Alpaca

Vicugna pacos
A herbivore mammal of the Camelidae family, the alpaca is native to South America. Unlike the other camelids, it is bred not as a beast of burden but for its particularly sought-after wool. A female alpaca produces around 2.5 kg of wool a year, while a male alpaca can produce as much as 4 kg. In recent years, the alpaca has become quite widespread in Europe, being an animal that adapts very well to different types of climate.

Curiosity
Smaller than the llama, it is also distinguished from the latter by the shape and position of its ears. The origins of the alpaca date back 4000 years; it seems to have been the first domestic animal to have existed in the world.
Its docile nature makes it an animal well suited to mountain trekking, pet therapy and it is increasingly widely used as a pet.

Dwarf rabbit

It is originally a wild rabbit from which the domestic species derives. It lives in grasslands and wooded hillsides.

Curiosity
This herbivore has 28 teeth, of which 22 molars, four upper and two lower incisors, which continue to grow and must therefore be worn down. It is particularly active at dusk and has very well developed sight.

Saltasassi sheep

The Saltasassi is a medium-small-sized sheep, and belongs to the “drooping eyelid” Alpine breed.
The male can weigh between 55 and 60 kg while the female ranges from 45 to 50 kg.
It was very widespread in the past, whereas today this animal with a uniform white fleece is at risk of extinction.

Curiosity
Bred from antiquity, many breeds of sheep are known, some of which have contributed to creating the wealth and even the very identity of a location.
The wool is used for making clothing, but in its raw state it can also be used for producing rolls to protect fruit trees or geotextiles for the stabilisation of embankments, water courses and roads.

Ouessant sheep

Ovis aries
A herbivore mammal, this sheep is native to the Breton island of Ouessant, from which it takes its name. It is 50 cm tall at most.
Its docile nature makes it a sheep well suited to pet therapy.

Curiosity
It is the smallest sheep in the world, known since the 17th century.
The black lambs may have a white patch, which usually disappears after the first year of life.

Llama

The llama is a herbivore mammal of the Camelidae family and is native to the Andes; it lives in high mountain areas but also in semi-desert areas. Currently widespread all over the world, a specimen can weigh between 120 and 150 kg. Thanks to its stamina, the llama can transport loads of as much as 50 kg and walk up to 30 km in one day.

Curiosity
It is the domestic form of the guanaco, but it has adapted to live at altitudes of up to 4,000 metres.
The dimensions and shape of its ears, turned inwards, are one of its distinctive features with respect to the smaller alpaca.
It is used in pet therapy thanks to its very docile nature.

Black swan

Cygnus atratus

This bird from the Anatidae family is native to Australia; in addition to lakes and rivers, it also loves to live in marshy zones covered with vegetation. It mainly eats aquatic and land plants, but will also eat insects.
An adult swan can weigh from 4 to 8 Kg.

Curiosity
It is monogamous species, and when it forms an attachment it does so for life.
During courting the spectacular “triumphal ceremony” takes place to strengthen the couple’s bond in relation to other swans.

Orobica goat

Capra aegagrus hircus
This herbivore from the Bovidae family is a mammal famous for its long, soft coat. The female is around 73 cm high and weighs 65 kg, while the male is 79 cm and weighs around 80 kg. The characteristic fleeces are farinel – cream, grey and beige – and marin, dappled.

Curiosity
The Orobica goat is native to the Val Gerola, in the province of Sondrio.
The historical archives of the 19th century report the Orobica goats that were driven every year in transhumance to Milan to provide fresh milk for patients in hospitals.

Tibetan goat

Capra aegagrus hircus
Despite its name, the Tibetan goat is native to Somalia; indeed, it is also called the African dwarf goat. Its diet consists of grass, leaves, bushes, berries and bark, but this is generally also supplemented with maize and grain.
The colour of this herbivorous mammal’s coat can be white, black, brown or dappled with two or three colours.
It is a gregarious animal; hierarchies and alliances are formed inside each flock, among both the males and the females. It is also very sociable and affectionate.

Curiosity
The goat is a polygastric ruminant: that is, it has a number of stomachs, one of which is the rumen.
For this reason, it tends to ingest food quickly, to chew it subsequently in a quieter place.

Mule

Equus asinus X Equus Caballus
Born from the cross-breeding of a male donkey and a female horse, the mule is a domestic species bred almost all over the world. A sterile hybrid, it is a very tough and solid animal. Our Bella weighs around 600 kg.

