Did you know that there’s an aviary in Hong Kong? The Edward Youde Aviary was opened in 1992 and is named after the Governor General of Hong Kong from 1982 to 1986.
The Aviary is located in the southern portion of Hong Kong Park, built along a natural valley on the slope of Victoria Peak. It is composed of raised pathways underneath a 3,000 meter steel mesh canopy where guests can walk through and view birds and surrounding trees that include fig, kapok, and candlenut trees.
Ponds and foliage below complete the environment, which mimics a Malesian rainforest where the birds come from.
According to the Aviary pamphlet, Malesia is ‘a botanical region covering a vast area extending from the Malaya Peninsula and Great Sundas (Sumatra, Borneo and Java), the Philippines, the Indonesian islands to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.’ The Aviary contains around 600 birds from 70 species, including endangered species like Bali Mynas.
It’s wonderful to know that should you get tired of Hong Kong’s city life, there’s a quiet place you can retreat to in the middle of the city where you can surround yourself with the beauty of nature.
This appeared in Animal Scene magazine’s February 2018 issue.
