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Terra Natura Murcia says goodbye to Fabila, the brown bear who became a park legend
The 34 year old female, one of the zoo’s best loved residents, helped raise awareness of endangered brown bears in Spain
Visitors and staff at Terra Natura Murcia are mourning the loss of one of the park’s most recognisable animals. Fabila, a brown bear who had just turned 34 in January, has died after spending nearly three decades as one of the true symbols of the wildlife park.Fabila arrived in Murcia back in 1997, when the site was still the old Espinardo zoo. She came from the Martioda centre in Sobrón, Álava, in the Basque Country autonomous community, together with another bear called Baku. They were the very first brown bears to be housed at the park, long before Terra Natura Murcia became what locals know today.
Over the years, Fabila became a familiar face to generations of visitors. She spent 28 years at the zoo and was at the heart of many special moments, including celebrations for her 23rd birthday in 2015 and her 30th in 2022. The park marked those milestones with events that highlighted just how important she was to the team and to the public.
Fabila was also an important breeding female. She was the mother of two bear cubs, Yaki and Nuca, whose names were chosen through a public campaign. Their story helped to connect local people with the conservation work being done at the park. Educational talks about brown bears have regularly used Fabila’s life as a way to explain the species’ behaviour, from hibernation in winter to the way females raise their cubs.
Brown bears on the Iberian Peninsula are considered an endangered species, with their numbers and genetic diversity having fallen sharply in recent decades. In that context, Fabila’s long life is especially significant. The park points out that this species usually lives between 25 and 35 years, so her 34 years place her at the upper end of the normal lifespan.
Terra Natura Murcia underlines that caring for animals like Fabila is part of its wider role in conservation and education. The park’s team say that bears such as her help visitors understand why protecting threatened species in Spain still matters. After almost 30 years in Murcia, Fabila leaves behind not just her descendants, but also a legacy as one of the most iconic residents the park has ever had.
Tickets can be purchased online in advance, or at the ticket office on the day of your visit.
Click here for more information about Terra Natura
Image: Terra Natura Murcia
Address
C/Regidor Cayetano Gago S/N 30100 Espinardo Murcia ESPANA Tel: (+34)968 368 200
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
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 1st January and 25th 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
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
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.
