Tag: monsoon forest fire
In 2015, Islands opened to the public. A £40 million project, 60,000 square meters, orangutans, tigers, crocodiles and countless unique plants, it was designed to be our first geographically themed immersive environment, taking visitors on a journey across six South East Asian islands.
With Monsoon Forest at the heart, the jewel in the crown, and also the UK’s largest indoor zoo habitat, this immersive habitat was an exercise in what progressive zoos should strive for.
But at the end of 2018, Monsoon Forest fell victim to a fire, causing a lot of damage to this amazing exhibition. What followed has been to a two-year long project to re-imagine the space, re-telling the stories that first captivated our visitors’ imaginations.
Two years ago, an outpouring of generosity following the devastating fire at Monsoon Forest, allowed us to fund pioneering conservation efforts in South East Asia, and here’s where we are today…
A year ago we experienced one of the most difficult days in Chester Zoo’s long history when a fire broke out in our Monsoon Forest habitat. The extraordinary efforts from the zoo team and the emergency services meant the fire was quickly extinguished and all visitors and mammal species were safely evacuated, although losing a small number of frog, fish and bird species was, of course, devastating.