Kula WILD Adventure Park is Fiji's biggest Family Fun Park and an

ecological preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

. It is located on Fiji's largest island,

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ; ) is the largest island in Fiji. It is the site of the country's capital and largest city, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a plate tectonics, tectonically complex area betwe ...

, in Korotogo near

Sigatoka Sigatoka (, ) is a town in Fiji. It is on the island of Viti Levu at the mouth of the Sigatoka River, for which it is named, some 61 kilometres from Nadi. Its population at the 2017 census was 17,622. It is the principal urban centre for the pro ...

. The area was originally established as a bird park in the 1980s, but was bought by ''Kula Management'' in January 1997. With an extensive system of walkways through the park, and a wide range of attractions, the park is now a popular

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beaut ...

About the park

The park is privately owned and operated. Its main focus is on providing fun rides and attractions for every member of the family. It is also active in the preservation of Fiji's indigenous

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

, including

reptile Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

s, bird life,

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

tropical fish Tropical fish are fish found in aquatic tropical environments around the world. Fishkeepers often keep tropical fish in freshwater and saltwater aquariums. The term "tropical fish" is not a taxonomic group, but rather is a general term for f ...

, the Fiji flying fox (Fiji's only native mammal),

insects Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed ...

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

and a wide range of trees and shrubs. The park has also won Fiji's 'Excellence in Tourism' award five times since 1996. In addition, the park strives to increase environmental issue awareness and educate local children in conservation. The park regularly offers free classes in which children may learn about Fiji's environment, pollution, and conservation. More than 8000 children have taken these classes.

History

In 1998, 140 flora species were cataloged in a joint project between Kula Eco Park, the

National Trust of Fiji The National Trust of Fiji is a statutory organization in Fiji devoted to conservation of public resources. The trust was created in 1970 by the National Trust for Fiji Act. It administers parks and various historical sites. The parks are Sig ...

, the

Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales The Taronga Conservation Society is a Government of New South Wales agency responsible for Taronga Zoo Sydney and the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in New South Wales, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a coun ...

, and the Zoo Friends of Taronga Zoo. The park has established a captive breeding program for the critically endangered

Fiji crested iguana The Fiji crested iguana or Fijian crested iguana (''Brachylophus vitiensis'') is a critically endangered species of iguana native to some of the northwestern islands of the Fijiian archipelago, where it is found in dry forest on Yadua Taba (west ...

and

Fiji banded iguana ''Brachylophus bulabula'', commonly known as the Central Fijian banded iguana is a species of iguanid lizard endemic to some of the larger central and northwestern islands of Fiji ( Ovalau, Kadavu and Viti Levu), where it occurs in Fijian wet f ...

. In 2004, the park achieved two milestones with the world's first captive birth of a Kadavu musk parrot and the park's first birth of a

Pacific black duck The Pacific black duck (''Anas superciliosa''), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the no ...

. In 2007, (in cooperation with the ''Biological Sciences Division'' at the ''

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...

'') the park commenced a captive breeding program for the endangered Fiji ground frog.

Partners

Kula Eco Park works with a number of organizations to support Fiji and wildlife. They include the

, the Endangered Species Recovery Council of San Diego, and the

. Kula Eco Park is an honorary associate of the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia.

References

External links

Kula WILD Adventure Park
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2020 Environment of Fiji Parks in Fiji Nature reserves Bird parks