I absolutely love all animals. When I was a kid, my dad worked with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and we fostered a variety of animals from fawns to rabbits and even a raccoon that became my childhood best friend. And when we weren’t fostering animals that needed care before being released back into the wild, my mom and dad were taking me to the Erie Zoo where I learned about animals from faraway lands and saw my very first polar bear. I even vividly remember our visit to the African Lion Safari near Toronto, a self-drive through game reserve where giraffes and zebras stuck their heads right in our car windows with us. So I was very excited to learn about the Verona wild animal park, a similar self-drive game reserve right here in the Veneto region.
Parco Natura Viva actually has two parts, the self-drive safari and a traditional zoo. Our drive through the savannah began with herds of African cattle like Cobo Defassa, ox, elands, and giraffes walking around and right in front of our little Honda Civic. I love watching the giraffes in particular, their long necks craning to pluck leaves off the highest branches.
Driving into the lion area was like that scene in Jurassic Park when the jeep pulls up to the really tall gates and Jeff Goldblum says “What do they have in there? King Kong?” We pulled up, waited for the tall metal doors to swing open, pulled in to a holding area with another set of doors in front of us, and again waited for the doors behind us to swing closed.
A pride of lions lounged atop some rocks in the sun, just staring at us as we sat an watched. Luckily, we visited the park on a fairly quiet day and could sit and watch the animals for a bit. A cheetah was just as curious about us as we were about the lions and came to check us out.
In the wildlife park, we enjoyed watching the red pandas run and play, the tiger decide if he wanted to retrieve his ball from the water, and the speckled bears climb the trees.
Know Before You Go
- Parco Natura Viva is open daily March – December from 9am – 5:30pm with the safari park open from 10am – 3:30pm.
- A daily ticket for both the safari and wildlife park is €20 per adult and €15 per child.
Ruth says
I’d rather see animals that way than caged up in a zoo. Yes the animals in the zoo are nice to see, but I feel sorry for the ones that didn’t grow up in captivity.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
I’m always conflicted about zoos. On one hand I don’t like that the animals are caged and not in their natural environment, but on the other, much research is done by observing these animals and it helps us to understand them better.
Zoos also put people in touch with animals they might not otherwise ever see. It is sort of hard to get people involved in campaigns to save endangered species if people have never seen them.
D.J. - The World of Deej says
I agree…this is at least a little better than a barren concrete pin which is basically animal jail. Reminds me of the safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom actually lol. Great pics.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Thanks, D.J. I think zoos are important to peaking our interest in these animals.
Ali says
That looks so awesome! I especially love the giraffes, such crazy looking animals. I always assume there are zoos all over the place, but one that has a section set up like a safari sounds really cool.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
The safari is nice because the animals have a much larger area to roam free and even interact with other animals as they would in the wild.
Ruzanna says
How can I get where from Verona?
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Hi Ruzanna! Parco Natura Viva is also accessible by public transport from the station Verona Porta Nuova. For information on the nearest stops and schedules, please visit: http://www.atv.verona.it
Ruzanna says
Thanks!