Bioparco
Encyclopedia
Bioparco SpA is a 17 hectares (42 acre) zoological garden located on part of the original Villa Borghese
estate in Rome
, Italy
. There are 1114 animals of 222 species maintained.
criteria, this zoo was designed for the entertainment and amusement of the people. The zoo covered 12 hectares (29.7 acre) and was erected in the northern part of the Villa Borghese
estate; it was opened on 5 January 1911.
, who had already opened a zoo in Hamburg
Stellingen. The park was built in the style of that in Hamburg: ditches and pits instead of bars, and generous green spaces.
This initial success did not hold. Attempts were made to stock the zoo with especially rare and exotic animals. Various park expansions were undertaken and in 1926 a further expansion was planned into the neighboring red deer park. In 1933, the architect Raffaele De Vico began his work in the new areas, which were to hold two main attractions: the large aviary and the reptile house which opened in 1935.
. In April 1998, the organization Bioparco S.p.A. was established to be financed through the city of Rome with 51%, from Costa Edutainment with 39% and from Cecchi Gori with 10%.
, which is rapidly nearing extinction
in the wild, was successfully bred in 2007. The group in the zoo are animals confiscated from a smuggler's suitcase in 2005.
Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese may refer to:*The Villa Borghese Pinciana , the villa built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio , developing sketches by Scipione Borghese, who used it as a villa suburbana, a party villa, at the edge of Rome, and to house his art collection.**The Galleria...
estate in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. There are 1114 animals of 222 species maintained.
History
The zoo was conceived in 1908 to hold exotic animal species for exhibition. Unlike other zoos at the time which mainly worked for scientificScience
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
criteria, this zoo was designed for the entertainment and amusement of the people. The zoo covered 12 hectares (29.7 acre) and was erected in the northern part of the Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese may refer to:*The Villa Borghese Pinciana , the villa built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio , developing sketches by Scipione Borghese, who used it as a villa suburbana, a party villa, at the edge of Rome, and to house his art collection.**The Galleria...
estate; it was opened on 5 January 1911.
Early years
The zoo was designed by Carl HagenbeckCarl Hagenbeck
Carl Hagenbeck was a merchant of wild animals who supplied many European zoos, as well as P.T. Barnum. He is often considered the father of the modern zoo because he introduced "natural" animal enclosures that included recreations of animals' native habitats without bars...
, who had already opened a zoo in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
Stellingen. The park was built in the style of that in Hamburg: ditches and pits instead of bars, and generous green spaces.
This initial success did not hold. Attempts were made to stock the zoo with especially rare and exotic animals. Various park expansions were undertaken and in 1926 a further expansion was planned into the neighboring red deer park. In 1933, the architect Raffaele De Vico began his work in the new areas, which were to hold two main attractions: the large aviary and the reptile house which opened in 1935.
After the Second World War
The zoo began to deteriorate, although many areas were renovated and others fully rebuilt. In 1970, the reptile house had to be closed due to its ailing condition, its improvements took about nine years and it was finally reopened in 1983.From zoo to bioparco
The idea to transform the zoo into a biopark was first suggested in 1994. In 1997 a master plan was produced based on the principles of the Gilman FoundationHoward Gilman Foundation
The Howard Gilman Foundation is a charitable organization started by Howard Gilman.*Howard Gilman Memorial Park*Howard Gilman Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music*White Oak Plantation in Jacksonville, Florida...
. In April 1998, the organization Bioparco S.p.A. was established to be financed through the city of Rome with 51%, from Costa Edutainment with 39% and from Cecchi Gori with 10%.
Notable animals
Kleinmann's TortoiseKleinmann's Tortoise
Kleinmann's Tortoise , often called Egyptian Tortoise and occasionally Leith's Tortoise. It is a critically endangered neck-hiding tortoise. Once more widespread, its numbers are now dwindling...
, which is rapidly nearing extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
in the wild, was successfully bred in 2007. The group in the zoo are animals confiscated from a smuggler's suitcase in 2005.