Hello everyone. When I visited Sendaviva, my main goal was creating a complete species list with all the animals I saw+some I know that the park keeps for shows, and for some reason or another these species are offshow. I'll be working on a review to post here soon or later. This is the full species list: Mammals: -Bennett’s wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus) -Black-capped capuchin (Sapajus apella) -Red-handed tamarin (Saguinus midas) -Cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus) -Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) -Southern three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes matacus) -Domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus) -Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) -Patagonian mara (Dolichotis patagonum) -Domestic guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) -Long-tailed chinchilla (Chinchilla lanigera) -Banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) -Yellow mongoose (Cynictis penicillata) -Meerkat (Suricata suricatta) -Serval (Leptailurus serval) -Northern lynx (Lynx lynx lynx) -Lion (Panthera leo) -Tiger (Panthera tigris) -Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) -Syrian brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) -Kinkajou (Potos flavus) -South American coati (Nasua nasua) -Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) -European mink (Mustela lutreola) -Domestic horse (Equus ferus caballus): -Appaloosa -Burguete horse -Navarre pony -Domestic donkey (Equus africanus asinus) -Chapman’s zebra (Equus quagga chapmani) -Iberian wild boar (Sus scrofa castillianus) -Dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius) -Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) -Reeve’s muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) -Spanish red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) -Common fallow deer (Dama dama) -South-european water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) -Domestic cattle (Bos taurus): -Highland cattle -Pirenaica cattle -Betizu cattle -Friesian cattle -Tudanca ox -Kafue flats lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis) -Domestic sheep (Ovis aries): -Navarre sheep -Hampshire sheep -Domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus): -Valais-blackneck goat -Celtiberian goat -European mouflon (Ovis orientalis musimon) -Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) Birds: -Common ostrich (Struthio camelus) -Greater rhea (Rhea americana) -Common emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) -Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax) -Little egret (Egretta garzetta garzetta) -Western cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis ibis) -Abdim's Stork (Ciconia abdimii) -European white stork (Ciconia ciconia ciconia) -Marabou (Leptoptilos crumenifer) -African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) -Greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) -Cape barren goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae novaehollandiae) -Bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) -Greylag goose (Anser anser) -Swan goose (Anser cygnoid) -Domestic goose (Anser anser domesticus) -Black swan (Cygnus atratus) -Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) -Ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) -Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) -Domestic Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata domestica) -Ringed teal (Callonetta leucophrys) -Wood duck (Aix sponsa) -Baikal teal (Sibirionetta formosa) -Common mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos) -Domestic duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus): -Indian runner duck -Call duck -Philippine duck (Anas luzonica) -White-cheeked pintail (Anas bahamensis) -Secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) -African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) -Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) -Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) -Eastern Imperial eagle (Aquila heliaca) -European golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos chrysaetos) -Steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) -Black-chested buzzard-eagle (Geranoaetus melanoleucus) -Harris' hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) -Red-backed hawk (Geranoaetus polyosoma) -Common black kite (Milvus migrans migrans) -African harrier hawk (Polyboroides typus) -African white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus) -Hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) -Western Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus percnopterus) -Western eurasian griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus fulvus) -Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) -King vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) -Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) -Crested