Year 11 – Wolfgang Kiessling – Conservation Work at Loro Parque

Wolfgang F. Kiessling was born in Gera, Germany, but has resided in the Canary Islands, Spain, since the early 1970s. He founded Loro Parque in 1972 and continues today as President and General Administrator. Mr. Kiessling is dedicated to animal conservation and providing excellent welfare to animals under his care as well as those in the wild. Loro Parque began as a small park specializing in parrots and, since the beginning, 30 parrot species have benefited and 12 species have been saved from extinction because of the efforts of Loro Parque Fundación and its staff. Loro Parque is distinguished for excellence in beauty, diversity, cleanliness, and the greatest care for the animals and for visitors. Mr. Kiessling’s family (three generations) shares his conservation focus, follows his lead, and all are involved in the park, conservation, and related focal points. In 1994, the Loro Parque Foundation began and over three decades has been committed to conservation of psittacines and their habitats, but also to the development of teaching, research, scientific, and environmental defense for a diverse set of species worldwide. Mr. Kiessling and his Loro Parque have won numerous awards over the years; most notably, in 2000, the Premio Principe Felipe a la Excelencia Empresarial from H.R.H. Prince Felipe de Asturias, the highest achievement in Spain for tourism potential.