Asian Islands
“Long-term, we have some possibilities for doing some Southeast Asian animal exhibits that link with programs that we have here. For instance, our elephant breeding program, which is probably the most successful in the country right now.
“Then there are some of the primates and other animals from Southeast Asia that we have here at the zoo. These are not currently in state-of-the-art immersion habitats or linked together physically into a single
experience like the Pantanal. So there is a whole tropical Asian component that we’d like to look at.”
Both of these quotes come directly from Lee Ehmke in the aforementioned interview, which gives us the insight that the Asian Islands will be focusing on Southeast Asia. The whole exhibit will be replacing the Wortham World of Primates and is designed like a circle giving off the appearance that each enclosure is truly isolated from the rest hence the islands name. Starting from the top, the existing Orangutan exhibit will be the last remnant of what was once the World of Primates, I expect it to stay the exact same as it is now with maybe minor adjustments to the glass viewing area. Continuing on down we arrive at a modest in size enclosure with what appears to be a barn, the perfect area for the Babirusa. A species that was unfortunately phased out of Houston and will now be returning for zoo nerds to gawk at and for visitors to confuse for a regular pig. Up next is an exhibit that confuses me, the large water area tells me otters, but it is WAY too big to be for otters alone, the climbing frames tell me Red Panda, but they'd be out of place is a Southeast Asian exhibit (and frankly if they aren't staying in their enclosure at the Bug House, I believe Red Pandas will be phased out of Houston entirely), so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this will be an enclosure for one of the few new species this master plan will give us, a bear. Out of the Asian bears, we can rule out Pandas right away, they'd be expensive and out of place in this exhibit. That leaves us with the Sun Bear, or the Sloth Bear and I'd honestly be ecstatic to have either of them. Of course, I could be very wrong about this, but Houston is lacking in the bear department after losing both Andean and Grizzlies, so adding another bear besides the North American Black would be a welcome addition. Right in the middle of the whole area is an enclosure I believe will house gibbons, or siamangs. These animals are beloved by zoo guests for their endless energy and adorable appearances, a must have in the Asian Islands. Next is a little enclosure hidden in the corner with trees all over the place. What animal could live in such an area? Well, who else but the Clouded Leopard. At the moment their habitat is quite lackluster, they definitely got the short end of the stick when it comes to cats at the Houston Zoo, so they are definitely in store for an upgrade. A larger habitat where they can show off their climbing abilities to their full extent would be perfect for these cats. Finally, the main event (don't tell the elephants), finishing off strong with the Malayan Tiger, this exhibit is surrounded by rock walls hiding a large indoor shelter behind them, and is easily the largest in size of this batch, the ideal home for the largest big cat of all, the true king of the jungle. One last thing before moving on though, the zoo's master plan lists Small Clawed Otters as part of this area, yet I could not find any suitable in size enclosure with water in this map, and I doubt they'd just be thrown into a mixed exhibit with the bears or orangutan. I'd definitely still expect them to show up here once this expansion comes along.
View attachment 615189
