Forest Habitats
Recreated in Forests Biome
 Children
gather for a close encounter with the magnificent
Amur tiger in the
Tiger Forest exhibit.
There they learn about the threats faced by this
highly endangered big cat and what the Indianapolis
Zoo is doing to try and save them through its
conservation programs. Bamboo
and other plants transform a winding trail in the
Indianapolis cityscape into a dense forest
experience. Water is prevalent throughout the
biome, and on a humid 90-plus degree-day, a red
panda might take it easy lolling about in the
treetops. Temperate and tropical forests of
the world are represented in the Forests Biome.
Photo by VisitIndy
 Check
out the Zoo's
Bats,
located near the Alaskan brown bears. As the world's forests are utilized to meet the
increasing demand for paper products, fuel,
agriculture, building materials, furniture and urban
expansion, forest-dwelling animals are losing their
habitats. To maintain healthy captive
populations, many animals in the Forests Biome are
part of managed breeding programs such as the
Species Survival Plan® (SSP). Photo by
Jackie Curts
The SSP is a cooperative population management and
conservation program of the Association
of Zoos and Aquariums for
selected species, generally threatened or
endangered, in zoos and aquariums in North America.
By tracking genealogy of animals through
“studbooks,” institutions regulate breeding and
maintain a genetically diverse population in human
care.
 More
Animals
Near the tiger exhibit, Zoo visitors will
encounter red pandas, white-handed gibbons and
Asian small-clawed otters. Photo by Jason Wright
 In the Commons area in the middle of Zoo
grounds, they will encounter another endangered
animal – lemurs, a prosimian species from
Madagascar. The Zoo exhibits ring-tailed and
crowned lemurs in combination with Chilean flamingos
on an island near the Café on the Commons. A
lemur exhibit featuring red-ruffed lemurs and
blue-eyed black lemurs is located across from the
Dolphin Pavilion. The Zoo is very involved in
research and conservation of these endangered
primates through Project Lemur – an effort to work
toward eventual re-introduction of ring-tailed
lemurs born in human care back into their native
habitats. Photo by Jackie Curts
Animals on
Exhibit
Bats exhibit: Island flying foxes,
straw-colored fruit bats
Bear exhibit: Alaskan brown bears
Tiger exhibit: Amur tigers, cubs when applicable
Red panda/muntjac exhibit: Red pandas; Reeves'
muntjacs
Gibbon/Otter exhibit: Asian small-clawed
otters, White-handed gibbons
Aviary - American bald eagle, turkey vulture, ravens
Commons
Lemur exhibit: Ring-tailed lemurs, crowned
lemurs, red-ruffed lemurs, blue-eyed black lemurs
Notable Plants on Exhibit
Vernal witchhazel, sassafras, yellow-groove bamboo,
spicebush, katsuratree, bottlebrush buckeye,
lacebark pine, columbine, maidenhair fern, and
winterberry.
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