Curiosity
Known from the times of Ancient Greece and abundantly used by the Roman legions, the history of the mule with the Alpini [Italian Alpine troops] began in 1872, the year of their foundation. It was mainly used as a beast of burden, especially in the mountains.
Today the Alpini still love to define them as “soldiers on four legs”.

Fox

Vulpes vulpes

This omnivore mammal belongs to the Canidae family. It eats small mammals and invertebrates, but also fruit and berries. Cosmopolitan, it usually lives in woods and clearings but also adapts well to urbanised areas.

Curiosity
The pair present in the park are the result of its wild fauna recovery activities. The male has had to undergo the amputation of a limb because it was struck by a car. The female, Fanta, was found when just born, abandoned by her mother, who was probably disturbed while moving the cubs. The two animals cannot be reintroduced into the wild, which is why they live in the Parco Pallavicino.

Raccoon

Procyon lotor

A mammal of the Procyonidae family, the raccoon is native to North America and Canada.
Omnivore and opportunistic, it is an animal that adapts well to different environments. It is also widespread in Italy, especially in Lombardy, creating more than a few problems for the environment and autochthonous species. Extremely curious and likeable, it is also often disruptive.
In nature it is typically a nocturnal animal, a very skilled climber.

Curiosity
Touch is its most developed sense: the fingers of the forelimbs are covered in a horny layer that becomes elastic when wet and enables the food and objects it touches to be perceived.

Chilean flamingo

Phoenicopterus chilensis

This famous pink bird is native to the humid areas of South America, but colonies are also found in Italy.
It eats aquatic invertebrates, insects and algae. An adult can reach a height of 85 cm and a weight of 2.3 kg, with a wingspan of 130 cm.

Curiosity
Perhaps not everyone knows that the flamingo’s pink coloration in nature comes from filtering small shellfish that are rich in beta-carotene through its beak.

Sarus crane

Grus Antigone

This bird from the Gruidae family lives in the marches and grasslands of South-East Asia and Australia.
It eats seeds, fruit, berries, buds and invertebrates. It can reach a height of 1.80 metres and weigh up to 8.5 kg.

Curiosity
The Sarus crane is monogamous. Checca, the crane that has lived here in the Park for over 30 years now, has chosen man as her companion: She performs spectacular ritual dances for the veterinarian who takes care of her. For this reason she does not tolerate the presence of others of her kind.

Fallow dear

Dama dama

From the Cervidae family, this mammal is a herbivore native to the Eastern Mediterranean basin. Today it is distributed throughout Europe.
At least four different colorations of its coat can be identified, the result of selective breeding: dappled, isabelline, white and melanic. The white and pomellato varieties can be found at the Parco Pallavicino.

Curiosity
Like all Cervidae, the fallow deer loses its antlers in April-May. Between August and September it cleans its horns on trees, leaving the characteristic marks on the bark.
At the end of this process the mating season begins with fights between males.

Bennet’s wallaby

Wallabia rufogrisea
This marsupial mammal comes from the forests of South-Eastern Australia, is vegetarian and weighs from 15 to 20 kg as an adult.

Curiosity
The reproduction of this species is particularly complex: 30 days of pregnancy in the womb and no less than 280 days in the pouch. Lactation lasts almost a year and a half, and for a certain period the milk is shared between the joey that has left the pouch and the new one developing inside it.
Specimens of Wallabies that escaped from a British wildlife park more than 50 years ago are now well settled, forming real communities; the most important is to be found on the Isle of Man.

Blue-and-yellow Macaw

Ara ararauna

These marvellous birds from the Psittacidae family live in the forests and woods of South America, including palm tree forests. They eat fruit, vegetables, seeds and even flowers.
They are monogamous parrots: they choose a companion for life.

Curiosity
They have a powerful beak: although weighing around 1 kg, they are able to exert a pressure of around 80 kilograms. There is therefore no walnut in existence that can resist them.
As well as being a good flier, the macaw is also a good climber.

Davidia Involucrata

Native of the mountains of Western China, it grows in zones with a cool, damp and temperate climate.
From the Nyssaceae family, the Davidia is characterised by a brownish orange trunk and ovoidal crown; its leaves are alternate and heart-shaped and have dentate edges. The flowers, which appear between May and June, are not clearly visible and are clustered in small inflorescences; they are enveloped by two large creamy white bracts. The fruit is globular, measuring 4-5 cm, first green then purple when ripe. It can reach heights of 20 metres.
The only species of its kind, it was only discovered and introduced into Europe in the early 20th century. It is used as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens.

