Seoul Grand Park reopens Japanese macaque habitat with nature-based redesign

Seoul Grand Park said Friday that its Japanese macaque enclosure has been completely redesigned into an eco-friendly, natural habitat, with public viewing scheduled to resume Saturday.

The extensive renovation marks a shift away from the previous concrete flooring and monotonous rock structures.

The revamped facility features soil and sand bedding, varied seasonal flora and dedicated pools to replicate a more authentic wild environment.

By replacing the hard ground, the park enables the primates to engage in natural behaviors such as digging, foraging, sunbathing and grooming.

The newly introduced water elements are designed to encourage social play and resting.

To improve animal welfare and expand environmental options for the macaques, officials installed a network of structural elements throughout the enclosure.

These upgrades include tree-shaped vertical climbing structures standing five and seven meters tall, which facilitate leaping, swinging and balancing while offering the animals a vantage point overlooking the nearby lake.

A combination of multilength ropes, swinging play nets ...