The “Urban Oasis” presents tropical and subtropical plants along with unique animal species to visitors.
Featuring tropical and subtropical vegetation, rarely seen animals, and nearly thirty life-like, life-sized prehistoric reptiles, the Urban Oasis opened its doors to the public on July 1st within the Biodome of the Budapest Zoo.
The Biodome is part of the zoo, meaning zoo tickets are valid for entry here as well.
Among the animal species on display, one of the most interesting is the gray langur. Native to India and Bangladesh, this species is becoming increasingly rare in the wild, which is why the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) maintains a breeding program to coordinate the conservation-focused propagation of the species in zoos. The gray langurs seen in the Biodome arrived from the Czech Republic and Bulgaria as part of this program.
A special highlight is the critically endangered Bali myna, which in the wild lives exclusively on the Indonesian island of Bali. Its wild population is estimated at fewer than 50 individuals, making captive breeding particularly important. Although Bali mynas previously lived at the Budapest Zoo, the public can now see them again after more than a decade and a half.
The gray peacock-pheasant is also known as the Palawan peacock-pheasant or Napoleon’s peacock-pheasant. The former name refers to the fact that this bird species is native to Palawan, Philippines. The latter stems from the fact that the French naturalist René Lesson, who first described the species for science in 1831, was a great admirer of Napoleon, who had already been dead for a decade. The gray peacock-pheasant is becoming rarer in its natural habitat.
The northern giant Luzon cloud rat is also native to the Philippines, specifically the northern and central areas of Luzon Island. It belongs to the order of rodents and the family of murids. Weighing 2–3 kilograms, it is one of the largest members of this family. Due to its characteristic fur and coloring, it looks like a stuffed toy imitating a giant panda.
The public can see several other interesting animal species in the Urban Oasis, such as the endangered Kikuchi’s gecko, the Henkel’s leaf-tailed gecko—a species native only to Madagascar and classified as vulnerable—or the spurred tortoise, which is the third-largest species of land tortoise in the world.
The main character of the Urban Oasis is its lush vegetation: almost a third of the one-hectare visitor area is covered by plants. The planting began in 2021 with palms from the film industry: the impressive Canary Island date palms and common date palms seen in the Biodome were used as set pieces for Marvel Studios’ miniseries Moon Knight, which was partially filmed in Hungary.
The plants come from several sources. Some were donated to the zoo by private individuals; these were mostly plants that had been lovingly cared for but had outgrown their homes or stairwells, and are now being placed in a location where they can continue to grow freely. Others were purchased by the zoo. However, a significant portion of the plants were propagated and raised by the zoo’s own gardeners over the past five years.
In addition to living animals and plants, the public can also see prehistoric creatures: more than thirty life-like, life-sized models of various dinosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles help evoke the geological past. Many of them are capable of movement.
The largest of the prehistoric reptiles on display is the life-sized reconstruction of the Brachiosaurus: 25 meters long and nearly 12 meters high. Well-known and popular prehistoric creatures are also present, such as the predatory Tyrannosaurus, the plated Stegosaurus, or the Spinosaurus, which features a characteristic sail on its back. The Quetzalcoatlus reconstruction is also imposing: the wingspan of this giant of flying prehistoric reptiles could have been around 12 meters. Visitors can also see the reconstruction of the Hungarosaurus; the remains of this dinosaur were discovered by Hungarian paleontologists in the Bakony Mountains, near Iharkút.
The construction of the Biodome began in 2018. The grandiose building, with its own ecosystem and thus suitable for keeping many exotic species, was planned to be completed by 2021. After years of disputes between the capital and the government and long-lasting uncertainty, the Biodome finally opened its doors for the first time in 2024 and has since hosted several major events and temporary exhibitions.
