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World's Second Largest Natural Habitat Zoo Upon completion, perhaps in a decade or so, the North Carolina Zoological Park will be the second largest natural habitat zoo in the world. With sections representing six continents and the seas, the zoo will cover nearly 1,500 acres. The African section--the first exhibit to be opened--features a huge plains exhibit where elephants, rhinoceroses, antelope, and other hooved creatures roam free, as well as a tropical aviary where visitors can mingle with exotic birds amid lush foliage. The African pavilion has been described as the world's most unusual zoo structure. Featuring four geographic regions of Africa--the tropical forest, forest edge, swamp, and plains--it contains 53,500 square feet under a Teflon-coated fiberglass roof stretched from three canted masts, the tallest 90 feet high. It is the only building of its type in the world. The zoo has one of the first exhibits where the animals run free but the spectators are caged. After the chimpanzees learned that they could dig up rocks and throw them at visitors, often with painfully accurate results, the spectators' area had to be caged to prevent injuries. In the zoo's 200-acre North American exhibit you can see everything from prairie to desert animals, all in natural habitat settings. One of the most interesting is the North Carolina streamside natural habitat. Here's the lowdown. It's fake. All the rocks and logs are fake. Water is moved by an electric pump. The warm log where the snake sleeps is epoxy over an electric coil heater set at 270 deg F. The hair roots "growing" through the bank from the streamside trees are fiberglass rope coated with epoxy. In short, Loui Bradley, designer and builder of the habitat says, "If it doesn't swim or grow green, it's not real." But it fools the visitors, and the animals. Why does it take so much artifice to make a natural habitat exhibit work? The answer is that you are looking at a condensed representation of the entire state's habitat. The streamside exhibit complex includes two buildings and outdoor exhibits that cover about 17,000 square feet and include aquariums containing more than 27,000 gallons of water. When you realize the sidplay traces a stream's descent from mountain bog to brackish coastal plain waters, you see how much variety has been encompassed in a small space. The zoo is just off NC 159, 8 miles south of Asheboro. Signs direct the way from all major highways. From April 1 to October 15, the zoo is open weekdays 9 am to 5 pm and on weekends and holidays 10 am to 6 pm. From October 16 to March 31, it is open daily 9 am to 4 pm. The zoo offers two restaurants, snack bars, picnic areas, two gift shops, and trams to carry visitors to exhibits.
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