caracara (Caracara plancus) -Saker falcon (Falco cherrug) -Western European Barn Owl (Tyto alba alba) -Eurasian tawny owl (Strix aluco) -Eurasian long-eared owl (Asio otus) -Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) -Spanish eagle-owl (Bubo bubo hispanus) -Verreaux's Eagle-owl (Bubo lacteus) -Bare-faced curassow (Crax fasciolata) -Chaco chachalaca (Ortalis canicollis) -Great curassow (Crax rubra rubra) -Bronze turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) -Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) -Blue eared-pheasant (Crossoptilon auritum) -Golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) -Reeves's pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) -Silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera) -Domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus): -Bantam chicken -Polish chicken -Silkie chicken -Red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) -Yellow-necked francolin (Pternistis leucoscepus) -Helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris) -Red-legged seriema (Cariama cristata) -Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus) -Giant wood-rail (Aramides ypecaha) -Blue crane (Anthropoides paradisea) -Demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) -Eastern grey-crowned crane (Balearica regulorum gibbericeps) -White-naped crane (Antigone vipio) -Masked lapwing (Vanellus miles) -Northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) -Yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) -Common woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) -Zebra dove (Geopelia striata) -Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus) -Congo grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus erithacus) -Fischer's lovebird (Agapornis fischeri) -Peach-faced lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis) -Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) -Eastern rosella (Platycercus eximius) -Yellow-shouldered amazon (Amazona barbadensis) -Red-crowned amazon (Amazona viridigenalis) -Blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) -Green-winged macaw (Ara chloropterus) -Green-cheeked parakeet (Pyrrhura molinae) -Sun parakeet (Aratinga solstitialis) -White-cheeked turaco (Tauraco leucotis leucotis) -Southern ground hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri) -Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops epops) -European blackbird (Turdus merula merula) -Purple glossy-starling (Lamprotornis purpureus) -Java sparrow (Lonchura oryzivora) -Red-crested cardinal (Paroaria coronata) Reptiles: -Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) -Common green iguana (Iguana iguana) -Corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus) -Royal python (Python regius)
Yep. I didn't see it in my last visit but I know that it's still around, I've seen it on other visits.
REVIEW PART ONE: Introduction, Pueblo, and Feria. Sendaviva is a theme park and zoo mix opened in 2004 in the town of Arguedas, Navarre. Originally intended to simulate a small rural town of early 1900, showcasing society in those years. Despite all of this, the park has been losing it’s original theming, but all four of it’s themed areas are still up and working; Pueblo (Town), Feria (Fair), Granja (Farm), and Bosque (Forest). My feelings are really conflictive towards the park, my parents used to take me here as a kid for a day off from time to time so I’m very nostalgic over it, but I must admit that zoo-wise it isn’t as good of a place as I once thought. Earlier this year I realized that they expanded their aviary (My favorite place in the park) and since the COVID epidemic wouldn’t let me go too far to visit any zoo, I decided to return. The main idea of the visit was making a full species list with every species I saw, as well as seeing their new African harrier hawk (Thing that I sadly wasn’t able to do) so my idea was just fully focusing on the animals. Thankfully, my brother decided to join me in my visit. But this meant that at least I’d have to invest some time to ride some of the rides, something that at the first glance kinda annoyed me, but I ended up having enough time for everything. Once we prepared our backpacks (Reminder to bring a lot of water, since Sendaviva is located in a semi-desert area, near the “Bardenas Reales”), we jumped into the car and we traveled to Arguedas. Once there, we left our car in the park’s parking and went through the park's first gate. I took a photo of the gate as well as if they changed anything of the map since my last visit, disappointing me at first glance since 0 changes were made. We had to wait for a while since we arrived early, but once the time arrived everything was fast and easy. Entering the park, we had a first glance at what once used to be home to loads of breeds of domestic hoofstock, “La senda Ganadera” (the Livestock trail). Two