This thread is for news from Selwo Marina (Benalmadena). On August 29, Atlantic bottlenose dolphin Blu turned 7 years old. The whole group received a cake for his birthday. Source: Instagram
After the addition of six-banded armadillos to the tropical bird section of the park, Geoffroy's tufted-ear marmosets and a two-toed sloth recently (the park announced it on May 26) arrived in Selwo Marino. Which species of two-toed sloth is not mentioned, but since it is mentioned that the animal comes from Faunia and another Linnaeus' two-toed sloth was born in 2021, this sloth probably belongs to the latter species. Both species are kept in the tropical bird section. Source: Selwo Marina The park map of 2022 also shows the Cuban hutia on the path to the reptile, fish and amphibian enclosures and the caiman enclosures. This species was not present in the park in 2021, but I cannot find anything about their arrival.
Those are really lovely inclusions to the collection! What do you think of Selwo Marina? Do you, perchance, have a proper species list of the facility?
In my opinion, Selwo Marina is a nice and beautiful park. There are several demonstrations like the bird and dolphin show. You can also go in the water with South American sea lions and dolphins, although I am not in favor of that. Some enclosures are very small, like 1 of the sea lion pools, but overall the enclosures are of decent quality. The best enclosures are the Aviario Los Tropicos aviary and the Isla de Hielo penguin enclosure. The height differences provide a nice environment and make the park look a little bigger. However, the park is very small (only 1.67 hectares) so it is definitely not worth a day visit, but if you are in the area I should recommend it. Because there are so many species held there (mostly reptiles and amphibians) I can't put together a whole species list, but you should check out Zootierliste, which has a species list of all the vertebrates in the park, although sometimes there are some inaccuracies, but I recently added some more animals (although not the sloth as I'm not sure what species it is) and will try to update the list some more in the near future. Link to Zootierliste: https://www.zootierliste.de/en/map.php?showzoo=10000908
I'm pretty sure they are Linnaeus's two-toed sloths, and I'm also pretty sure the Hoffmann's at Faunia might no longer be over there, but I'm not sure. Thanks for the info! The ZTL was notoriously outdated and it's good to see some work put into it!
In 1 of the Facebook posts it says that the sloth's father, named Bob, is currently living in Faunia, and since another Linnaeus's two-toed sloth was born in 2021 I am also pretty sure it is of the Linnaeus species, since according to Zootierliste there is only 1 Hoffmann's two-toed sloth kept, however a male. In the meantime, I have updated Zootierliste as best I can. However, of some bird species I am not sure if they are still kept, as they were still present in the park in reasonable numbers in 2021, but are not listed on the parks site.
On Wednesday, June 15, 2022, Selwo Marina reached a milestone: the park celebrated its 20th anniversary. On the Facebook and Instagram page of the park several posts appeared about their 20th anniversary: Selwo Marina
Recently, many animals have been born in Selwo Marina. There were 4 red flamingo chicks born. Many eggs have also been laid by the penguins. The best news however is the birth of a white-faced saki in the tropical aviary of the park, the parents of the newborn baby are Tina and Darwin. Source: Instagram and Facebook
Had a great first visit yesterday! Been in Benalmadena all week itching to go in but hadn't had the chance. Really well laid out with some nice scenery and city backdrop. A lot of areas were closed such as the walk through aviaries and all the dolphin shows because they wouldn't perform. The bird show was enjoyable however. Some of the dolphin/sea lion pools are a little tired but nothing that couldn't be fixed. The Amazona house is really nice giving you a look at South American reptiles in a simple way, not straying too far from the traditional reptile house format. I liked the penguin enclosure but thought it could be a lot bigger judging on how many individuals were housed there. The snow effect is something I'd like to see become more common. Overall good collection of birds and mammals although their aviaries could be a little larger with the amount if mixed species exhibits. All primates were quite active and seemed to enjoy the layout however the birds seemed awfully distressed in their environment. One macaw had it's beak stuck to the roof all day! To wrap this up, it was a nice collection that was doable in about 2 hours or so and would probably visit again if in the area. Sorry this was so long lol
Forgot to mention that I uploaded some media of a couple of the enclosures at the park if you want to see some more of my visit.
Nice to hear you had a good time there. Too bad the large walk-through aviary was closed, this was without doubt one of the most beautiful parts of the park, with the highlight being the white-faced sakis. Was the walk-through 'aviary' of the squirrel monkeys also closed? As this was also not opened when I visited the park 2 years ago. Nice photos too btw. I think the glass walls of the broad-snouted caimans have been renewed. One of the photos shows prairie dogs, where in the park were they housed? And lastly; did you see the Cubian hutia on the path towards the Amazonia section (reptile house and crocodiles)?
They were housed by the caiman before the entrance to Amazona. I don't remember seeing the hutia unfortunately
