The zoo opened Islands at Chester Zoo in July 2015, a project extending the footprint of the zoo by 15 acres and built to the south of the west half of the current site.

Islands showcases areas where the zoo is involved in conservation programmes, including Sumatra, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Visitors are able to walk between the islands via a series of bridges and also view the animals via on a boat trip.
The project also includes educational exhibits, play areas and a restaurant, the Manado Street Kitchen.

The exhibit is opening in phases with phase one including a boat trip around the enclosures for visitors to view some of the zoo's key species from South East Asia, including Visayan warty pigs, southern cassowary, Javan banteng, lowland anoa and North Sulawesi babirusa; plus a walk-through bird aviary featuring the critically endangered Bali starling, as well as Java sparrows, pied imperial pigeons and yellow-backed chattering lorys.

Phase two opened later in the summer and includes Sumatran tigers, Sunda gharials, and other reptiles (such as tentacled snakes and brown tortoises), birds (Javan rhinoceros hornbills, and Indonesian songbirds) and invertebrates.
That phase including Monsoon Forest is now complete and open with the installation of the Sumatran orang utans and the arrival of a breeding pair of Javan silvery gibbons in December 2015.

A third phase for Islands opened in summer 2017.
The third phase included new exhibits for Malayan sun bear, Palawan binturongs, Malayan tapir, and a new songbird aviary featuring various birds from Indonesia as well as the critically endangered Javan green magpie.

An exhibit for dusky pademelons and Goodfellow's tree-kangaroo was completed and opened in May 2018, alongside enclosures for cloud rats, tree shrews and Prevost's squirrels.

Monsoon Forest is set to reopen in late 2020, having been renovated following the 2018 fire that gutted much of the building and caused the deaths of some smaller species.
The new Monsoon Forest continues to be themed around the rainforests of South East Asia and features a large free-flight bird area exhibiting many species of South East Asian bird.
Also exhibited are a variety of South East Asian invertebrates, fish, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles, including tentacled snake, several species of tortoise and Sunda Island's gharials.

There are also further enclosures for the zoo's rhinoceros hornbill, Sulawesi crested macaque, silvery gibbon and Sumatran orang utans.
The zoo opened Islands at Chester Zoo in July 2015, a project extending the footprint of the zoo by 15 acres and built to the south of the west half of the current site.
Islands showcases areas where the zoo is involved in conservation programmes, including Sumatra, the Philippines and Indonesia. Visitors are able to walk between the islands via a series of bridges and also view the animals via on a boat trip. The project also includes educational exhibits, play areas and a restaurant, the Manado Street Kitchen.
The exhibit is opening in phases with phase one including a boat trip around the enclosures for visitors to view some of the zoo's key species from South East Asia, including Visayan warty pigs, southern cassowary, Javan banteng, lowland anoa and North Sulawesi babirusa; plus a walk-through bird aviary featuring the critically endangered Bali starling, as well as Java sparrows, pied imperial pigeons and yellow-backed chattering lorys.
Phase two opened later in the summer and includes Sumatran tigers, Sunda gharials, and other reptiles (such as tentacled snakes and brown tortoises), birds (Javan rhinoceros hornbills, and Indonesian songbirds) and invertebrates. That phase including Monsoon Forest is now complete and open with the installation of the Sumatran orang utans and the arrival of a breeding pair of Javan silvery gibbons in December 2015.
A third phase for Islands opened in summer 2017. The third phase included new exhibits for Malayan sun bear, Palawan binturongs, Malayan tapir, and a new songbird aviary featuring various birds from Indonesia as well as the critically endangered Javan green magpie.
An exhibit for dusky pademelons and Goodfellow's tree-kangaroo was completed and opened in May 2018, alongside enclosures for cloud rats, tree shrews and Prevost's squirrels.
Monsoon Forest is set to reopen in late 2020, having been renovated following the 2018 fire that gutted much of the building and caused the deaths of some smaller species. The new Monsoon Forest continues to be themed around the rainforests of South East Asia and features a large free-flight bird area exhibiting many species of South East Asian bird. Also exhibited are a variety of South East Asian invertebrates, fish, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles, including tentacled snake, several species of tortoise and Sunda Island's gharials.
There are also further enclosures for the zoo's rhinoceros hornbill, Sulawesi crested macaque, silvery gibbon and Sumatran orang utans.
Chester Zoo