of five paddocks currently house some of the animals that you could formerly find in this pathway, these being our first species, the Domestic donkey, the park's mascot since it’s opening. Here we find Palmira, a female donkey that has been living in Sendaviva since it’s opening, the mascot of the park. We keep moving forward and we finally reach our first zone, “Pueblo”. Because of the COVID, the ticket checkup has been moved to an outdoor area right in front of the old ticket checkup. Since we already bought our tickets, the checkup was easy and simple, so we easily got into the park. The first thing you see in “Pueblo” is the park’s charismatic donkey animatronic, that for the modest price of 1€, the robotic equid “shoots” or “defecates” (I couldn’t find a better word) a tennis ball with the park’s logo, original right? The pueblo area is also where you can find a haunted mansion, a café, a park for the kids, a gift shop, an information hut as well as a fronton in case you want to play some basque pelota. Here you could also take a truck to go down to the next area, but this service was shut down because of the pandemic. I didn’t mind this at all, since walking you get a better view of the huge paddock for Dromedary camel, South-European water buffalo, and Scottish highland cattle, in what was once home to Pirenaica cattle and Navarre and Latxa sheep. Going down the path we can see a big stable where hay is kept, alongside some of the domestic hoofstock of the area once the park is closing. At the end of the path we see the last animals of the Livestock trail, we can find a pair of Oxes, respectively of the Tudanca and Pirenaica breeds, grazing peacefully in their small paddock. This pair of huge animals once used to pull a cart from the Pueblo area to the end of the Livestock trail, but now they have received their well-needed retirement. Once we see the oxes, a big sign welcomes us to the Feria (Fair) area, but before we get into it another paddock awaits us. This paddock is similar in size to the one the oxes have and houses a huge Friesian cow alongside a brown non-breed specific horse, animals that were once exhibited in the farm area. Once we get past the truck station the fair feeling is easy to notice, you start to hear music, you can see a big circus tent at the distance and get a glance of the first ride, “La via Verde” a little train for the youngest ones where you can see some geese, sheep, a donkey,... nothing really interesting. After this, you get a full view of the main feria area, full of rides for the youngest ones, the Fairground Brasserie, and the water maze, but what matters is at the right. Here we can see our first real exotic animal, the Banded mongoose, in an exhibit that they have adapted in a perfect way, having bred in it several times. This exhibit was once home to black-tailed prairie dogs. Right at their back, we can see the exhibit that gives name to the exhibit, “La isla de los monos”, home to a troop of Black-capped capuchin, alongside a family of five Capybaras and plenty of Red-eared sliders swimming in the moat. This was the first-ever time of seeing capybara in Sendaviva, and I was surprised to see that two of the five animals had to be offspring of the adults. I was also surprised to see that they renovated their capuchin troop. This island was once home to two capuchins, a White-faced capuchin, and a Guianan weeper capuchin and I was delighted to see that they decided to dedicate it to a whole troop of one species. We move forward from the island to our next stop, the European otters. I remember that when I was a kid my favorite spot to just sit down and look was the otter underwater viewing, but that was a long time ago and now that window is green and murky, with a lot of algae in the sides. Once I get up to the underwater viewing, I can get a good view of their whole exhibit. I’ve always liked this exhibit, it’s divided into two parts in case of separation being necessary and you have several viewing points of it. In case you like otters, you shouldn’t miss their keeper talks, since this is the best moment to see the otters active. If we cross the road that divides the main feria area from “La senda de los Exóticos” (Exotics trail), you can see two tall fenced land portions right in front of you, both of them covered with a wooden curtain. When I arrived, I was really surprised to see how the big cat exhibits had changed since my last visit, with two new viewing areas in a stone tower to see them from different perspectives, right in front of you or down below. The first exhibit is home to a pair of non-subspecific Lions, thing that I didn’t expect at all. This exhibit used to be home to a trio of lions; Harry (father), Nana (mother), and Senda (son), but in 2015 these three left the park and made room for a pair of jaguars, Linda and Onca. Since they didn’t change the maps of the park and I didn’t really check their