This is home to Chippie and Changa, and the photo only shows 2/3\'s of the exhibit.
Fun facts:
-Night Hunters is probably the largest collection of nocturnal predators around.
-This building once held the largest collection of small cats in the world.
-From 1952 to around 1984, the building held lions, hyenas, leopards, foxes, weasels, and more.
there is no access outdoors. your probably right about 25 foot enclosure. theres a sand floor with a big log they both sleep in. thats in the first window. it is small but i still enjoy and like it.
@snowleopard- If you remember, this is the former South American coati enclosure, and it is one of the largest exhibits in the building. It is not ideal, and I really wish they had access to the outdoors. The keepers work quite a bit with the aardwolves, and the enrichment is changed up quite frequently to keep them entertained.
I have a quick question, and I think I know the answer already, but is there any chance that any of the indoor animals in Night Hunters will ever get outdoor access? It seems a real shame that they made such a big deal about the exhibit a year ago, and it isn't much of an improvement over the Cat House.
As I said, Night Hunters does seem to be a quick fix for the problem of the zoo's cat and nocturnal animal housing. It isn't much of an improvement for many species, but at the same time it is for others. Many of the cats remain in the same enclosures as before, but all of the animals that have moved from the Nocturnal House have received much larger enclosures; the vampire bat enclosure, for example, is perhaps one of the largest of its kind. Enrichment and involving the public are the areas where the exhibit has improved the most. The animal enrichment programs within Night Hunters is very nice, and all of the animals receive varied forms of enrichment to keep them entertained from hidden feeding chutes in the clouded leopard enclosure to a new fishing pond in the fishing cat enclosure. The public is also greatly involved in the new exhibit; there is a "peek-a-boo" wall with various pictures of nocturnal animals for the children to play at, an aardvark burrow for them to crawl into, interactive signage makers where signage can be made to be seen rotating at the electronic signage boards at various exhibits, and various keeper talks from time-to-time to engage the public. Yes, the exhibit space for many of the species is rather disappointing in terms of size and the lack of outdoor enclosures, but I feel that it does at least offer some improvement over the Cat House and especially the Nocturnal House. Hopefully some day some of the animals in Night Hunters will receive outdoor access when funding is better, but only time will tell.
That is great news but I am also concerned about this. If the lights in the building operate on a reverse light schedule than isn't it bad for the animals to go out. These animals have an internal clock just like humans so they sleep during parts of the day and this may disrupt them. I will admit to see them would be great as they are rare but the animals welfare may be affected.
That is great news but I am also concerned about this. If the lights in the building operate on a reverse light schedule than isn't it bad for the animals to go out. These animals have an internal clock just like humans so they sleep during parts of the day and this may disrupt them. I will admit to see them would be great as they are rare but the animals welfare may be affected.