Curiosity
Known as the “handkerchief tree” on account of its characteristic large bracts that envelop the flowers.

Lebanon cedar

Native of the mountain chains of Lebanon, it grows at altitudes of between 1300 and 3000 metres in zones with a cool, snowy climate.
The Lebanon cedar is characterised by a brownish grey trunk and arched crown, with needle-shaped leaves arranged in clumps. It is “candelabrum” shaped and with time the top is flattened off. It can reach a height of 40 metres. It has been used from antiquity as a building material, in view of the considerable quality of its wood, and as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens starting from the 19th century.

Curiosity
The Lebanon cedar is the tree represented on the flag of Lebanon. Widespread in antiquity on many mountain chains of the Near East, where it formed extensive forests, following its intense exploitation for timber, just a few hundred examples remain today. For this reason it is a protected species. The specimen in the Parco Pallavicino dominates the space opposite the square of the villa.

Ginkgo Biloba

A native of China, the Ginkgo Biloba belongs to the Ginkgoaceae family.
It is a very long-living plant that can reach a height of around 40 metres with an arched crown. The leaves are deciduous and have the characteristic fan shape of a green diamond, while in autumn they take on a golden yellow tone. The fruit, only present on female specimens, has a recognisable and particularly unpleasant smell. Much cultivated as an ornamental plant, its diffusion is due to its great adaptability to climate and soil, even though it is slow growing.

Curiosity
Known through fossil remains dating back 250 million years, it has survived thanks to its cultivation for millennia in Chinese monasteries.

Persimmon

Diospyros Kaki

From the Ebenaceae family, Diospyros Kaki – more commonly known as persimmon (caco in Italian) – is a native fruit tree of the Far East that loves temperate climates.
It is a very long-living deciduous tree that can reach heights of around 12 metres. Its dark green leaves become bright red in autumn and its orange fruit is the size of an apple. Present in many gardens, the persimmon tree colours the avenue of the Parco Pallavicino that divides the cafeteria from the Flower Garden; a fruit tree that is also ornamental.

Curiosity
The persimmon is one of the oldest fruit plants cultivated by man, but it was only introduced into Europe at the end of the 19th century. The trees present in the Parco Pallavicino seem to have been the first to be introduced in the area of Lago Maggiore.

Liriodendron

Liriodendron Tulipifera

The Liriodendron (or tulip tree) belongs to the Magnoliaceae family. It grows in the Eastern United States and its ideal habitat is characterised by cool, damp climates. With its rapid growth, it can reach a height of around 40 metres. Its foliage and blossoms are its peculiarity. It has deciduous leaves, with two lobes pronounced in the basal part and a truncated tip; in autumn they turn a beautiful bright yellow colour.
The yellowish greenish flowers are large and solitary, and only appear on specimens that are at least 15 years old.

Curiosity
They are also called tulip trees because of their flowers, which resemble those of the more famous bulbs.

Camellia

Camellia japponica

From the Theaceae family, camellia japonica is an ornamental plant that is very widespread in our gardens, but native of Japan. A lover of acid soils and cool, mild climates, the camellia is slow growing but can reach a height of around 12 metres.
The leathery leaves are oval and dark green, while the flowers, which are simple in the wild – white or pink – may take on multiple colour tones and dimensions depending on the very numerous varieties cultivated.

Curiosity
You will certainly have already tried an infusion of camellia. The tea that we drink is in fact produced from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis, which is cultivated in tropical and subtropical zones.

Sequoia

Sequoia Sempervirens

Della famiglia delle Cupressaceae, vive in climi miti e freschi con elevata piovosità.
Originario di una ristretta area costiera della California coltivato in Europa come pianta ornamentale a partire dal XIX secolo.
Considerato uno degli alberi più alti del mondo, potendo raggiungere in natura anche i 110 metri di altezza, è caratterizzato da un tronco bruno-rossiccio, chioma stretta e foglie aghiformi disposte a spirale. La crescita è piuttosto rapida.
Viene spesso impiegato come materiale da costruzione per la notevole resistenza del legno, e come albero ornamentale nei grandi parchi come quello di Pallavicino.

La curiosità
Il suo nome è un omaggio a Sequoyah, nativo americano Cherokee che inventò il sillabario Cherokee nel 1821.