Next part of Kipling's Jungle, where the Jungle Book theming really gets kicked into gear: The Cold Lairs
Bagheera and the guests are joined on the audio-tour by Christopher Walken as King Louie: a character created only for the Disney productions. The theming changes from the quiet scenery of Teddy's cottage to crumbling walls strapped by creepers, broken statues of ancient Kings, and worn out old pillars. Similar to the Maharajah Forest Trek already at Disney.
The first exhibit appears like it has been built in the courtyard for an ancient palace. A dry moat separates the visitors from a large exhibit containing a pair of Bornean Orangutan and Hoolock Gibbon. A circular path leads around the exhibit with an indoor glass viewing area, where the guests can have close encounters with the apes. An information panel on Gigantopithecus is available. Bagheera takes extra care to emphasize that Orangutans are not native to India.
On the other side of the path around the Orangutan exhibit are enclosures for different monkey species, which include: Lion-tailed Macaque, Pig-tailed Macaque, Rhesus Macaque, and Golden Langur. Each species has a small family group of only about four or five individuals.
Once around the back of the Orang exhibit, the guests are officially 'in' the temple, built to closely resemble the one from the movie. On the right side of the path just after entering, there is glass viewing pannels into an aviary for four Indian Vulture. They are obviously meant to emulate the four vultures from the cartoon, but they are actually two breeding pairs. Bagheera takes a moment to inform the guests of the plight of vultures in India.
Further along and on the left side this time, the wall is replaced by hand-rails, and guests can look down into a small paddock for Indian Wild Boar . At the end of the corridor, there is a small tank for Indian Cobra.
To the right of this tank the guests enter a large space called the Throne Room. A large panel of glass separates them from a large Indian Rock Python (Kaa). The exhibit contains a pool, shelters, and climbing structures, but there is a large fake throne at the center which serves as a basking spot to encourage the snake to use it. If guests are lucky they might catch 'Kaa' coiled around the throne. King Louie starts to sound nervous and hurriedly makes his escape, Bagheera chuckles and leads the guests outside.
The last exhibit is outside, and a fake stone wall separates the guests from a large of troop of Gray Langur (Bandar-log), the monkeys who capture Mowgli in the original story and take him to their den. Bagheera and Baloo use Kaa's help to rescue him. Bagheera makes a note of primate social behaviour, and after the guests have finished watching the antics of the monkeys, they progress to the next area.
(Two more to go!)