Okay, now we can finally venture through the final atrium, after a wait which ended up being a bit longer than planned.
This atrium restores the dense jungle feeling which came with the many aviaries seen in the first and second spaces, however the walkthrough aviary atmosphere does not return. While not having any free-roamers, this atrium brings visitors some of Southeast Asia's largest and most iconic inhabitants. That said, the atrium begins and ends on the smaller side.
The first and last habitats in the area are built on the same 150 sq. meter and 2.5m skeleton, but slightly differing in appearance. At the entrance to the atrium, the more arboreally-oriented of the two stands to your left, and plays host to a breeding pair of
Northern Treeshrew Tupaia belangeri (1.1), while at the exit you can find a space more oriented toward the forest floor on your right, home to a small flock of
Sunda Hooded Pitta Pitta sordida mulleri (2.4).
Possible Look of Treeshrew and Pitta Habitats
Image Credit ->
@Gavial
Northern Treeshrew
Image Credit ->
@Semioptera
Sunda Hooded Pitta
Image Credit ->
@ronnienl
While we won't be officially passing by the pittas just yet, our journey through will now bring us past the treeshrews. A short walk past this opening habitat provides views into two habitats. The first, and smaller of the two, is a 300 sq. meter habitat also to the left side of the visitor path. The habitat is, despite the climbing abilities of the inhabitants, not meshed over, merely contained by sheer false-rock walls on three sides, and a steep dry moat in front of the visitor viewing area. With a series of tall trees and man-made climbing structures, the arboreal antics of our trio of
Palawan Binturong Arctictis binturong whitei (3.0) are on full display, including the use of their prehensile tails, a trait they and the kinkajou share as a unique trait compared to other carnivoran mammals.
While many an eye may be caught by the bearcats, directly across the path from their habitat is the viewing area into a much larger habitat. Three-quarters of an acre, to be precise. The flooring is made up of a soft, mulchy substrate, a feature quite common in indoor holding areas for ungulates. A few larger trees and rocks break up the landscape, and the trees themselves are guarded to prevent any damage to them. Hay racks are built on either side of a large doorway which leads to the 1-and-1/4 acre outdoor space accessible to the space's two inhabiting species, but not the visitors. Standing out in the crowd is our female
Malayan Tapir Tapirus indicus (0.1), who has a male counterpart off-display under quarantine. For the moment, she alone shares the space with our herd of
Visayan Spotted Deer Rusa alfredi (2.10).
Possible Look of Binturong Habitat
Image Credit ->
@KevinB
Palawan Binturong
Image Credit ->
@MagpieGoose
Ideal Look of Southeast Asian Ungulate Indoor Habitat
Image Credit ->
@Gil
Malayan Tapir
Image Credit ->
@USZOOfan42
Visayan Spotted Deer
Image Credit ->
@ro6ca66
As visitors pass by these two habitats, a simple wooden sign says "HEADS UP" in white painted letters, starkly contrasting the grey-brown of the wood. While the reaction to such a warning may vary from person to person, the general consensus is
hopefully to look up, given the situational context. At this moment, as soon as you pass that sign, you are walking between two halves of a 1.5-acre primate complex. Yes,
between. Overhead are a criss-cross of branches, reinforced vines, and other manner of climbing structures, which allow passage between the two 3/4-acre halves of this display. While walking between these spaces is cool, an alternative path branches off on either side, around the well-hidden habitat barriers, and up into "treetop" viewing areas at the back of both habitats, bringing you (sometimes) to an eye-to-eye experience with our two primates, the
Bornean Orangutan Pongo pygmaeus (3.10) and
Moloch Gibbon Hylobates moloch (2.2). Plus, this little sidetrack won't take you out of the way of any other attractions, as the pathway back simply brings you to the point where the habitats end. Much like the tapir and deer mixed habitat, this space does have a roughly 3/4-acre outdoor area attached, though it is also not visible to guests.
Possible Look of Primate Indoor Habitat
Image Credit ->
@ralph
Bornean Orangutan
Image Credit ->
@Kaelio
Moloch Gibbon
Image Credit ->
@RatioTile
Whether you've decided to take to the treetop viewing, or you were content to stay beneath the primate crossing, your path culminates in the same spot. Once you've officially passed by the habitat, two aviary displays can be seen to either side of the path. No, we haven't yet arrived at the pittas mentioned earlier. On your left is a 100 sq. meter aviary dedicated to a pair of more intriguing species, though the ground-dwelling member of the pair is quite difficult to spot among the undergrowth. Overhead, visitors can spot a small group of
Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot Loriculus galgulus (1.4), while the elusive
Barred Buttonquail Turnix suscitator (3.2) inhabits the underbrush.
On the opposite side of the path, a 300 sq. meter aviary stands. Keeping the same dense undergrowth and high-spanning canopy, another pair of avian species can be found in this space. More than likely, the eye-catcher of the group is the
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha Phaenicophaeus curvirostris (1.1), roosting among the higher branches of the aviary. Meanwhile, down below, an all-female group of
Malaysian Great Argus Argusianus argus argus (0.4) can be found, while their two male counterparts are kept off-display, though when breeding is attempted, the zoo swaps one of these males for two of the females.
Possible Look of Parrot/Buttonquail Aviary
Image Credit ->
@felis silvestris
Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
Image Credit ->
@Lafone
Barred Buttonquail
Image Credit ->
@gentle lemur
Top: Possible Look of Malkoha/Argus Aviary
Bottom: Female Malaysian Great Argus
Image Credit ->
@KevinB
Chestnut-breasted Malkoha
Image Credit ->
@red river hog
Once these aviaries again fade into the dense plant life around you, now you will finally see the aforementioned
Sunda Hooded Pitta aviary, off to the right and almost directly adjacent to the exit. Just a little ways before that, however, comes the indoor viewing window to a habitat which, combining to cover 1 and 1/4 acres of space, spans both indoors and outdoors. And unlike both the tapir/deer and orangutan/gibbon habitats, this space will be the first thing visible upon exiting Rumah Pulau. For now, our attention will stay on the indoor space, which visitors view from about 1m above the level of the habitat's floor. At half an acre, the space is dominated by false trees, interconnected by a seemingly unorganized array of ropes, vines, fire hoses, and other climbing enrichment. Meanwhile, the floor is a simplistic mulch floor, with a mud pit built into it. While the floor is where our breeding pair of
North Sulawesi Babirusa Babyrousa celebensis (1.1) can be found, it is up above where a large amount of the inhabitants can be found, in our troop of
East Javan Langur Trachypithecus auratus (3.11). As expected, both species have unhindered access to both the indoor and outdoor spaces, though should inclement weather arise, the access door is closed, ensuring they remain safely indoors.
Possible Look of Babirusa/Langur Habitat
Image Credit ->
@snowleopard
North Sulawesi Babirusa
Image Credit ->
@Dr. Wolverine
East Javan Langur
Image Credit ->
@MennoPebesma
And with that (and one final look at those pittas
), visitors can exit Rumah Pulau, and feel the sunshine on their skin once more. While our journey through the Indo-Malay Archipelagos has not yet come to its conclusion, we are quite near to ending the fourth of our five continental trails.
That said, there will be two or three posts tomorrow (depending on how long these last two bits of Indo-Malay Archipelagos go, we will see the Trail Roundup and updated totals post made as well), and then we will begin the Oceania Trail on Monday (well earlier than I had anticipated) with the beginnings of Papua New Guinea.
For now, I leave you, so stay tuned and enjoy!
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