social media before the visit, I didn’t expect seeing lions at all, being really surprising for me (Despite the fact of preferring jaguars). Right in the next exhibit, we find four white Tigers. These animals are the third group of tigers that have lived in the park, the first one being a group of normal colored non-subspecific tigers, the second with a white one and a golden tabby one, and this last one being formed by a pair of adults, one with normal white patterns and the other without any stripes and their cubs, that were born in April of 2019. I’ve never been a fan of breeding this type of animal, but the park makes their work explaining that white tigers are white because of a genetic variation caused by mostly interbreeding, and actually saying that they don’t belong to any subspecies. Once we are done with the tigers, we walk to the next exhibit, Bennett’s wallaby and Common emu. Nothing too special here, just your basic exhibit with plenty of wallaby and five emus roaming around. Right in front of them, we have a very similar exhibit, home to a lot of Patagonian maras, a bunch of Greater rheas, and a pair of Alpacas. These last ones were once housed in the farm area, and this exhibit has been inhabited by llamas and wild boar piglets in the past. The next exhibit is one of my favorites in the park, a huge paddock for Chapman’s zebras, Kafue flats lechwes, and Common ostriches. The exhibit is huge and has a lot of space for each animal, but they mostly like to hang out in the closest area to where the visitors can watch them, the only animals I saw out in the field were a pair of young lechwe. The exhibit was full of life that day since last night a zebra foal was born, and the zebras were pretty agitated by it. The mother was really defensive over her young, and she didn’t hesitate when it came to kicking or biting her herd mates. I have to say that the animals would appreciate some more shade in the exhibit, and a pool would be greatly appreciated, mostly by the lechwe. Some years ago a pair of common eland also lived in this exhibit, but sadly they no longer live in the park. The next animals to be found are the Meerkats, living in a glass-walled exhibit with several rocks and an olive tree in the center. Surprisingly enough, I only saw two animals on this visit. Next to their exhibit, I expected to find a pair of porcupines where they have always lived, but surprisingly enough this exhibit was occupied by the pair of Yellow mongoose that lived with the meerkats right next to them. This exhibit was also infested by many of the peafowls that can be found free roaming in the park. This same pen used to house porcupines (as mentioned earlier), a pair of northern raccoons (in an exhibit that now that I think about wasn’t really adequate for them), and a single dwarf mongoose that lived alongside the porcupine. Once we finished with these exhibits, we went to the “Plaza de los exóticos” (Exotic plaza) complex. This complex was supposed to house south-American species when it opened, but the concept has changed with time. The first exhibit in the complex is now home to a troop of Ring-tailed lemurs, and I personally feel like this exhibit is quite small for their troop. I’m also very pissed that this exhibit was once home to the only Mexican black agoutis in Europe, alongside a kinkajou, greater curassows, and yellow-shouldered amazons. Next, we can see a terrarium for an unsigned Ball python, an animal that I had quite a hard time on IDing since this terrarium was also home to other species of snake that I can’t really remember. Right next to them we have an animal that I didn’t expect. Where I expected to see an ocelot, I found a single Serval in a decently sized exhibit. This was a very pleasant surprise since I adore servals. Despite all of this, I would prefer if the inhabitant of the exhibit was its first-ever animal, a leopard cat. Right in front of the serval, we can find one of the most varied exhibits in the park; Cotton-topped tamarin, Giant wood rail, Common green iguana, and Yellow-shouldered amazon share this exhibit, and right next to them, a troop of Red-handed tamarins lives in a really lush exhibit, with lots of climbing opportunities. Right in front of this exhibit and on the other side of the road, two big cages can be found. The first one is inhabited by a Green-winged macaw, Red-crowned amazon, Blue-and-yellow macaw, African grey parrot, and a White-cheeked turaco, and in the next exhibit, some Fischer's lovebirds and Peach-faced lovebirds can be seen, alongside a single Blue-and-yellow macaw that seemed to be shedding. If we keep going forward from the bird exhibits, the “Mundo zooprendente” pavilion can be found. Here you can get an interactive experience with different species of animals such as coatis, chinchillas, or armadillos, but since I didn’t take part in the activity, I can’t really say anything about it, just saying that I