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ANNA CROUKAMP AND PARQUE DAS AVES
Anna-Sophie Helene Croukamp, the founder of Parque das Aves, was born on August 11, 1946 in Hiddesen, Germany. A passion for animals was always very strong in her childhood and youth, so much so that she chose to study veterinary medicine. She graduated in 1972 and finished her doctorate in the same area. Anna was an academic teacher for two years and some time later went to Harare, former Salisbury, in southeast Africa, to work as a field veterinarian.
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ANNA CROUKAMP AND PARQUE DAS AVES |
Anna-Sophie Helene Croukamp, the founder of Parque das Aves, was born on August 11, 1946 in Hiddesen, Germany. A passion for animals was always very strong in her childhood and youth, so much so that she chose to study veterinary medicine. She graduated in 1972 and finished her doctorate in the same area. Anna was an academic teacher for two years and some time later went to Harare, former Salisbury, in southeast Africa, to work as a field veterinarian.
It was in Africa that Anna met Dennis Croukamp. The two fell in love and lived many adventures together. Years later, the family grew with the birth of their daughters Anna-Luise and Carmel. A passion for animals always continued in the family, but it was when the couple was given a grey parrot chick, Pumuckl, a new member of the family, that this love grew even more and inspired the creation of Parque das Aves.
In the beginning of the 1990s, the family moved to the Isle of Man in the United Kingdom and a friend suggested for them to open a crocodile park in Foz do Iguaçu. But Dennis replied saying, “I like birds. I’ll build a bird park.” In the beginning Anna didn’t really like the idea, but soon was on board with Dennis’ adventure. In 1993, Dennis and Anna landed in Foz do Iguacu and with the book “Portuguese in three months” in hands and bought 16.5 acres of a piece of land next to the Iguaçú National Park. The construction of Parque das Aves began in November.
Anna made the first sketch by hand of how the park’s layout would be done in a careful way so that no trees would have to be cut down for its construction. Parque das Aves was opened in October 1994. Two years after Parque das Aves started, Dennis died, and in the midst of a goodbye, Anna had to take care of the Park on her own. With hard work and dedication, the fruit of a successful trajectory appeared. But even after so many victories, the phrase that Anna always says is ” there is still so much more to be done”.
