World of Darkness exhibit showcasing nocturnal animals reopens at the Bronx Zoo after 16 years

The Bronx Zoo is shining a light on animals that thrive in the dark. After closing in 2009, the World of Darkness exhibit reopened this past weekend, showcasing 25 species of nocturnal creatures, from pygmy slow lorises and blind cave fish to blood pythons and Egyptian fruit bats. The exhibit employs a reverse light cycle, allowing visitors to observe these night-dwellers during the day.

The World of Darkness first opened in 1969 as one of the first major exhibits in the world to introduce the public to nocturnal animals; it closed in 2009 due to the city’s budget shortfall. The Wildlife Conservation Society saw a $15 million deficit that year, leading to four areas of the zoo, including World of Darkness, to close.

Sixteen years later, the exhibit returns with new lighting technology and interactive elements. The 13,000-square-foot building includes 21 habitats and more than two dozen rare and unusual species. The space features acoustic panels shaped like the forest canopy and a programmable LED lighting system that imitates the natural transitions of dusk and dawn, according to a press release.

The exhibit will also spotlight the effort by WCS to protect nocturnal species and include interactive lightboxes to engage guests of all ages.

“The new World of Darkness offers visitors an extraordinary opportunity to step into the hidden world of nocturnal animals,” Jim Breheny, director of the Bronx Zoo and Executive Vice President of WCS’s Zoos and Aquarium, said.

“Nowhere else will people have the opportunity to explore this hidden world and the animals that move through its shadows. It brings attention to an entire array of unseen species that need our protection in nature.”

The World of Darkness also marks the Bronx Zoo’s first permanent bilingual exhibit, with all signs and graphics available in both English and Spanish.

Featured species included in World of Darkness include:

• Nancy Ma’s Douroucouli
• Hoffmann’s Two-toed Sloth
• Red-rumped Agouti
• Southern Lesser Galago
• Northern Luzon Giant Cloud Rat
• Pygmy Slow Loris
• Emperor Scorpion
• Gray Mouse Lemur
• Blind Cave Fish
• Broad-snouted Caiman
• South American Pinktoe Tarantula
• Northern Cacomistle
• Blood Python
• Timor Python
• Texas Blind Salamander
• Egyptian Fruit Bat
• Aye-aye
• Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur
• Naked Mole Rat
• Sand Cat
• Nine-banded Armadillo
• Common Vampire Bat
• Seba’s Short-tailed Bat
• New Caledonian Giant Gecko
• Guatemalan Beaded Lizard

Admission to the exhibit is included with all tickets. World of Darkness is open year-round, with last entry 30 minutes before the park closes. Admission costs $38.20 for adults and $28.20 for children aged 3-12.

All photos courtesy of the Bronx Zoo

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