Zurich Zoo Opens “Panthera”, Setting New Standards in Animal Presentation

(eap) Zurich Zoo aims to play a pioneering role as a “zoo of the future”. The new “Panthera” habitat for tigers, lions and snow leopards, which was officially opened today and will be accessible to all zoo visitors from tomorrow, is intended to underline this goal. A special feature of the new habitat is the rotation principle on which it is based: there are no fixed locations for the big cats in Panthera. All four areas of the new enclosure are interconnected and are used equally and alternately by all three big cat species living there – but never at the same time.

“For the big cats at Zurich Zoo, the rotation principle means constant reorientation and safety checks. Every time they change areas, they first have to check for potential competitors and re-mark their territory. The smell of their predecessor is everywhere. That’s challenging and that’s good. Good for the animals’ well-being and good for their health. Animals that are rarely or rarely cognitively challenged are proven to be less robust. So what sounds paradoxical at first is actually very sensible,” explains zoo director Dr. Severin Dressen.

© Foto: Zoo Zürich, Enzo Franchini As an added value both for observing guests and for the snow leopard, Armur tiger and Asiatic lion, who are presented in the new Panthera habitat as species on the Red List of Threatened Species, the zoo is highlighting a 17-metre-long connection between the different areas of the enclosure. This is fitted with a thick Norway spruce trunk and serves as a walkway for the big cats – over the heads of the visitors, offering them a new perspective. The cats, on the other hand, prefer to have everything in view – between branches and numerous green plants, each individual should find a suitable observation post.

In order to give the animals the opportunity to better exercise their hunting instincts, one large and two smaller feeding ropeways as well as two feeding trees are housed in Panthera. As the zoo explains, only about one in ten hunting attempts in the wild is successful. The vast majority of the time, the big cats experience failure – which is exactly what can now be simulated with the largest of the three feeding ropeways in Panthera. In future, prey will whizz through the air at speeds of up to 40 km/h to encourage the animals’ fast reflexes and strategic hunting techniques. At the same time, zoo visitors can observe exciting scenes.

© Foto: Zoo Zürich, Charles Negre Finally, Panthera also has an insect forest, which is located at the heart of the facility in the former lion house. It is home to eleven species of insects, currently numbering around 1,000 individuals, with whom direct encounters are possible thanks to the absence of barriers between animals and zoo guests.

Dr. Dressen emphasizes the educational mission of the zoo: “Without insects, without numerous invertebrates, our world as we know it today would not exist. This class of animal is the backbone of biodiversity. Not only are they food for countless other animal species, they also ensure that our soil remains healthy, plants bear fruit, excrement and carcasses are decomposed – in short: the ecosystem remains intact. We humans usually take this service for granted. But we should not and must not, because it is not. In recent decades, the biomass of flying insects alone has decreased by around 75 percent. That is dramatic! High time for more education!”

With the opening of the Panthera habitat, including the insect forest, Zurich Zoo, which recorded around 1.2 million visitors in 2024, has reached another milestone in its “Development Plan 2050” (c.f. “A world for animals & humans” in EAP 1/2022). The next major projects include the creation of a new habitat for gorillas. ■