Yěshān Báshè Walking Trail

Written by @PerGron

Meaning “Wild Mountain Trek,” the Yěshān Báshè Walking Trail is the animal trail featured in Yùn Chèng, themed around the lower forest levels found around the Himalayan Mountains. Each animal found in this attraction is, much like the rest of the land, each animal found in this attraction is located at a different elevation in the Himalayas. Towards the bottom are forest dwellers common in the subtropical rainforests at the base of the mountains, where animals towards the top of the trail are found living on the mountain proper. This is achieved by having the path that winds through the trails go uphill as you go, not steep enough to cause trouble walking, but enough to notice the elevation change as you travel through. Along with the elevation change, foliage and rockwork will change and emulate the shift in biomes as you traverse the mountainside. Towards the bottom, the vegetation will be lush and dense, with few rocks, while the top will be very rocky, including snow-capped rocks, with minimal foliage. All of this is done to achieve the illusion that you are walking up a mountainside seeing the animals in their native habitats.

Bengal Tigers

At the base of the trail, entering from the far side, guests will encounter the first exhibit, a one-acre yard for a pair of Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris). The Bengal tiger enclosure features three yards in total, one yard for each tiger, and a central yard where either animal can enter, and zookeepers can use it to introduce the cats, particularly for breeding. The two animals are a breeding pair that are part of the Species Survival Plan for Bengal tigers, so offspring are genetically crucial for the species.

The yards themselves are heavily forested, emulating the dry forests that Bengal tigers inhabit, and feature an open grassy area with a natural-bottom pool for the tigers to swim in. Each yard also has connective bridges over the top of guests, made to look as if the tigers are traversing directly over you as you walk through the trails. One tiger will always have access to two yards at a time with access to the secondary yard switching halfway through the day to give the other animal access to it.

Because the aim of the trail is that the animals are in their natural habitat, the viewing of these three yards are unique, featuring overlooks where guests can look down into the animals' yards, passing under the animal bridges where guests can look up and see the animals, and passing through a small cave system to peer into the exhibits using the only glass viewing there is, tucked away so it does not mess with the concept that the animals are out in their natural habitat

Indian Rhinoceros

Guests can take the path that forks to the left from the third tiger yard and make their way to a forested yet swampy exhibit for the facility's pair of Indian one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). This species is one of three forest-dwelling rhinoceros species in the world and is found throughout India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Tibet. The pair of rhinoceros are part of the Species Survival Program and hopes to breed at the facility are there, giving the species more of a purpose than just looking good.

The exhibit is mainly a grassy yard with some tropical trees throughout, as well as three individual pools for the animals to soak in. Indian rhinos spend much of their time wallowing in mud and pools like this, so to see them exhibiting this behavior is as natural as it gets.

The yard also features large open spaces where the rhinos can run around, as well as scratching posts cleverly disguised as broken tree stumps. Rhinos are very tactile animals, so giving them plenty of unique textures to rub up against is incredibly important to their welfare.

The rhino exhibit sits in a vally, allowing guests to look down into their exhibit, giving the animals more of a sense of privacy without having to see guests, but still giving the guests excellent views of the animals.

Red panda

Guests that take a right from the tiger exhibits travel down a path and discover the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) enclosure. This enclosure plays home to a breeding pair of red pandas that, like the two previous animals, are a part of the red panda Species Survival Plan. The cubs from this species help to repopulate the species in captivity and to keep genetics pure and to avoid inbreeding.

The enclosure itself is set below viewing level, but it has multiple trees and climbing structures that rise up to eye level. This gives the animals the ability to move about in the lower level brush, or to climb up the structures and get a look at the people watching them.

The exhibit is heavily foliated to resemble the alpine forests of the mountains, but also feature lots of rocks to show that you are climbing up the mountain as you go. The red padas can use these trees and rocks as perching and oftentimes you'll find them chilling out on a branch right nearby your face.

Dholes

Nearby the red panda enclosure, walking up the mountainside, guests will enocounter the endangered dhole (Cuon alpinus). Featured in this enclosure is a pack of the animals, featuring two males and three females in this habitat. The five are a part of the Species Survival Plan for dholes and will hopefully breed sometime in the future.

In order to make you feel like you are now in the alpine portion of the mountain, the foliage changes from the tropical species found with the rhinos and tigers and gradually switches into more cold-hearty alpine species such as spruce and birch as well as plenty of alpine ground cover like lichens and rhododendron. The enclosure is also very rock-heavy, giving the feel that you are encountering a pack of dholes near their den in the side of a cliff face.

