Description of the attraction
Park "Natura Viva" is located on the shores of Lake Garda, 18 km from Verona on the hills covered with oak groves. In this endangered animal breeding center, you can see more than one and a half thousand animals from all over the world, which belong to 280 species. Among them are snow leopards, Amur tigers, maned wolves, spectacled bears, Madagascar lemurs and the unique Madagascar fossa predators. The park participates in various international projects aimed at protecting nature and rare species. Natura Viva is credited with the successful return to the wild of European bison, griffon vulture and ibises.
It is to this park that animals confiscated in an attempt to smuggle across the border, as well as wild animals wounded by poachers or children left without parents, are brought from all over Northern Italy. Visitors to the park, by paying an entrance ticket, contribute to the conservation of nature and thus help the rescue of numerous animals around the world.
In addition, in the Natura Viva park you can see full-size models of some animals that existed in the past and disappeared due to human fault. For example, a stuffed female Indricotherium, the largest mammal that has ever lived on earth, is on display here.
The history of the park dates back to 1933, when Alberto Avesani's farm was created on the shores of Lake Garda on an area of 64 hectares. Then, in 1969, the nearby Garda Zoo Park was opened, where you could see both typical Italian animals and representatives of exotic fauna. A few years later, a section dedicated to African mammals and birds was added to the zoo - the Safari Park, which could be visited without leaving the car. Five years later, the Aquaterrarium, the Tropical Greenhouse and the first Dinosaur Park in Italy appeared on the territory of the park. Finally, in 1985, a large-scale reorganization of the entire institution was undertaken, as a result of which Natura Viva became not just an exhibition area, but also an active participant in environmental processes. Already in 1992, the park's merits in this difficult matter were recognized at the UN Conference on Biodiversity Conservation.
