The highlight is again on New York’s darkest exhibit.
World of Darkness, the Bronx Zoo’s “groundbreaking” shadowy attraction showcasing greater than two dozen uncommon and weird nocturnal animals, is again after a 16-year hiatus.
The revamped exhibit, which opened to the general public Saturday, affords a glimpse into the behaviors and diversifications of 25 species the world over, from two-toed sloths and cloud rats to sand cats and vampire bats.
Entry to the 13,000-square-foot, 21-habitat exhibit is included with the acquisition of a Bronx Zoo ticket.
“The opening of the new World of Darkness will once again provide Bronx Zoo visitors with a unique immersion experience to observe amazing creatures that have evolved to live and thrive in darkness,” mentioned Bronx Zoo Director and Wildlife Conservation Society Govt Vice President of Zoos & Aquarium Jim Breheny in a press release.
The primary World of Darkness exhibit on the zoo opened in 1969. It served as the primary main zoo exhibit to function nocturnal animals in a “reverse light cycle” in order that onlookers might watch the nocturnal world in motion throughout daytime hours, officers mentioned.
The brand new modernized exhibit – the primary iteration for the reason that authentic closed in April 2009 due to monetary points – will proceed on the legacy of artistic lighting design, zoo officers mentioned, with a brand new set of programmable LED lighting programs that simulate “soft” dawn and sundown transitions.
The “reimagined” nocturnal home additionally affords “immersive soundscapes, interactive elements, and meticulously recreated habitats” from tropical forests and wetlands to deserts and caves, the zoo mentioned.
Guests can anticipate hands-on academic consoles, out of doors photo-op stations and up-close views of blood pythons, tarantulas and bare mole rats.
The exhibit additionally serves because the zoo’s solely everlasting bilingual attraction, with all signage, graphics and interactive components in each English and Spanish.
The revitalized exhibit additionally options species hardly ever seen in zoos, together with cloud rats, fat-tailed leumurs, and Guatemalan beaded lizards.
“Many New Yorkers have great memories of the exhibit which originally opened in 1969,” Breheny mentioned, including the zoo has “updated all aspects of the experience to ensure an amazing opportunity to enter a shadowy world rarely seen.”