was able to figure out which species they showcased. Once out of this hall, we can see the circus tent, a place where a daily show can be seen. I have only been to the circus once when I was a really young kid, but depending on what my brother says the show consists of some clown shenanigans and a properly done acrobatics show. Talking about shows, we are reminded by megaphone that the birds of prey show will begin in half an hour, and my brother and I decided to start moving. We get past the capuchins again and we go to the “Senda de los herviboros” (Herbivore trail) to make our way to the show amphitheater. The herbivore trail consists of five big paddocks (one of them being currently empty) where different species of ungulates can be found (All of them being found in the Iberian peninsula, by natural ways or by introduction). The first exhibit is home to a pretty big herd of Common fallow deer, plenty of which were just resting in the shade of the trees, except for two males, whom they were just sparring against each other while the rest rested. In front of them, we can find the empty exhibit once home to the water buffalo that now can be found in the livestock trail. The next two exhibits are the biggest ones, the first one being home to a lot of European mouflons and Spanish red deer. This exhibit isn’t the most active one, but the day we visited the female deer were constantly bellowing, and the males were really active and photogenic. Right in front of them, we have the Barbary sheep, that spend most of the day at the back of their exhibit, where their viewing usually gets really hard (This is a shame since I adore Barbary sheep). The Barbary sheep have the biggest exhibit in the trail since it’s the connection of three different exhibits, the one that was home to just the sheep, the one that used to house south-east spanish ibex, and the one that used to house roe deer. The last exhibit in the trail is home to Iberian wild boars. This exhibit is full of all they need, a mud-wallow, a water pond, and lots of shade. Despite all of this, I’ve never really seen the wild boar in Sendaviva do anything other than sleep. Right in front of the boars, the birds of prey amphitheater can be seen.
REVIEW PART TWO: Granja, Bosque, and Conclusion. The birds of prey amphitheater is the first thing you are able to see of the Granja (Farm) area, an area that despite its name currently houses more birds than farm animals, making it my favorite area in the whole park. The park's birds of prey show is my second favorite bird show I’ve ever seen (Being only topped by the Beauval one), the birds are released from the top of the mountain where the Bosque area is located, and you can really see how they get bigger while they get closer to you, while a very educative speech about each species is given via megaphone. Since the show was about to start in about 15 minutes, we were able to pick a nice seat near one of the water sprinklers (If we take under account that the park is located in a semi-desert area the heath in summer gets unbearable, so the park has several water sprinklers distributed through the park alongside many shade spots, making your visit easier) and waited until the show started. Once the show was presented, the first group of animals to be presented were the fish eagles, with the first bird being released being an African fish eagle. The bird flew down the hill and found their piece of prey in the small pond in the middle of the amphitheater. Next, the educator presented us to a south American eagle, the Black-chested buzzard-eagle flew down the hill. Next, my favorite act began, the vultures took over the stage. A pair of European griffon vultures, a White-backed vulture, and a Western Egyptian vulture fly down the hill by the presence of a (simulated) young wild boar carcass. Alongside these birds, a Hooded vulture and a Turkey vulture are also released from ground level to join the big boys. Once all of the vultures are being moved to their aviaries, the Egyptian vulture is left in stage with its star act, breaking an ostrich egg with rocks. In the next act, a pair of Harris hawks were released from the top of the hill. If it wasn’t because of the pandemic situation, one of the kids watching the show would be picked up as a volunteer to hold one of the hawks and feed them. The next bird to enter the show is the European golden eagle, hunting for a dead chick tied to a piece of leather. Once the animal hunts down their prey and shows it’s imposing pose, the next animal is shown on stage, the Crested caracara. The educator mentions how they like hunting small prey on the ground, while the bird showcases their terrestrial movements. The next bird on the act is the Saker falcon, being able to appreciate her flight speed, and seeing her hunt her “prey”. Once the falcon is out, it’s time for the opportunistic birds to take over the amphitheater. For this last