Parco Natura Viva Parco Natura Viva species list and review

Zhao yun

Zhao yun

Well-Known Member
Species list

European Zone
Barn Owl
Ural Owl
Waldrapp Ibis
Reindeer
European Bison
Greater Flamingo
European Wildcat
Eurasian Lynx
Boreal Zone
Snow Goose
Grey Wolf
Snowy Owl
Eurasian Eagle Owl
South American Zone
Caribbean Flamingo
Chilean Flamingo
Greater Rhea
Lowland Tapir
Rhinoceros Iguana
Green-Winged Macaw
Scarlet Macaw
Blue-and-gold Macaw
Red-crowned Parrot
Great Curassow
Blue-throated Macaw
Giant Anteater
Common Marmoset
Scarlet Ibis
White-headed Marmoset
Golden-handed Tamarin
Ocelot
White-nosed Coatimundi
Azara’s Agouti
Red-fronted Macaw
Great Green Macaw
Linne’s Two-toed Sloth
Red-footed Tortoise
Nine-banded Armadillo
Red-eared Slider
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
White-faced Saki Monkey

Farm
Alpaca
Rabbit(sign said flemish giant)
Sheep
Dwarf Zebu
Guinea Pig
Bantam rooster
Domestic Goat
Giants
Giant Otter
Aldabra Giant Tortoise
Tambaqui
Endler’s Livebearer
Green Anaconda
Yellow-footed Tortoise
Oscar
Common Pleco
Leafcutter ant(atta.sp)
Green Spotted Puffer
Papuan Giant Hooded Katydid
Caribbean Hermit Crab
Giant African Land Snail
Curlyhair Tarantula
Radiated Tortoise
Panther Chameleon
African Dwarf Crocodile
Congo Tetra
Unknown Malawi Cichlids
Goliath Stick Insect
Mexican Red-knee Tarantula
Khao Stick Insect
Komodo Dragon
Chinese Water Dragon
Boa Constrictor
Red-whiskered Bulbul
Asian Zone
Transcaspian Urial
Red-headed Vulture
Vietnam Pheasant
Malayan Peacock-Pheasant
Bearded Vulture
Black Stork
Egyptian Vulture
Koi
Amur Tiger
Snow Leopard
Red-crowned Crane
Bactrian Camel
Red Panda
Przewalski's Horse
Grey Peacock-Pheasant
Bali Mynah
African Zone
Nile Hippopotamus
Lowland Nyala
Chimpanzee
African Lion
Meerkat
L’hoest’s Monkey
Barbary Macaque
Sulcata Tortoise
Sitatunga
Springbok
African Spurred Tortoise
Ring-tailed Lemur
Red-bellied Lemur
Fossa
Greater Vasa Parrot
Grey Mouse Lemur
Radiated Tortoise
Oceania Zone
Straw-headed Ibis
Magpie Goose
Laughing Kookaburra
Kea
Parma Wallaby
Red-necked Wallaby
Black Swan
Grey Kangaroo
Southern Cassowary
Sarus Crane
Emu


Review will be posted shortly.
 
Parco Natura Viva is an EAZA accredited zoo and safari park situated in Bussolengo, Northern Italy, founded by Alberto Avesani and his wife in 1969. Despite this, however, most of its exhibits still hold up from a size and welfare perspective. The collection is a rather eclectic mix of some interesting species and ABC animals, and it is a decent zoo overall.
On the day of my visit, I decided to go against the map and head to the European Zone, which the map decided to place as the last zone, first. Thus, the review will go in the opposite direction as the map, which may be a bit convoluted as the routes are pretty chaotic, with plenty of looping, backtracking, and other complicated manoeuvres, which are made even more frustrating by the sheer number of steep slopes. Without further ado, let's start the review.
The European zone was probably the Piece de la resistance of the zoo, with pretty decent landscaping, creative use of the terrain, and winding paths. It is also relatively linear, unlike some other exhibits. The first exhibit you could enter was an aviary for a pair of barn owls. The aviary was well planted, with marshy landscaping for a pond. Said owls were hidden on rafter beams in the enclosure, which was a nice detail. Next, an aviary for Ural Owl came into view. The exhibit was rather small for its occupant, but was densely planted and at least allowed the owl to hide. Other than that, there was also an aviary for Waldrapp, which was average in size, with a small flock. There was also a wall of information about Waldrapp conservation, but alas, it was written in Italian, which was probably a bummer for anyone who was unable to read is Italian. After another climb up the hill, there was a decent paddock for two massive European Bison. Again, the interpretation was excellent, but it was written in Italian. Up a hill came a neat paddock for Domestic Reindeer, again with decent interpretation, but the exhibit itself was rather bare. Then, there was an intersection with the Boreal Zone, and a grassy exhibit for a Snow Goose. The exhibit was hidden among a small grove of olives, which was pretty cool, but made looking for the paddock difficult. Walking down the hill, there is a pair of aviaries, both containing a Snowy owl and a Eurasian Eagle Owl respectively. Thankfully, they were of a decent size, but viewing was also a rather large annoyance, due to the way both were covered with wooden planks, with only a few peepholes, but these probably give the birds privacy.
The next exhibit was a wolf enclosure which was both immense and well-planted, and was essentially a fenced-up area of natural land. Other than that, it is pretty difficult to say much, just that the wolves, which are the cornerstone species of the boreal zone, are impossible to find. After that, there is a sloping exhibit for Transcaspian Urial, and the trail loops back to two flamingo exhibits, which are average. Granted, it would be better if the flamingos were flighted instead of pinioned, but that would be largely impractical. The next area took visitors to a pampas exhibit for Lowland Tapir and Greater Rhea, which had a pond, multiple crossviews and some information about the Tapir and seed dispersal, which was a nice touch. There was also an outdoor exhibit for Magpie Goose, Kookaburra and Straw-necked Ibis, which was relatively average, but random. After the Aviary, there was a reptile "grotto", which housed a Rhinoceros Iguana, who hid amongst the densely planted grasses. It was excellent, and the only gripe I have is again, about visibility(seeing a trend here). This was followed by a decent mini-farm, which was rather meh, with really nothing too exciting. The rabbit and guinea pig enclosures were cute and rustic, matching with the whole area along Lake Garda overall. Leaving the mini-farm, there was an exhibit for Eurasian Lynx, which was both large and well-planted. It was exciting to see them pop out from seemingly nowhere, playfight, and then disappear behind the hills. The signage was, as usual, excellent, and due to the large size and hiding areas of the exhibit, had an additional sign explaining that the Lynxes would hide in the trees. Then, another view of the Wolf enclosure, and a smaller exhibit for European Wildcat, which was curled up in a box. Although the exhibit was immersive, the effect was shattered by the garish plastic cones that they used to prevent egress of the cats.
 
