This cage is on the site of the old Orangutan outdoor cage- the rockwork at the back was part of the old ApeHouse. Much more suitable for Keas I think...
Is this exhibit directly next to the red panda enclosure? Twilight World was at one time an Ape House, and besides the keas, red pandas and walk-through Livingstone fruit bat exhibit are there any other habitats attached to the nocturnal house?
Twilight World was at one time an Ape House, and besides the keas, red pandas and walk-through Livingstone fruit bat exhibit are there any other habitats attached to the nocturnal house?
Just those three. As you go in to the Nocturnal House past the keas and out past/through the bats I quite often get to the end of my day and realise I've missed the Red Pandas altogether.
Is this exhibit directly next to the red panda enclosure? Twilight World was at one time an Ape House, and besides the keas, red pandas and walk-through Livingstone fruit bat exhibit are there any other habitats attached to the nocturnal house?
As Maguari said, just the three. They have utilised the three main cage 'spaces' of the Ape outdoor enclosures. The Kea one still has a similar shape to when it housed Orangutans, the other two still have the rock backdrops and old doors etc.
It was opened as a 'modern Apehouse' in 1975. The three outdoor enclosures were originally planned to house the Gorillas in the central one and Chimpanzee/Orangutans on either side. In reality the Gorillas always used two outside cages because of social problems/breeding, while the Chimps and Orangs had to alternate in one outside (the Kea one) until they phased out the last Chimps, after which the Orangutans had the enclosure fulltime.
I think at some points in the Nocturnal House you are actually standing in the old Ape dens or even the old service passage but I can never tell (too dark!)
The indoor areas were not too bad- especially the larger Central one for the Gorillas which was pretty spacious. But the outsides were particularly poor- as well as being too small, there were no special climbing facilities for Orangutans, the rocky backdrops weren't good for the animals' hands and feet- not a good design at all.