act, Abdim’s storks, European white storks, a huge Marabou, White-naped cranes, Demoiselle cranes, Grey-crowned cranes, Little egrets, Cattle egrets, Yellow-legged gulls, and a Common black kite start flying around. The stage is full of birds all over the place, the storks and cranes look for food, the gulls try to steal leftovers from the rest of the birds, the kite is catching small pieces of meat in the middle of the air and the marabou flies over the heads of the viewers. The falconers say goodbye while they get the rest of the birds in their offshow enclosures, and a flock of domestic pigeons is released to just finish the show, and the falconers organize the viewers to leave the amphitheater in a safe way, so infection doesn’t happen. We keep going up to Granja, and in the way, we can find the “Senda de las rapaces” (Raptors trail), a trail where some of the birds from the bird show rest until they fly them again. First of all, we can see two educative signs, one where you can “measure your wingspan” with different birds of prey, and the next sign is an educative display for Bonelli’s eagles, alongside an (at the moment off) TV screen. Once we have seen this, the first aviary can be found. This one houses the park’s Secretary bird, my personal favorite in the whole park. Sadly, this bird has a broken beak for some reason but doesn’t prevent him from making a normal life. The aviary in front of the secretary houses the Egyptian vulture, despite being signed for Verreaux eagle owls (Not seen in my last visit). The next aviaries are very similar between each other, respectively housing the Steppe eagle, Black-chested buzzard-eagle, King vulture, European golden eagle, African fish eagle, Andean condor, and Steller’s sea eagle. The next aviary is the biggest one in the trail housing four Western European griffon vultures, named Mariano, Carmelo, Mortadelo (Name in reference to the famous comic character), and Lumbier, a rescued chick that the park hand-reared. Right next to them, we have a separate aviary for the single African white-backed vulture that seemed to be very interested in his griffon neighbors. The next three aviaries are the last ones in the trail, the first one housing Western European barn owls and Eurasian tawny owls, but since the aviary is covered on vegetation (making seeing the birds really hard) I wasn’t able to take a decent photo, but the aviary was very similar to the one with the long-eared owls but in a bigger scale. The next aviary is home to a pair of Spanish-eagle owls, and right next to them we can find Eurasian long-eared owls, marking an end to the “Senda de las Rapaces”. We keep going up, and we finally get to Granja. Once we cross the road, a classic basque farm can be seen, where a big restaurant can be found, alongside a weirdly shaped fountain, with a “Town Musicians of Bremen” style statue on top of it. At the right of the fountain, we can find the Mini zoo area. This area is home to various types of domestic animals, such as chicken (Silkie, Bantam, and Polish) and Call ducks that can be found in the middle of the area, being moved to a full aviary once the night falls. Right next to them, we can find a room where we can see chicks being born, a fake plastic cow that can be milked, and a small room where Guinea pigs, Domestic rabbits, Common quails, and domestic chicks can be found (Nothing special here, I didn’t even bother on entering). Next, we can find the common genet exhibit, that for my disgrace, no longer kept genets. The exhibit housed single individuals of Cockatiel, Sun conure, and Green-cheeked parakeet in an exhibit where some years ago Japanese squirrels lived, later to be replaced by common genets, and then being empty again. I still have hope that the genets will be back since the singae was still up. In the pens right next to the genet exhibit, three Valais black-necked goats rested on the hay, is the first time I ever saw this breed of goat. Once we are done with the minizoo, the aviary awaits. The aviary is my second favorite thing in the park, being home to several different species of birds from all around the world. It once held more interesting species (Such as Black-naped widowbirds and Red-capped cardinals), but still keeps being a really nice walk through a forest on the search of different species (Despite not being the luckiest day for me). This aviary got an expansion this year, demolishing the area where once donkeys, cows, goats, and even dogs lived and making the already existing aviary even bigger. Once we entered the aviary, the first species we saw was a single Blue crane resting in the shade of the aviary. We soon saw some European woodpigeons, a Common hoopoe flew by (New for 2020), and we saw a mom Indian peafowl alongside her chicks. We entered the new section of the aviary, where Great curassow and a Black-crowned night heron (New for 2020) awaited us. Once we looked at them for a while