Backtracking along the path, there was a sign directing visitors towards a greenhouse referred to as the "house of giants". The first outdoor enclosure nearby was an exhibit for Giant otters, again on a slope. It had a pond that though deep, was rather small. However, the otters were still frolicking in the pond. There was also a grassy outdoor area for a small creep of tortoises, which was strangely bigger than the otter exhibit. Upon entering the greenhouse, the first exhibit you saw was the indoor quarters for the giant otters. In front of the water area, there was also a medium sized tank, which housed some pacu and a few endlers. Across from the otter exhibit, there was a colony of leafcutter ants, which had some insightful signage about the concept of the superorganism. There was also a large paludarium, which was both well-landscaped and was laden with monstera plants. The inhabitants seemed to be rather healthy, and were a joy to watch. The pufferfish was housed in a garish aquarium, with some atrocious fake mangrove roots. The indoor area also contained radiated tortoise in a dusty exhibit, along with a maze of branches and epiphytes used to house a Veiled chameleon. Butterflies danced along the greenhouse, making a kaleidoscope of colours. Finally, there were a few terrariums filled with insects that were average, and there was a unique open exhibit for stick insects.
The second node of the greenhouse housed a pair of komodo dragons in too-small exhibits. There were two paludariums in the room, neither of which were aesthetically pleasing or big enough. Thankfully, the inhabitants were able to stretch out fully, but the water portion was tiny for the Chinese water dragon. Upon exiting the greenhouse, there were several tired looking displays about the prehistoric wildlife of Italy, which was quite interesting.
Upon climbing the next hill, The next side of the South American Zone came into view. Firstly, there was an immense aviary that mimicked the clay licks in the Amazon, which would have been nice... if the parrot species that it housed were not the commonest species in the pet trade:rolleyes:. The next aviary was a bare patch of land that was encased by a hunk of metal, housing a dishevelled pair of Blue-throated Macaws. Moving up the road, there was the former Andean bear grotto, which currently houses a single Giant Anteater, and a row of decent mini enclosures, which are purely fit for purpose and are similar to Lille Zoo's entrance area. Upon taking a left turn, there is a cavern-type exhibit, housing a few coatimundi and agouti. It was surreal to see an agouti hanging out on a rock that jutted out of the background. Another aviary for macaws rounded off the right side, which made for a pretty complete section. Turning to the left, there was a decent aviary for Great Green macaw, and another Ocelot habitat. The other unique habitat was a forested area for Two-toed sloth, and a few red-footed tortoises concealed in the undergrowth. It was also pretty well planted, with an indoor area that had a multitude of tree limbs crisscrossing each other, and Armadillos scurrying on the ground.
The last exhibit in this zone was a rather eclectic mix of Saki Monkeys, Black-tailed Prairie Dogs, and a marmoset species, all populating one island. It offered amenities to everyone, with much climbing space, undergrowth vegetation, and some smaller trees.
 
I hope the review of the remaining sections will follow. I have also visited this zoo on June 20th and have just finished uploading photos to the gallery. Unfortunately I did not have a car in Italy, and so had to skip the drive-through safari section (even though it has several uncommon in the US species which I would love to photograph: Somali wild asses, geladas, road antelopes, Nile lechwes, and others).
 
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