Nearly 30 new animals now call the Virginia Zoo home, including a collection of orangutans, tigers and tapirs.
The Trail of the Tiger, scheduled to open on April 2, spans 5.5 acres and doubles the number of large mammals at the zoo. Focused on Asian animals, the exhibit trail winds visitors through a series of pagodas that overlook a forest-like environment. Many of the animals can be seen in both their outdoor habitats and indoor playrooms, including the active siamangs.
"The effect is to provide visitors with a tiger's-eye view of the kinds of animals an Asian tiger might encounter in the wild," said Greg Bockheim, executive director of the zoo.
Other new animals include the binturong, sometimes known as the bearcat, a pair of rhinoceros hornbills, Asian black bears, a demoiselle crane, a pair of white-cheeked gibbons, Asian small-clawed otters and a number of birds for the various aviaries that are scattered along the trail.
An animal of note added to the collection is a male Malayan tapir imported from Singapore zoo, in exchange for a bongo.
PICTURES: Asia-Trail of the Tiger Exhibit at the Virginia Zoo - dailypress.com
The Trail of the Tiger, scheduled to open on April 2, spans 5.5 acres and doubles the number of large mammals at the zoo. Focused on Asian animals, the exhibit trail winds visitors through a series of pagodas that overlook a forest-like environment. Many of the animals can be seen in both their outdoor habitats and indoor playrooms, including the active siamangs.
"The effect is to provide visitors with a tiger's-eye view of the kinds of animals an Asian tiger might encounter in the wild," said Greg Bockheim, executive director of the zoo.
Other new animals include the binturong, sometimes known as the bearcat, a pair of rhinoceros hornbills, Asian black bears, a demoiselle crane, a pair of white-cheeked gibbons, Asian small-clawed otters and a number of birds for the various aviaries that are scattered along the trail.
An animal of note added to the collection is a male Malayan tapir imported from Singapore zoo, in exchange for a bongo.
PICTURES: Asia-Trail of the Tiger Exhibit at the Virginia Zoo - dailypress.com
