By Emily Gessner
While in its off season right now, the North Carolina Zoo will be busy with visitors this fall, as it opens its new Asia Continent habitat.
The 12.5 acre continent, which is set to open in September, will include 10 different planned animal species. Tigers, Komodo dragons, king cobras and more prowl, crawl and slither around the exhibit.
Crista McGee, deputy director and chief facilities management officer at the North Carolina Zoo, said that while almost all the contractor work is done, the zoo is in the phase of making sure the animals get acclimated to the habitats.
This time of acclimation ensures that the zookeepers can look after the animals and make sure they are taken care of, healthy and comfortable before opening to the public, Sara Pack, the N.C. Zoo’s public relations officer, said.
The zoo staff is very excited about the newest addition to the institution to the Asheboro landmark, especially since it is the biggest continent they have added in a long time.
Pack said the zoo wanted visitors to get the sense that they were going deeper into the jungle with the design. As you walk through the entrance to the Asia exhibit, the design progresses from stone and human creation to a more natural environment filled with the animals.
The zoo paired with CLR Design out of Philadelphia for the design and construction of the project.
The entrance to the Asia Continent is designed to look like ruins and acts as a meet-up spot in the park. Lanterns line the bridge leading into the animal habitats and the full immersion of the experience.
“We married that kind of old world ruins with the new architecture,” McGee said. “We thought that would be just a much more fun experience for guests. So, you see that kind of dappled through the whole continent. From the entrance, which just completely is huge grandiose, you know, you have arrived. You have arrived at Asia.”
Ethan Mintzer, a landscape designer and architect, worked on the project for CLR Design.
He said he had the most fun developing the tiger exhibit. This habitat is unique in that it runs right up to a cafe that overlooks the tigers. Guests can enjoy a rest and meal at the cafe while still watching the animals.
The tiger habitat also has an elevated walkway which the big cats can use to pass over the zoo guests below.
Pack said that with the tigers prowling overhead and the otters flipping through the water by the slide, visitors get the feeling that they are being watched.
“It was a neat intersection of architecture, landscape, working with the keepers in developing that particular tiger exhibit, because it was just so unique in having the building in the exhibit, essentially,” Mintzer said.
The otter exhibit is also unique in its interactive guest experience. Zoo visitors can zip through a slide that flows through the center of the otter habitat. As they slide down, otters may flip and swim around them.
While developing these different fun aspects of the habitats, though, Mintzer said the design team kept one thing at the forefront.
“Animal welfare is first and foremost when you’re working on the zoo projects,” he said. “You start with the program and talking to the keepers and talking to the zoo. I think the immersive experience almost comes secondary to animal welfare.”
The N.C. Zoo prioritizes animal welfare and health through the habitats they live in and the enrichment they provide. In order to be part of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, zoos must pass the accreditation standards as described by the AZA.
The AZA’s 2026 Accreditation Standards and Related Policies manual states: “Animal care and sustainable population management are among the most critical and complex tasks performed by AZA zoos and aquariums. Administration and management must be guided by modern professional principles establishing plans and procedures to execute those functions.”
The manual also states that animal enrichment must be available to provide variety in the animals’ daily routines and ensure that their behavioral and physical needs are being met through “opportunities for species-appropriate behaviors and choices.”
Mintzer said that enrichment and safety are two big things to think about when designing an enclosure.
“So that’s when you get into designing special features like enrichment for the tigers, dangling meat from ropes and different wobbly trees and things like that that the animals can play on,” he said. “That is all a big priority when you’re designing the exhibit.”
The animals for the Asia Continent come from different institutions in the AZA. The AZA researches the best place for the animals’ health and well-being before deciding where an animal may be placed.
The N.C. Zoo has started to receive animals from the AZA. As of right now, the zoo has the tigers, Komodo dragons and white-cheeked gibbons already in zookeeper care.
It is important for animals to arrive prior to the exhibit opening so that they can grow acclimated to their new environment. This gives keepers the opportunity to observe the animals and make sure they are healthy and comfortable in the zoo, Pack said.
The Asia Continent is being funded through a combination of state funds and private zoo donors. McGee said that the state awarded the zoo $102 million for Asia, the planning of the upcoming Australia continent and other demolition and construction across the park.
The North Carolina Zoo Society ran a donor campaign that raised $50 million for the project as well.
“It is not hard to raise money for something like this, because the citizens of North Carolina are part of that,” McGee said. “Every guest that comes in this door is a part of our success and our conservation message, right? So you can always say, ‘You’re a part of this. You don’t even realize it.’”
The zoo has been a North Carolina fixture for many years now. The N.C. Zoo opened in August 1974 and has since grown to be the world’s largest natural habitat zoo. The zoo sees over a million visitors a year.
Joey Trodgon, the mayor of Asheboro, said that the zoo benefits the city socially, economically and environmentally. The addition of the Asia Continent is expected to bring in even more visitors.
“I mean, obviously, they’re a major part of our tourism and an economic driver within the community, and we welcome the addition of Asia,” Trogdon said.
The upcoming reveal of the Asia Continent has sparked excitement across the state. The new continent will have something for everyone, from longtime zoo visitors to new guests, Pack said.
The zoo has been careful in every step of the planning process. From design to animal care to guest experience, the Asia exhibit is designed with one message in mind. The zoo staff wants visitors to feel that despite human development and man-made techniques, nature will always revive and prosper.
“Our hope is that people will get the message that given enough time, nature will recover,” Pack said.
