Rhinoceros Pavilion and Southeast Asia Forest Zone

The new exhibition complex dedicated to the fauna of Southeast Asia will stretch from the current enclosure opposite the – cranes, where in the past it was possible to observe black – storks to the space of today’s butterfly house. This zone will naturally surround the tiger enclosure and Orientarium in an arc, creating a coherent and immersive story about the forests of Asia.

Exposure stars – Indian rhinoceroses

The central element of the complex will be the Indian rhinoceros pavilion with a large, landscaped enclosure. It will be designed in such a way that rhinos can share space with other herbivorous inhabitants of the region, including:

• Southeast Asian deers,
• Visayan warty pigs.

This combination will allow us to faithfully reproduce the species diversity of forest ecosystems and show the relationships between animals in the natural environment.

Second enclosure – Bantengs, babyrousas and lowland anoas

The next exhibition will be devoted to other large and medium-sized ungulates. In the spacious enclosure we will see a:

• banteng herd,
• babyrousa – extremely distinctive pigs from Sulawesi,
• lowland anoa – the world’s smallest buffaloes, endemic to the islands of Indonesia.

The list of these species will show the richness and diversity of ungulates in the forests of Southeast Asia, and will be an opportunity for visitors to learn about rare and little-known species.

Smaller but unique species

The complex will also include places for smaller but extremely charismatic forest dwellers in Asia:

• red pandas in a carefully arranged enclosure with rich vegetation,
• hornbills – two large species: the rhinoceros hornbill and the Blyth’s hornbill, which will have a large aviary at their disposal, allowing them to fully demonstrate their flight and social behavior.

Aviary of pileated gibbons

One of the most spectacular elements of the complex will be a spacious aviary for pileated gibbons. The structure will be designed to allow animals to swing freely and produce distinctive, loud chants that will add a unique jungle atmosphere to the entire zone.

Summary

The Rhinoceros Pavilion and the Southeast Asian Forest Zone are intended to be a place where visitors will feel the climate of Asia’s tropical forests. By combining displays of the region’s largest herbivores, rare – ungulates such as anoa and – babyruoses, as well as charismatic birds and arboreal primates, the complex will become one of the most diverse fragments of the zoo.

The entire project is based on the idea of presenting animals in multi-species, landscape enclosures, which not only increase attractiveness to visitors, but above all provide animals with conditions conducive to natural behavior.