Asian Forest Sanctuary - Waterfall Panorama

August 2009. Sumatran tigers, white-cheeked gibbons, siamangs, lowland anoas, small-clawed otters, malayan tapirs and crested porcupines rotate through a series of 5 exhibits. There are some mixed-species habitats, and zoo visitors never truly know what animal will be in each exhibit whenever they pass through the Asian Forest Sanctuary.

The two sumatran tigers can be seen in any one of 4 different exhibits, but in two of my three visits to the zoo they were in this enclosure, which happens to be the largest and best of the rotating Asian habitats. The pool is enormous, the riverbank is cleverly landscaped, and there are tall trees and thick undergrowth at the back of the exhibit. Both tigers were laying down beneath bushes and were extremely difficult to find while I was there.

That is absolutely beautiful. I would love to get a shot of tigers in there (although anoas or tapirs would be cool too when they're there). Do they change them during the day, so that you could see one animal in the morning and one in the afternoon, or are they there all day once they go out?

No one seems to know the exact rotation policy at this zoo, but I heard from a fellow ZooChatter that at times the animals might spend two days in the same exhibit. However, there are other times where they change between enclosures on the same day, are mixed with other species on occasions, and even have regular rotations that can then change in the blink of an eye. In terms of enrichment I happen to think that it is a brilliant idea, but apart from this waterfall panorma habitat in the photo the exhibits are not truly impressive.

I would imagine that there is no "exhibit rotation schedule", it wouldn't be very good enrichment if it was always the same.