Has anyone been there? What's it like? Tried to find pictures of the elephant herd, but the websote's not too great and in Spainish...
go to Webshots - Photo Sharing, Free Wallpaper and Free Screensavers, and type it in i found pictures of the exhibit there! and that goes to all zoo people, webshots is great! i put mine up tehre
Ashley, i've been there last year. I wasn't expecting too much considering it's a spin-off from the theme park, but i was quite impressed. The south american zone is quite small but it contains a large rainforest avairy and a good buffy-headed capuchin island. The cat exhibits are quite small though (jaguar and ocelot). The asian zone is impressive. The elephant exhibit is massive and you may have heard it contains the Port Lympne herd. The Indian Rhinos are also impressive specimens. I have quite a lot of pictures so just PM me for requests or more info!
I've just uploaded a few photos of the animals in the park. Just search for Terra Natura in the gallery.
I have only taken photos in the Asian and South American sections, but there is also a 'Pangea' section, A European area and a water park (which has an aquarium and allows people to swim with sharks and rays) Apparently there is one in Murcia as well which has African wildlife. The main species at the Benidorm park are: Asian Elephants Indian Rhino Jaguar Ocelot Amur Leopard Amur Tiger Bengal Tiger Asiatic Lion Siamang Buffy-Headed Capuchin Capybara Mara Saltwater Crocodile anaconda Reticulated Python Peccary Porcupine Armadillo Water Buffalo Various other Asian Hoofstock Rhea Eagle Owl A lot of South American birds
13/01/2009 cassowarys they arrive to Terra Natura Benidorm more information available but only in spanish
Does anyone here have the "key statistics" on the Terra Natura Benidorm Zoo? That is: (a) Number of Species (b) Number of Specimens (c) Size -- hectacres (d) Annual Attendance Thanks!!
Anyhuis, just done a little digging for that information and found the following - The site is 320,000 square metres - This is the species list on their site: Pangea: Aruba Island Rattlesnake Bush Baby Colombian Giant Tarantula Diamond Backed Rattlesnake Dyeing dart frog Emperor Scorpion Gila Monster Green Tree Python Long Eared Hedgehog Saharan Horned viper Asia: Asian Elephant Asian Lion Bengal Tiger Demoiselle Crane Dhole Gaur Indian Rhino Indian Leopard Indian Porcupine Indian Python Japanese Crane Muntjac Ruddy Shelduck Saltwater Crocodile Sarus Crane Siamang Straw-Necked ibis Sumatran Tiger Water Buffalo White Pelican S.America Alpaca Armadillo Blue and Gold Macaw Boa Constrictor Bushdog Buffy-headed capuchin goeldi's monkey greater flamingo jaguar keel-billed toucan llama maguari stork greater rhea ocelot mara peccary squirrel monkey chachalacas horned guans trumpet finches orioles jacanas so that's at least 52 species that are mentioned on their website (plus there is a number of species not listed that I remember from my visit a few years ago, as well as the European species and fish) And i've also found this paragraph
Thanks for the information. But if I'm doing my mathematics correctly, that 320,000 square metres converts to 32 hectares, or 79 acres. That would make this small town zoo almost as large are Madrid's and Barcelona's zoos combined! Is this correct? This zoo doesn't appear so big from the online map. Please confirm. Also, I'm still searching for a figure on this zoo's annual attendance.
that sounds about right It is a large zoo and they have a massive elephant complex as well as a number of other species which require a decent area in order to have good enclosures (rhinos, big cats etc) It's worth mentioning as well that Madrid and Barca zoos are both inner city zoos whereas terra natura is a countryside zoo
Benidorm it´s a "Powerful" tourist town, named the "Mediterranean Manhattan" because it have many skyscrapers, (mainly hotels) and all this potential public ,makes Terra Natura possible.
Keeper, have you ever visited the Terra Natura in Murcia? If so, what is that like? I understand that it is not as good as the Benidorm park but has African and European species instead of South American and Asian
EEP working: Terra Natura Benidorm created alongside specialists in Dresden zoo a new breeding group of Dholes (Cuon alpinus), also known as Asiatic wild dogs. Will move to three females of this species to complete the pack of males currently living in the German zoo and thus avoid the occurrence of inbreeding problems. The union of these individuals will ensure the genetic quality of the group and prevent the possible occurrence of congenital malformations, neonatal deaths or serious hereditary diseases, among other problems. The three females that are going to take Germany to have one, two and seven years respectively, so they have already reached their sexual maturity and are able to reproduce. To minimize the impact within the group hierarchy Terra Natura keepers have previously selected the three females who had a rank of lesser importance within the structure of the pack, now led by a breeding pair. This action is part of the European Endangered Species Program, project that the park in Benidorm is collaborating for years. This plan includes the movement of various species between the centers belonging to the network. The dhole have a deeply ingrained social behavior and often live in the jungles, forests and prairies of the central and eastern Asia. For to hunt they are grouped in packs to capture preys can reach in excess of 10 times its weight, but usually feed on small mammals and reptiles.
I love the elephant exhibit! its just so big and I love the pools. Plus I also believe Petita is pregnant.
Petita was indeed pregnant and due to give birth last december. But a week ore two ago when she still hadn't had a baby I send a mail to terra natura and they said that petita wasn't pregnant. So I guess that the pregnancy didn't work out. Not so remarkeble noticing the fact that Petita is 37 years old and has never had a baby and the history of Luka's offsprings. This in mind, I doubt that Petita will ever be pregnant again. In my opinion it's time to send Luka to a place where they can use him as a breeding bull ore send reproductive elephantcows to Benidorm.
Don't quote me on this, but I believe Luka may be what they call a carrier of the elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus. Having read Elephant Encyc (and I'm sure more knowledgeable folks can correct me on this) several of his offspring appear to have died because of it. Whether it was him or the cows tho, I'm not sure. He has got a couple of surviving offspring, so it's not like he's completely unpresented Plus, he's a dangerous bull (two keepers killed, I think?), so I doubt many zoos would be keen to take him on. A lot of the cows at Benidorm also seem to be past or quickly reaching the end of reproductive age too (If EE is right), so I'm not sure sending them elsewhere or bringing in a new bull would do much good IMHO. If anyone's better in the know, feel free to correct me