Macuco Safari & Rafting nas Cataratas - Foz do Iguaçu
A spectacle of life, the preservation of nature, and colors, many colors: this is the best description of Bird Park - a corner of rare beauty set in the wild semi-tropical Atlantic Rainforest less than 200 meters from the entrance to the Iguassu National Park. Hundreds of species of birds as well as reptiles and snakes share an area of 17 hectares of preserved rainforest. Macaws, rheas (Brazilian ostriches), parrots and toucans live in harmony with such exotic species as the crested crane and the cassowary. Boa constrictors, alligators, turtles and iguanas, as well as primates like the white-earred tamarins also make up part of this paradisiacal setting. A special aviary was recently inaugurated which reproduces the African desert environment to house three ostriches.
But it's not only the enjoyment of the visitors that concerns the directors of the Park. Important projects to stimulate reproduction in captivity of animals threatened with extinction are also conducted. Bird Park has been successful in the reproduction of many species. It was, for example, the first zoo in Brazil to reproduce a species of the toucan family in captivity, using a micro-camera system to monitor the reproductive behavior of the birds.
Another experiment carried out with success involved the flamingos, birds that only reproduce in large flocks. Numbering 16 in the park, the flamingos hadn't displayed any reproductive signs. Mirrors were installed to produce multiple images of the birds and the result was positive. Two months after the installation of the mirrors two chicks were born.
