The Vienna Zoo is Austria has built a new mountain landscape for their animals.

The construction of a high mountain habitat is underway after months of planning, including transporting truckloads of natural rocks to the site.

Spanning 1,400 square meters, the new facility is set to become home to a diverse array of Asian mountain-dwelling animals.

Vienna Zoo Director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck said the former habitats of the Himalayan tahrs and the mane-springer Barbary macaques have been merged to create a habitat ideally suited for mountain-dwelling species.

He said: 'We have combined the former enclosures of the Himalayan tahrs and the Barbary macaques, which offer ideal topography for mountain-dwelling animals. Here, the Himalayan tahrs, currently housed in temporary enclosures, will return, alongside the rare and majestic golden takins, making their debut in the history of the zoo.'

Both species are native to the Himalayan region and renowned for their sure-footedness on steep rock cliffs.

Accordingly, the habitat at the zoo is being designed to replicate their natural environment. Over the coming months, the natural rocks, some weighing up to six tons, will be supplemented with artificial rocks to create a realistic mountain landscape.

Visitors to the zoo will have the opportunity to observe the animals climbing and exploring the habitat from vantage points across a new trench, offering unobstructed views of the majestic creatures in their element.

Weather permitting, the habitat is scheduled to open in August, with the tahrs being the first to inhabit the space before the arrival of the golden takins. These rare creatures, a subspecies of the takin, have a striking golden fur and are known for their distinctive appearance, resembling a cross between a wildebeest and a goat.

Director Hering-Hagenbeckanticipates added: 'Adult golden takins are impressively large, standing at a shoulder height of 1.40 meters.

'Despite their imposing stature, they possess a lively demeanour. Endangered in their native habitat of the mountain forests of China's Shaanxi province, golden takins are rare sights even in zoos.

'Currently, only a few zoological gardens in Europe house golden takins.'