Terra Natura Murcia enhances animal welfare through innovative enrichment programmes

From scents to puzzles, the park’s creative activities help animals stay active, curious and content in their natural habitats

Terra Natura Murcia is taking animal care to the next level with its ongoing environmental enrichment programmes designed to boost both the physical and mental wellbeing of the animals in its care. These thoughtful activities are now part of everyday life at the park and aim to encourage natural behaviours across all species, whether large or small, wild or gentle.

Environmental enrichment is essentially about stimulation: providing sensory, physical and cognitive experiences that inspire animals to explore, play and interact more naturally with their surroundings. From intriguing new scents and unfamiliar objects to group interactions and playful challenges, each activity is carefully planned according to season, enclosure and species.

The park’s team regularly refreshes these activities, fine-tuning them to suit each animal and following updated animal welfare guidelines. Visitors may even catch a glimpse of keepers setting up enrichment tasks - anything from hiding food in creative ways to introducing natural materials that promote curiosity and problem-solving.

As part of its mission to share knowledge, Terra Natura Murcia also brings this work to life for guests through its educational talks. These sessions explain how small changes in an animal’s daily environment can make a big difference to its mood, health and quality of life.

Park director Gustavo Martínez said these efforts reflect Terra Natura Murcia’s deep-rooted commitment to responsible and ethical management. “These activities are a clear example of our commitment to animal welfare and to responsible management based on technical, educational and continuous improvement criteria,” he explained.

Through these consistent initiatives, Terra Natura Murcia ensures that every animal benefits from a stimulating environment that supports natural behaviours and overall wellbeing.

Why not pop along to Terra Natura Murcia this weekend for Visitor Day on January 24-25 (tickets just €11) to see these enrichment activities in action up close? Find out more here.

Tickets can be purchased online in advance on the Terra Natura website, or at the ticket office on the day of your visit.

Click here for more information about Terra Natura Murcia

Image: Terra Natura

Terra Natura Murcia wildlife and water park

Address

C/Regidor Cayetano Gago S/N 30100 Espinardo Murcia ESPANA

Tel: (+34)968 368 200

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Terra Natura Murcia, wildlife and adventure water park in the outskirts of the city of Murcia

Terra Natura Murcia is one of the most important and spectacular animal and nature parks in western Spain, and is one of a new generation of wildlife parks in which visitors can discover the concept of what's called "Zooinmersión."

The aim of this is recreate a habitat which gives an experience of being at one with the wildlife viewed in the park, so to this end more than 500 examples of 50 species of vegetation have been interplanted among the animal habitats, spread across an area occupying more than 165,000 square metres.

The planting has matured to create a comfortable and interesting environment which enhances the interaction between visitors and animals.

The planting not only softens the landscape, but also enables visitors to be closer to the animals and have direct human contact rather than the traditional forms of wildlife park where the animals are at a distance behind physical barriers.

The park contains over 500 animals belonging to 50 different species (some of which are in grave danger of extinction), alongside giraffes, lions, hippopotamus, lemurs, brown bears, Iberian lynx, Oryx, Iberian wolves and a White African Rhinoceros.

Throughout the year, Terra Natura Murcia offers different educational talks during visits to their facilities: giraffes, brown bears and otters.

One of the most popular areas is the falconry zone, where the displays enable visitors to discover the beauty of a great variety of birds such as the majestic flight of the peregrine falcon, which reaches diving speeds of over 300 km an hour, the eagle owl, various types of hawk, the griffon vulture and the buzzard eagle. One of the main aims of the park is to encourage contact and engage in interaction between animals and humans, and the falconry is a popular means of achieving this goal.

Among the mammals are Iberian and European Lynx, Mouflon and Coatis.

Aqua Natura Water park

Terra Natura Murcia wildlife and water park

During the summer Terra Natura opens Aqua Natura, the only water park in the Region of Murcia.

This is a refreshing and enjoyable way to cool down in the heat of summer, with swimming pools for adults and children, slides and shoots, kamikazes, lazy river, entertainment and games for youngsters, all within just a short distance of the centre of the city of Murcia.

Opening hours 2024

Terra Natura Murcia is open every day of the year except 1^st January and 25^th December.

The wildlife park opens at 10.00 in the morning, and during the summer (June 23rd to September 8th) it opens at 11.00.

The water park opens from May 25th to September 8th, at 11.00

Closing times are as follows:

January 2nd – March 15th: 17.00, except weekends in February and March (18.00).

March 16th – May 24th: 18.00, except weekends in April and May (19.00).

May 25th – June 16th: 19.00.

June 17th – September 8th: 20.00.

NB: During the summer special nocturnal tours and meals are available. See what's on section for latest promotions.

September 9th – September 15th: 19.00.

September 16th – October 25th: 18.00, except weekends in September and October (19.00).

October 28th – December 31st: 17.00, except weekends in November (18.00).

Details of daily activities can be found here: extra activities and special offers are regularly updated on Murcia Today.

Click here for online bookings

Terra Natura Murcia wildlife and water park

How to get there

Terra Natura is located in the northern outskirts of the city of Murcia in Espinardo, accessed via the A-7 motorway.

Address: Calle Regidor Cayetano Gago, 30100, Espinardo, Murcia

From the A-7 Murcia to Alicante, exit 136, Universidad de Murcia

From the Autovia A-7 Alicante to Murcia, exit 762b, Murcia centro

Terra Natura Murcia wildlife and water park

By Bus

From central Murcia. Bus line number 31 leaves from Plaza Cruz Roja via Gran Via and passes by the park, from Monday to Saturday every half hour and on Sunday every hour.

Line 39A, leaves from the railway station from Monday to Friday every 15 minutes

Line 39C leaves from Infante Juan Manuel (Pio Baroja) from Monday to Friday every 30 minutes.