we kept moving forward, until we found a pair of Great flamingos, a White-naped crane, and an African sacred ibis. The situation was quite sad, the pair of flamingos seemed to be the only ones in the aviary, and we all know that flamingos need big flocks to feel safe (I didn’t see the Lesser flamingos that used to live in the aviary, which could have been a great company for this pair), as well as I had the feeling of the white-naped crane was quite aggressive towards the flams, not really harming them but being very defensive if they got too close. We left the aviary expansion to keep going on, being able to see Purple glossy starlings, Java sparrows, and Red-crested cardinals while we also glanced at Common moorhens in the simulated river. We crossed one of the two hanging bridges that can be found inside of the aviary as well as being able to see a Common blackbird, which I didn’t expect at all to be in the aviary, as well as Wood and Mandarin ducks in the river below. We went down the ramp to the lower part of the aviary again to find various species of birds, such as the only lifers I did that day, the Yellow-necked francolin, and the Zebra dove. We also got to see Helmeted guineafowl, White-cheeked pintails, Budgerigars, Cockatiels, Golden pheasants, Eastern rosellas, Masked lapwings, Eurasian lapwings, and Chaco chacalacas (I think these are all the birds I saw in the aviary, I might have missed some. The species list above is completely full). We left the aviary to find the Sendaviva Horns and Antlers mural, a big and outdated sign where the horned ungulates of the park are showcased in an illustration (This sign always reminds me that I won’t see Spanish ibex or eland in the park anymore and that makes me sad). Right next to the mural we can find a recycling activity for kids as well as a pen for Hampshire sheep, a fascinating breed. I promised my brother that we would rest for a while and then go ride some of the rides, so we went to have lunch in “La terraza de la granja”, a place where fast food is served with a great view of the parks lake and ungulate paddocks, as well as being right next to the flying swing attraction. The food is quite pricey, but it’s not as bad of food as you would receive in a theme park. Since rides don’t really matter for a zoochat review, I’ll just say that we tried three rides; the bobsleigh, la caida libre, and the tubing, which I have to say that all three of them are really nice rides, with a generous point of adrenaline. Coming back to the animals part, we enter the next zone, Bosque (Forest). There are three ways of getting up to the forest, the park’s huge conveyor belt (Yeah… It sounds absurd but it’s real), the truck ride that was closed because of COVID, and walking all the way up. The best way of walking to Bosque is going through the Safari fotografico (Photo-safari), a forested piece of land that is home to a semi-walkthrough exhibit for various ground bird species and muntjacs. You see most of the exhibit via a slightly elevated wooden boardwalk, and you have two types of exhibit inside of the forest; Small exhibits inside the exhibit and a huge walkthrough exhibit. The big walkthrough is currently home to many female Reeve’s muntjacs, Silvery pheasants, Red-legged partridges (I’m not sure if these were supposed to be wild animals that wandered into the exhibit or are supposed to be there), Bare-faced curassows, Blue-eared pheasants, Reeves pheasants, and many Indian peafowls that are supposed to be free-roaming the park. The first mini-exhibit is home to the male Reeve’s muntjac, kept separate for some reason. The next one signs itself as for having lesser flamingos and greater flamingos, but the only animals I found inside were two European white storks and a very cranky Egyptian goose. We kept moving forward to find an exhibit with a pair Cape barren geese and a single Bronze turkey, as well as a Black swan hidden in the vegetation in the middle of the exhibit. The next one was home to Bar-headed geese, Chinese geese, and a Grey-crowned crane, similar design to the last ones. As for the last one, we could find several types of duck such as the Philippine duck, White-cheeked pintails, Cinnamon teals, Ringed teals, and Baikal teals. We also found three Greylag geese and a pair of Demoiselle cranes. As for species that formerly lived in this exhibit, I recall seeing roe deer, southern screamers, and several more in this exhibit. With this, we got out of the photo safari and kept walking forward to the forest. Once at the top, the European mink exhibit can be found. The exhibit is full of information about said species, and I personally think that this is a great exhibit. I didn’t see any mink this last visit, but I’ve seen them several times in other visits. Walking forward, the forest is getting thicker and you start smelling that delicious Mediterranean pine scent that can be found in several spots of the