Birds of Eden

Birds of Eden
The aviary
Map
33°57′47″S 23°29′01″E / 33.963°S 23.4835°E / -33.963; 23.4835
Date opening2005-12-15
LocationWestern Cape, South Africa
Land area2.3 hectares (5.7 acres)[1]
No. of animals3000+[1]
No. of species280+[1]
Websitewww.birdsofeden.co.za

Birds of Eden is the world's largest free flight aviary and bird sanctuary, located in Kurland village near Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape, South Africa.[2] The mesh dome of the sanctuary was built over 2.3 hectares (5.7 acres) of indigenous forest, and is up to 55 metres (180 ft) above ground level. 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) of walkways, about 75% of which are elevated, let visitors see the birds at all levels of the aviary.

Birds of Eden is one of the four Sanctuaries under The South African Animal Sanctuary Alliance (SAASA). As a member of SAASA Birds of Eden was honoured with four major tourism awards in 2014. The four awards are namely the Lilizela Tourism Visitor Experience of the Year Award at a 'Wildlife Encounters',[3] the Skål International Sustainable Tourism Award,[4] Overall winner of the World Responsible Tourism Award as well as the Gold Award in World Responsible Tourism in the category of 'Best Animal Welfare Initiative'.[5]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference zoo_about was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference zoo_faq was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lilizela Awards was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Skal Award was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference World Responsible Tourism was invoked but never defined (see the help page).