The animals themselves are given ample space, and because canines are very prominent pacers, they are also given plenty of enrichment. Keepers will hide food throughout the enclosure, as well as make food impossible to get unless the pack works together to get it. A carcass may be hidden in a tree with ropes tied to it that two or more animals have to pull silmutaneously in order to unlodge the food. Scents and other enrichment are also used adamantly as they are natural looking and don't detract from the feeling of seeing the animals in the wild.


Aviary

The Himalayan aviary is a walkthrough aviary, much like the ones found in the Maharajah Jungle Trek and Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail at Disney's Animal Kingdom. This aviary is home to multiple bird species found in the Himalayas, but is mainly comprised of males.

The reason the exhibit lacks females is to prevent breeding, but also to prevent fighting. Males of many bird species cannot be housed together if there are females present or else they'll fight. Not housing females in the exhibit with them will help alleviate that tension and make the male birds relatively gentle housemates. This is also done due to the drab color of many female birds, especially the species represented in the aviary.

The aviary is set in the alpine forest portion of the walkthrough, alongside the dholes and red pandas. Because of this, much of the aviary is foliated with alpine and boreal forest plants and a cool water spring for the waterfowl to enjoy.

Not all species featured are pictured, but some of the highlights include

  • Himalayan Monal (Lophopohorus impejanus)

  • Temminck's Tragopan (Tragopan temminckii)

  • Red-billed Blue Magpie (Urocissa erythroryncha)

  • Little Forktail (Enicurus scouleri)

  • Crested Kingfisher (Megaceryle lugubris)

  • Blue Whistling Thrush (Myophonus caeruleas)

  • Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis)

Sichuan Takin

The Sichuan takin (Budorcas taxicolor tibetana) enclosure begins the final stretch of the walkthrough: the mountainside. This portion of the walkthrough is set with a lot more rocky cliffs and fewer plants than the portions prior. In this exhibit is a trio of Sichuan takin, two females and a male, who, like the other mammals featured in the walkthrough, are endangered and part of the Species Survival Plan. These three are a breeding trio who will, hopefully, bring offspring to help diversify the gene pool.

The enclosure features a lot more rock cover than plant cover due to the takin's preference for the cliffs. However, towards the back of the enclosure there are trees and throughout the enclosure there are shrubs and groundplants for the animals to much on.

This exhibit is built on a slope, giving the animals even more of a perogative to climb, with a pool at the bottom and feeding area at the top, they must navigate the rockwork to move between the two spots, making sure the animals do not get bored.

Yak and crane

This mixed-species enclosure features domestic yak (Bos grunniens) and Demoiselle cranes (Grus virgo). These two species share a mountainous pasture, featuring rocks but also a large grassy meadow in the center of the enclosure. The reason for this is yaks are a domestic species that are used as food, beasts of burden, and other necessities by the people of the Himalayas. The cranes follow the yaks as the yaks rip up the ground exposing bugs, seeds, and other small critters that lie underground.

The yak enclosure appears to be a wild pasture, meaning though the animals are domestic, they are still free to roam, given ample space to do so and graze. The yaks and the cranes eat different things and share a symbiotic relationship, so they are good roommates and do not have many confrontations.

The exhibit houses a trio of yak sisters and a breeding pair of cranes. The cranes are a part of the Species Survival Plan, but the yaks, being all girls, do not breed. This helps control defensiveness between yaks and their keepers as well as with the cranes.

Snow Leopard

The final exhibit of the trail, the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is the most popular exhibit, featuring a pair of these beautiful and elusive cats. Unsurprisingly, these two are the final Species Survival Plan animals on the trail, making this trail one of the most conservation-focused exhibits in the world with 80% of the animals taking part in the breeding programs for their species.

Snow leopards, being a cat synonymous with the cliffs of the himalayas, spend much of their time on steep rocky terrain, and in order to emulate that, this enclosure is built directly into the large faux-mountain that houses the rest of the land. Given an invisible mesh cover (it's a real thing, not invisible, but is called that because it's tough but thin, giving the illusion there's nothing there) that keeps the animals in, they are able to climb from the floor where guests stand, all the way up to the top of the mountainside, giving guests up at the tables service restaurant an eye-to-eye view of the cats.

The snow leopard pair is almost always active, making for an amazing experience to watch, but even when they're sleeping, watching the animals balance as they lay on the tall rocks is impressive. Certain rocks are climate controlled, meaning the cats have to seek out the specific rocks that can cool them down or heat them up, but it's not always the same rocks every day, making it more of a challenge than just remembering a pattern.

There is also a yard in front of the mountain for the animals to roam around, but much of the time they spend up above the guests, making for an amazing sight.