniHollywood has a collection of 800 animals and more than 14 different species of antelopes and giraffes that are in serious danger of extinction, including some of them extinct in the wild, such as the Dorcas gazelle, Cuvier’s gazelle and gazelle Dama Mohor, so the Conservation and Captive Breeding work of the park is crucial.

The European coordinator of the group of experts, Dr. Sander Hofman, chaired the sessions where nutritional needs, behavioral problems, health needs and the educational work necessary to disseminate from zoological institutions, for the protection and conservation of these species were addressed. .

After the sessions, all the participants, accompanied by the park’s technical team as well as the coordinators of the captive breeding programs of the Arid Zones Experimental Station, took a guided tour of the different antelope and giraffe facilities.

Once again Oasys MiniHollywood supporting the Conservation and Protection of threatened and endangered species.

AmBioBlitz 2022

On April 22, Oasys MiniHollywood theme park participated in the AmBioBlitz event, the biodiversity marathon held at the University of Almería.

The Departments of Education and Conservation of Oasys MiniHollywood Park, as well as the Green Committee of Senator Hotels & Resorts were present at this event holding a workshop on the Eremita Project, which promotes the conservation and captive breeding of these endangered birds due to the action of man and the destruction of its natural habitat.

The university campus hosted one of the largest science events in the province, where CECOUAL, in collaboration with different researchers, environmental professionals, students, as well as Oasys MiniHollywood tried to teach the public about the different ecosystems and their species.

In the Oasys MiniHollywood workshop, called ¨Eremita Ibis», the different stages of the captive breeding process of these birds were shown, from the incubation of the eggs, the feeding of the chicks —with black clothing and a hat that imitates the form of the parents—, until the process of acclimatization to freedom and release into the wild.

It had great participation and the students were able to see the entire process summarized in the educational videos that showed the entire development process, from juveniles to adults, which are released into the wild in Barbate. All of that was explained by Javier Romera, veterinarian and breeding coordinator of Captive Bald Ibis Project at Oasys MiniHollywood Park.

The students learned to differentiate the foods necessary for the correct development of the birds, as well as the large amount of feed and insects they need throughout their life cycle, from chicks to juvenile and finally adults prepared for reproduction.

Like every year, the theme park participated in the AmBioBlitz event.

Once again, Oasys MiniHollywood participates in the cultural and educational development of the province of Almería

Damoselle Cranes at Oasys MiniHollywood

Smaller than the common crane, the demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) has a more elegant appearance, a more attenuated caudal area, and a shorter neck and bill.

It is currently threatened in the wild, so the arrival of this pair at Oasys MiniHollywood is a ray of hope for the European Captive Breeding Program (EEP) for this precious species.

Although it has been extinct in Spain for many years thanks to historical dating and fossil records, its reproduction is assured at the end of the 20th century in marshes and lagoons in Andalusia, Extremadura and Castilla la Mancha. Currently in free life it is distributed between the continents of Asia, Northwest Africa and the western part of Europe.

It feeds on the green parts of plants, seeds, insects and other invertebrates. In summer especially, it can consume some small vertebrate and they reproduce in April-May. The female lays 2 greenish-gray eggs with brown and gray spots, which she incubates alone. The male takes care of her, briefly substituting for her. Chicks hatch after 27-28 days.

The demoiselle crane is one of the 15 species of crane existing throughout the world. Adult specimens are characterized by their ash coloration on the chest and wings and black on the neck. Another peculiarity of these animals is the intense orange color of their eyes, with white feathers that emerge from the rear corner of the eyelids to the back of the head.

Let’s hope that next spring love will emerge in our couple. Come see them at Oasys MiniHollywood.

The Oasys MiniHollywood Park together with the Central Gardening team of Senator Hotels and Resorts, has inaugurated an insect hotel in the native flora zone of the park.

The main hosts of this type of structure are bees and solitary wasps, but some other insects such as ladybugs use it as a refuge.

The solitary specimens of bees and wasps, look for holes where to build small cells where their offspring will develop.

In the natural environment they usually use holes in dead wood, but due to the negative impact that humans generate in nature, eliminating the small natural galleries, holes, undergrowth, etc… that they would normally use in the environment, we also affect their development from a large number of species that depend on all this plant matter and therefore on all insectivorous species.

In addition, some of the species that are tried to protect with insects hotels are in danger of extinction, such as some of the wild bees. In the new hotel, just opened in Winter, before cames the health crisis, we want all the species housed in it to feel like a home.

As material, stones are often used for beetles and spiders, clay with soil and hay for osmias and drilled logs for wasps and bees. It is also good to add some pine cones for the wide variety of insects seeking shelter, such as ladybugs.

Oasys MiniHollywood always developing an enormous work of Conservation and Protection of species and the Environment. For this reason, we wanted to help the surrounding insects, creating a hotel to compensate for the lack of plant matter and natural holes, so that they can develop more easily.