Northern Trail
The 6-acre exhibit transports visitors to three cold, rugged regions of the far north: the weather-stunted forests of the taiga, the treeless plains of the tundra and the high crags of the montane. Animal residents include grizzly bears, wolves, elk, river otters, mountain goats and bald eagles. The expansive exhibit contains seven distinct plant communities ranging from white and black spruce to quaking aspen to dwarf arctic willow. Highlights include a crawl-in wolf den, a bear cave, underwater viewing of grizzlies and river otters, an eagle viewing shelter, and a breathtaking 10-foot curving mural that immerses visitors in the arctic tundra.

Trail of Vines
Here, visitors take an intriguing journey to the shola forests of the Western Ghats in India; a rocky outcrop in Malaysia; and a forest canopy in Northern Borneo. The 2.7-acre exhibit presents lion-tailed macaques, Malayan tapirs, siamang apes and Indian pythons. The trail concludes with an elevated boardwalk where visitors come eye-to-eye with orangutans living in treetops and behaving much as they do in the wild; this outdoor space is the first ever, open forested canopy for orangutans in a zoo.

Tropical Rain Forest
Home to the greatest concentration of plant and animal species at the zoo, nearly 70 animal and more than 680 plant species represent Asian, African, and Central and South American rain forests. From the forest floor to the understory to the canopy, visitors encounter ocelots, poison dart frogs and birds in an indoor, humid environment. The outdoor portion features Madagascar lemurs and two western lowland gorilla groups.

Elephant Forest
Zoo-goers roam through a grove of the largest public display of bamboo in the Pacific Northwest and emerge within a logging camp modeled after the forests in Thailand, where elephants and humans live and work together. The zoo's herd of elephants roams a winding trail, bathes in a pool, or takes refuge in a spacious, temple-like shelter. The birth of Hansa the Asian elephant in 2000 was the first in the zoo’s 100-year history and an important worldwide conservation success!

Jaguar Cove
A lush, light-dappled forest, a warm, sandy shoreline, a pool fed by a waterfall, simulated limestone cliffs, and more than 1,500 plants mimic the natural world of the largest cat in the Western Hemisphere — the jaguar. The 3,850-square-foot exhibit quadruples the size of the jaguar’s former exhibit, making it one of the largest and most naturalistic exhibits dedicated to jaguars in any zoo and the first with underwater viewing capabilities where visitors might just get the chance to see this water-loving cat swim.

OTHER STANDOUT EXHIBITS:

African Wild Dog
Known as the wolves of Africa, they are gentle and considerate, and they carefully tend to their old, young and sick. African wild dogs are “the caring carnivores.” And, for many visitors, this will be their first-ever encounter with a species rarely seen in zoos. A pack of four male siblings live in the zoo’s approximately 5,000-square-foot enclosure that evokes an eastern or southern African floodplain-riverbank habitat where African wild dogs live.

African Village
A sweeping view dotted with towering giraffe, grazing oryx, striped zebra, slender gazelle and sprightly patas monkeys…a leisurely walk through a rural village…African Village transports visitors to the distant landscape of an African savanna. From a traditional Kikuyu house and a teacher’s house to a banda hut and primary school, the village motif celebrates African culture and the country’s wildlife through the eyes of those who live there.

Dragons of Komodo
They’re big, carnivorous and rare. Dragons of Komodo offers a glimpse into a typical day and life of the largest lizard in the world. Komodo dragons are found only on a few small Indonesian Islands, and can reach lengths of more than 9 feet. The permanent exhibit displays a 6-foot adult female and 7-1/2-foot adult male.