Bristol Zoo (Closed) Twilight World

Orycteropus

Orycteropus

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I am going to visit Bristol Zoo this spring or early summer. I am very curious about their Twilight World, the first nocturnal house has ever been established in a zoo world. How many sections does it have and what species are housed here except the Two-toed Sloths and Naked Mole Rats?
 
Orycteropus said:
I am going to visit Bristol Zoo this spring or early summer. I am very curious about their Twilight World, the first nocturnal house has ever been established in a zoo world. How many sections does it have and what species are housed here except the Two-toed Sloths and Naked Mole Rats?
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It's been a little while since I was there, but if I remember rightly part of the Twilight World section is set out like a little house that you walk around. I enjoyed it.
 
I was at Bristol Zoo on Sunday. I took some photos in Twilight World but unfortunately they were all too dark and even my photo software couldn't make them worth keeping. The Nocturnal House is split into the following sections: Desert, Forest at night, Underground and Town House, which is the very last section of the building and displays rats and mice inside a mock-up of a house.

Some of the animals I remember seeing in Twilight World include:

Sugar glider
Aye-aye
Pygmy slow loris
Grey-legged douroucouli
Linne's two-toed sloth
Arabian sand cat
Armadillo
Malagasy giant jumping rat
Lesser Malay mouse deer
Naked mole rat

Sorry, I can't remember all the others. Hope this is of some help.
 
The house is all one section if im correct, i think mhale has got most of the key species there but i must point out that the aye-aye is one not to be missed, if your lucky enough that is! The house is definitely worth a visit.
 
Tigerlemurguy said:
The house is all one section if im correct
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Just to clarify, the four areas I mentioned are mixed together as one long walk around the Nocturnal House, they are not separated.

Tigerlemurguy said:
i must point out that the aye-aye is one not to be missed, if your lucky enough that is!
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I agree that the aye-aye is fabulous to watch and the one I saw was very active. I just wish I had been able to get a decent photo :)
 
I totally agree, nocturnal houses are a big letdown for photographers but some of the animals in there are amazing, the loris and aye-aye fascinate me!
 
Twilight World is at least the third Nocturnal exhibit at Bristol . I believe the first was in part of the old Bird House in the middle of the gardens - recently revamped but still exhibiting birds . The area above the Cafe which now houses invertebrates was also a later Nocturnal exhibit for a number of years , many rarities could be seen here , I particularly remember the tarsiers .

Twilight World was originally built as an Ape House then converted . I think it makes a better Nocturnal exhibit , my favourite in the UK . The Zoo opens at 9am and for the first hour Twilight World is still on its daylight regime with quite a few species active in the light , which is interesting ( this was the case a few years ago , assume it is still the same ) . One of the aye-aye was very active on my visit last month .
 
I think Bristol's nocturnal house is the darkest I have ever been in. Last week I got quite worried about my night vision because I kept bumping into people (it was quite busy) and I could hardly see any animals at all.
It was so dark that some visitors were using their mobile phones as torches to see the signs - which sort of defeats the object.
I think the Clore still sets the standard for nocturnal displays in the UK (although Chester's bat house is not really comparable).

Alan
 
I was going to reply but reading the previous responses, I think you've covered most bits! The lighting regime changes throughout the year and I'm not sure what time the lights go off at this time of year but I think you'll have until 10ish, I can find out though. It's much easier to see stuff then but you also see that the enclosures are not really that pretty!
 
to add to Mhale's list, also on display are:

Potoroo
Roborovski Hamster
Turkish Spiny Mice
Kangaroo Rat
Dwarf Lemurs
Aruba Island Rattle Snake
Leopard Gecko
Dwarf Mongoose
Tree frogs
Mice/Rats/House spider/tropical fish tank

It was very dark on my last visit too - and that floor to ceiling glass in the jungle section hurts when you head-butt it! :-)
 
What species are currently on display ?
Are the Aye-aye Youngsters on display yet ?

Last question-what happend to the Tarsiers kept in the former Nocturnal house, there are no infos on ZTL. I guess, they died out, but the 1987 guide writes, there were several births, but I gues, none of thes was successful.
 
Bib Fortuna said:
What species are currently on display?
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I believe the house currently contains the following taxa:

Yellow Mongoose
Arabian Sand Cat
Pygmy Slow Loris
Malagasy Jumping Rat
Grey Mouse Lemur
Aye-aye
Lesser Malay Chevrotain
Naked Mole Rat
Turkish Spiny Mice
Aruba Island Rattlesnake
Kowari
Eastern Quoll
New Guinean Ground Cuscus
Black Rat
Brown Rat
House Mouse
Lemur Leaf Frog
A few invert taxa

The house may also still hold Grey-handed Douroucouli off-display, as this taxon was displaced by the Quolls but I never heard if any other collections recieved the individuals in question.
 
gentle lemur said:
I think Bristol's nocturnal house is the darkest I have ever been in. Last week I got quite worried about my night vision because I kept bumping into people (it was quite busy) and I could hardly see any animals at all.
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Glad its not only me that thinks this. I commented about this somewhere (on another thread maybe) that it is too dark. Even after your eyes are accustomed. Some of the exhibits are too dark and not 'moonlit' properly too. Good selection of species but lighting definately isn't right.
 
Bele said:
I believe the first was in part of the old Bird House in the middle of the gardens
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It was indeed at the back of the Bird House- with a seperate entrance at the rear of the building, facing the north boundary of the Zoo. There was a simple two door system to prevent light access. Quite a simple affair with about six or seven exhibit cages. Species I can remember included Genets, Kinkajous and probably Douracouli.
 
Bib Fortuna said:
Last question-what happend to the Tarsiers kept in the former Nocturnal house, there are no infos on ZTL. I guess, they died out, but the 1987 guide writes, there were several births, but I gues, none of thes was successful.
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This version of Nocturnal House was above the restaurant, on the first floor. This area is now Bug World, the Invertebrate section. It was not large, and there were only a few exhibits. I put a photo of the pacarana in the Gallery. I saw the tarsiers there quite soon after they arrived and I was told by the keeper that they had just lost the male. Perhaps the births happened after his death, but I think the group died out in a relatively short time.

Alan
 
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For what its worth,Pretoria Zoo in South Africa had a nocturnal house in the 1920s but ive been unable to find out any more about it..even the director of Pretoria didnt know of it!
This was at least 30 years before Bristols first effort(this first house was previously a reptile house).The 1941 guide to Breslau Zoo ,now Wroclaw,also shows a proposed nocturnal house that was never built.
 
Wow-this in indeed very interersting. A shame, you can not find out more about that. But if, please let me know ! But from where you got the information about its existence, if even the zoodirector didn know of it ?

The orginal (german) idea for a Nocturnal house is from the year 1864 and was a few years later realised-in germany, but it wasn't succesfiul, most of the animals slept during the day.
 
I found it in a New York Zoological Society Bulletin of the time,which did a report on Pretoria Zoo..sadly these are now stacked somewhere and would take me hours to locate,time I dont have,but its correct.As stated I wrote(letters - remember them?) to the Director of Pretoria,so it isnt my imagination,he replied saying he would look into it,but I heard nothing else.Erm,..whose idea in 1864 Germany was it?
 
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