Henry Doorly Zoo
The Lied Jungle is the best indoor rainforest simply put. It has a huge variety of animals under its 1.5 acre roof. It is filled with foliage and rivers. There are two ways to see it; from a canopy level walk, or from a dirt path on the forest floor. It passes through three geographic sections; Asia, Africa, and South America. As you enter the Asian rainforest you will see a small fairy bluebird exhibit in the rock. On either side of the path is an island for lar and white handed gibbons. Like all the primate islands, they are very large and offer plenty of climbing opportunities for the animals. Sharing the lar gibbons home are Asian small-clawed otters. Living behind glass in the Asian nightlife cave are pygmy slow lorises, blood python, Malayan water monitor, while Indian crested porcupines and clouded leopards both inhabit dark cave-like exhibits. Another island is home to ebony/ francois langurs (rotating) and Malayan tapirs. The first exhibit you will see in Africa is a small DeBrazza’s monkey exhibit (formerly home to ring-tailed lemurs). Blue monkeys live on an island, while lake Victoria cichlids and Nile soft-shelled tortoises live in the water surrounding the island. A Dumeril’s ground boa lives in a tiny glass fronted exhibit in an overhanging tree branch. African pygmy geese, silvery-cheeked hornbills, violaceous turaco, and green woodhoopoe live in a nice aviary next to a Home’s hinge-backed tortoise exhibit. Pygmy hippos live in a small pool up ahead across from African spot-necked otters. In South America an island is home to black spider monkeys as well as white-fronted capuchins and Baird’s tapir. In another cave you can see yellow anaconda, Brazilian rainbow boa, cotton-top tamarin, common marmoset, golden lion tamarin, Panamanian golden from, and black and white tegu. From this cave, visitors can access an overlook of the spider monkey island. Three islands make up the last exhibit. Scarlet macaws live on one, while red-backed bearded sakis and mustached tamarins live on the largest one. Two-toed sloths live on another island, while arapaima, silver arowana, red-breasted pacu and other fish like in the surrounding waters. Free-flying birds include sunbittern, radjah shelduck, magpie goose, hammerkop, gray-necked wood rail, black crake, nicobar pigeon, white-crested laughing thrush, and straw-necked ibis, among others. When starting on the ground level, the first exhibit is a freshwater stingray pool, followed by an overlook into the Baird’s tapir exhibit. A tunnel offers underwater views of the pygmy hippos. Small aquariums are home to cichlids. Ahead are underwater viewing for Malayan tapirs, Asian small-clawed otters, and Philippine crocodiles. Prevost’s squirrels behind galls are the last animals you will see. The main point of the forest floor seems to be for observing the birds free-flying. Overall, the section has some small exhibits, but is brilliant