Related Resources
Learn about the Zoo's new Elephant Trails Campaign.
How do you balance the needs of people and wildlife? Find out in the 
Decision Station!
Adopt a red panda, clouded leopard, giant panda, or another Asian species!
Visit
the Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler Galleries
of Asian Art.
Asia Trail, a series of exhibits that opened in 2006, is home to six Asian species: sloth bears, fishing cats, red pandas, clouded leopards, Asian small-clawed otters, and giant pandas, who enjoy the new Fujifilm Giant Panda Habitat.
See a map of Asia Trail, read about the new animal habitats, and learn about Asia Trail's green elements.
downloadable audio tour, narrated by Dakota Fanning, from Fujifilm.Section of Asia Trail Closed Temporarily
Part of the lower path of Asia Trail, from the giant Japanese salamander exhibit to the Panda House, will be closed until further notice.
Clouded Leopard Cubs Keep on Growing
The genetically valuable clouded leopard cubs born at the Zoo's Conservation and Research Center in March will be weaned this week. The larger of the two male cubs now weighs more than six pounds, and the smaller cub is about a pounds lighter. The Zoo has been breeding these little-known cats for 30 years. The last litter was born in 1993.
Read all about the cubs. | 
See new photos. | Read cub updates. | Adopt a clouded leopard!
Help save clouded leopards—and get wallpaper of the cubs!
Sloth Bear Update—April 2009
It’s time to say goodbye to our little bear. Balawat, our three-year-old sloth bear, left the Zoo on April 29. He is joining a female sloth bear from the San Diego Zoo at Akron Zoo.
Sloth bears are governed by the Species Survival Plan (SSP) program, which manages breeding in order to maintain a genetically diverse zoo population. Balawat is the result of a breeding recommendation from the Sloth Bear SSP, and the SSP has recommended we send him to Akron to be paired with the San Diego female, who was determined to be a good match for him.
At three years of age, Bala is certainly ready to venture out on his own and start his new life. His keepers will miss him very much but are also excited for him to start the next chapter of his life. Read the rest of the update.
In the wild, sloth bears are found in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. They have a slightly longer snout than other species of bear, and they use it along with their lips to create a vacuum-like seal to suck up insects from holes, cracks and crevices.
Asia Trail Photo Gallery |
Help with cam
Can’t see any animals?
The animal in this exhibit may have moved out of view. FONZ volunteers operate some cams, but most of our cams show a fixed view.
Watching fishing cats:
Two fishing cats live on Asia Trail. These short-tailed cats are about twice the size of the average housecat. They attract fish by lighting tapping the water's surface with a paw, mimicking insect movements. Then, they dive into the water to catch the fish.
Fishing Cat Facts | 
Watch Fishing Cats Fish
Giant Pandas: Camera I | Camera II
Sloth Bears: Sloth Bear Yard 1 A | Sloth Bear Yard 1 B | Sloth Bear Yard 2 A | Sloth Bear Yard 2 B
Clouded Leopards
Asian Small-clawed Otters
Asia Trail features a species that has not been at the Zoo in decades: clouded leopards, which Zoo scientists breed at our Conservation and Research Center and study in Thailand.
Asia Trail provides so much for so many:
- state-of-the-art exhibits with a stimulating environment,
- a comprehensive education program for visitors, students, and teachers, and
- the expertise for in-depth research and training that aims to conserve these species in the wild.
Many Asian species can be found at the Zoo:
- Sumatran tigers at Great Cats
- Orangutans at the Great Ape House
- Przewalski's horses in the yard next to the Small Mammal House
- White-cheeked gibbons and siamangs at Gibbon Ridge
- Asian elephants at the Elephant House
- Cranes outside the Bird House
- A Komodo dragon and a gharial at the Reptile Discovery Center
Check out the Zoo map and plot your own "Asia Trail" through the Zoo. Or take a virtual world tour.