park, while you are getting closer to the Northern lynx exhibit. The lynx has access to fully grown climbable trees, with several enrichment brushes, ropes, and poles, but the lynx have something better to do for the whole day: sleep. The park is home to a pair of amazing cats. On the way to the next exhibit, I was able to seek a wild ocellated lizard, you don’t see those every day! We got to the wolf and bear viewing deck, a huge metal viewing deck 10 meters from the ground making observation of the Syrian brown bear and Iberian wolves a treat. I was able to see several of the bears in the park, they all seemed to already go into their indoors exhibit since most of them were near the doors of each animals “bedrooms”. The wolves, as usual, seemed to be lost in their huge exhibit, and I wasn’t lucky to see any. We then realized that the second birds of prey show was about to start, so we went down to the farm. We got a really nice seat in the amphitheater, next to a sprinkler, and in the shade, and we started waiting for the new show to start. I was really hoping that the show wouldn’t be the same as in the morning, and I really hoped to see the only African harrier hawk in Spain, and the only one being a participant of a bird show in all of Europe. I was right, partially. The show was the same in the themes (The first act was for a fish eagle, next to a south American bird, next to the vultures,...), but the species changed from the morning show. The first bird of the show was Kokoro, the park's impressive Steller’s sea eagle. The next bird in the show was a Red-backed hawk, keeping the south American bird theme. The vulture's part was very similar to the last one, but with the big difference of the King vulture and Andean condor joining the crew. Seeing all of the parks vultures all together flying over your head is an impressive experience, I really enjoy the vultures of the park. The Harris hawk didn’t change at all, but the next act showcased the Steppe eagle instead of the golden one. Instead of the caracara, the next act is interpreted by two of my favorite animals in the park, the Red-legged seriema that showcases their impressive hunting technique and the park's amazing Secretary bird, that comes in sprinting and displaying its aggressive snake killing attack. The saker falcon act didn’t change at all, and then the opportunistic birds were released. The show had the same animals as for the last exhibition, with the only change of the kite no longer being there and a young Southern ground hornbill (New for 2020) taking their place. This second show was a lot better than the first one (Less heath, better species, better viewing place,...), but sadly, no African harrier hawk. Once we saw the show, my brother wasn’t feeling well so he left to get the car while I gave the park the last viewing. I re-visited the whole Senda de los exoticos (Where I spent almost half an hour looking at zebras fight), I went up to the aviary just to realize that it was already closed and decided to make another visit to the Barbary sheep since they get really nervous with many people and don’t get close to the fence with more than 2 people around. Once I told myself that enough was enough, I decided to go back to the car. I spent some more time watching the water buffalo and answering a questionnaire at the entrance of the park (Where they told me that something exciting related to animals was coming to the park) and decided to leave. As I was leaving, I had a great surprise; the entrance pens, that since 2014 I assumed to be empty, were full of livestock! Single individuals of Burguete horse, the Appaloosa that once lived in the farm area and a Navarre pony grazed alongside a big herd of Navarre sheep and a pair of Celtiberic goats, and as I moved on, a single Pirenaica cow and three Betizu cows awaited me. With this pleasant surprise, I left the park to finally get my well-awaited rest. I can’t talk about Sendaviva without being biased. I’m really attached to the place, but despite all of this, I see its lowest points as well as seeing it as not a very good zoo at all. Some exhibits seem small for its inhabitants, several of the signs are already getting old, the place doesn’t really work on many breeding programs and most of their animals are non-interesting ABC animals, the park’s focus on entertainment even in the animal aspect gets pretty annoying, it can get REALLY hot,... And many more. Despite all of this, I do think that you can spend a great day with friends or family, and even get to see some of the (not many) interesting species they hold. In conclusion, do I recommend Sendaviva to a Zoo Fan? No. Is it worth a visit if you are in the area and don’t have anything else to do? Absolutely. Do I recommend it to families, birds of prey enthusiasts, and livestock fans? Yes. I hope that you enjoyed this review and you learned about a place that wasn’t present before in Zoochat.
