🌴 A Hidden Gem: Amsterdam's Rainforest House 🌴

🌟Artis Royal Zoo in Amsterdam is 186 years old today, which is practically 200 years when rounded up. It's only 14 hectares, making it exceptionally small by zoo standards. 🌟The most memorable part of the Artis Royal Zoo for me is the Monkey and Bird House near the main entrance. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary European-style exhibit. But once you step inside, it's a whole different world. 🌟This is a domed building. The zoo has broken through the original tiled floor to expose some soil and planted numerous tropical plants, creating the appearance of a rainforest greenhouse. This room is called the Rainforest House. 🌟From the dome and the surrounding walls, many ropes hang down, securing several thick vine bridges. These vine bridges seem to come in two types: one with a thick core wrapped in brown fur, about 20 centimeters in diameter, with thin vine sticks wrapped around it; the other is made up of many spirally twisted vines, with an overall width of over 30 centimeters. 🌟What is the purpose of such vine bridges? First, let's look at the animals housed in this exhibit. The animals in the Rainforest House are all American sloths, arboreal porcupines, small primates, and birds, none larger than the two-toed sloth, but all these mammals are species that climb trees. It's too expensive to plant and maintain large trees in the indoor exhibit, so artificial structures are needed for climbing. 🌟Traditionally, artificial climbing frames or complex rope bridges could be used to meet the climbing needs of animals. However, rope bridges allow animals to hang but make it difficult for them to stand upright; artificial climbing frames are not easy to make aesthetically pleasing. 🌟The suspension system at Artis is truly eye-opening. These vine bridges, on one hand, allow small arboreal animals to move freely on them. The thick, rough, and layered structure is much easier to grip than tree trunks or ropes and is also large enough for animals to rest on. On the other hand, they are really beautiful. 🌟On the wall of the exhibit, there is a sign that introduces the composition of the plants in the Rainforest House. The trees here are mostly fig trees. Europeans have been practicing gardening for hundreds of years and are very skilled at creating indoor greenhouses. 🌟Amsterdam is located by the North Sea, where the winter temperatures are usually below 10 degrees Celsius, damp and cold, with strong winds. They have a particular fondness for the tropics. All the Dutch zoos I've visited have one or more warm greenhouses, which all evoke the tropics. #MrFlowerTakesYouToTheZoo #ZooWithMrFlower #Zoo #ZooDesign #Netherlands #Amsterdam #Nature #Primates #IntimateContactWithNature