Older animals a testament to great care
The ABQ BioPark — consisting of the zoo, aquarium, botanic garden and Tingley Beach — is a state treasure that has existed now for more than 20 years. The zoo celebrated its 90th anniversary just last year. The BioPark is one of the few places in the world where plants, animals and cultures are celebrated in one place.
Over the years, the BioPark has struggled with financial woes resulting in outdated facilities and fewer staff to care for its needs. Recently, the people of Albuquerque demonstrated their commitment to the BioPark by passing a one-eighthof-a-cent gross receipts tax (GRT) for updating the facility and habitats. So far, we have seen some of these improvements in the form of a new jaguar habitat and a new climbing platform for our tiger. As we move forward, the GRT monies will allow us to focus on improving the habitats of the many animals under our care, as well as improve the facilities that our guests use during their visit. New habitats for our large cats is one of the top priorities on the list of construction projects.
The BioPark is currently accredited with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which is the gold standard for zoos and aquariums around the world. A main component of that accreditation is the welfare of the animals. Rest assured that the BioPark passed this part of accreditation with ease. Our animals are well cared for. We provide them with daily enrichment to stimulate both their physical and psychological needs, and our veterinarians and staff do regular quality of life assessments for all animals under our care.
The reason we have so many signs out for animals that are “sick” is because almost all of those animals are well beyond their normal life expectancy and are experiencing either chronic congenital issues or just problems that we often see with very aged animals — e.g. arthritis, chronic heart maladies, kidney disease and so on. A perfect example of the longevity of animals under our care is our remaining Tasmanian devil, who recently celebrated its eighth birthday — the equivalent of about 120 in human years. This is an incredible milestone that we actually reached with two of our other devils, and is evidence of our superb husbandry and medical management.
As always, our No. 1 priority at the BioPark is the well-being and safety of our animals, our staff and our visitors. The entire BioPark staff is committed to maintaining a pleasurable, safe and clean facility for the 1.2 million annual visitors who make the BioPark New Mexico’s No. 1 most-visited attraction.