Zoo creates new hippo home with face-to-face visual experience

Peering from behind a pane of glass, one can now get a uniquely intimate perspective on the hippos at Taipei Zoo. The zoo’s new hippo house has installed a sub-surface glass viewing area that gives visitors a totally fresh experience. Following renovation, the new hippo area is double that of the original, including a submerged landscape that helps provide the resident hippos with a home closer to their natural living environment.

The new hippo house was planned using the concept of “barrier-free access,” ensuring the elderly and those with physical disabilities are fully catered for and that regardless of whether you are pulling a pram or a wheelchair, there are absolutely no obstructions to cramp your style. The zoo said that the new hippo house was constructed to meet the government’s Long-term Care Act, which insists on taking into account of the right to recreation of senior citizens and that it has plans to introduce many more friendly facilities in the future.

以下為中文對照

隔著玻璃幕，就可以近距離觀察河馬在水中漂浮的身影，台北市立動物園打造河馬新家，設置水面下的玻璃參觀面，帶給遊客全新的參觀感受。改造後，河馬新家的面積是原來的兩倍，園方還營造沉浸式棲地景觀，提供河馬較貼近野外的居住環境。

不管是推著娃娃車還是輪椅，都能暢行無阻，動物園為了體貼長者與身障者，新落成的河馬館，採用無障礙空間理念進行規劃。動物園表示，此次改造河馬之家，也是為了配合政府長照2.0政策，兼顧長者遊憩的權利，未來計畫推出更多友善的設施。

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