Inauguration of the Cetacean Exhibition
This Friday marked the opening of the Itinerant Cetacean Exhibition for the 2025/2026 school year. The First Nautical Fair of the Canary Islands, taking place this weekend at the Santa Cruz de Tenerife exhibition centre, will serve as the inaugural stop for this display of life-sized replicas, which will travel across the archipelago until June.
This awareness project, initiated by Loro Parque Fundación with the support of Fundación “la Caixa” via Caixabank, Fred Olsen, and Archipiélago Renting, returns after attracting over 14,000 participants and 75 schools in its previous edition. Additionally, the educational initiatives from the Loro Parque Group and Loro Parque Fundación have reached more than 40,000 schoolchildren, amplifying its impact.
Distinguished Guests at the Event
The event was attended by several notable figures, including Christoph Kiessling, President of the Loro Parque Group; Lope Afonso, Vice President of the Cabildo of Tenerife; Manuel Fernández, Island Councillor for Industry, Trade, Primary Sector and Animal Welfare; Ricardo Fernández de la Puente, Director of Institutional Relations at the Loro Parque Group; along with various representatives from the business, social, and governmental sectors.
Third Year of an Inspiring Project
“For us, it is a genuine joy to launch this spectacular exhibition once again, which impresses visitors with the quality and size of these replicas. This marks the third school year of this captivating awareness project, which has been highly embraced by the educational community,” emphasised Christoph Kiessling, President of Loro Parque Fundación.
This initiative aims to raise awareness about the remarkable diversity of cetaceans inhabiting the Canary Islands. It seeks to bolster support for two major projects led by Loro Parque Fundación for the protection of these marine mammals: the establishment of a Marine Sanctuary in Macaronesia and the implementation of a moratorium on the use of military sonar in the jurisdictional waters of the Canary Islands.
Unique Educational Experience
Beyond providing information about cetaceans, the exhibition aims to offer a unique educational experience. The visual impact of the large-scale replicas is enhanced through the use of augmented reality, allowing attendees to explore many species represented at the exhibition in detail.
For over two decades, Loro Parque Fundación has initiated awareness actions regarding the cetaceans of Macaronesia through information panels, audiovisual productions, talks, whale-watching excursions, and social media, among other tools. This clearly demonstrates the organisation’s strong commitment to the protection of species and the conservation of their ecosystems.
