The island in the centre of the Nocturama hall in the Papiliorama. On this island lives a group of lowland pacas (Cuniculus paca) while southern tamanduas (Tamandua tetradactyla) and Brazilian porcupines (Coendou prehensilis) inhabits the trees above. I actually saw a paca take a swim in the moat and had no idea they were such adept swimmers.
The Nocturama is a quite unique nocturnal house consisting of a glass dome almost 40 meters in diameter and 14 meters tall. Its translucid roof filters daylight approximately a thousand times, thus creating an artificial moonlight.
The free-ranging animals in here are consists of three species of bats: Sebas short-tailed bat (Carollia perspicillata), pale spear-nosed bat (Phyllostomus discolor) and pallas long-tongued bat (Glossophaga soricina). Visitors actually have to be careful walking through here as the bats come VERY close, often grazing or crashing right into you.
Papiliorama, July 2010.
