Bronx Zoo World of Darkness reopening

[CMP]

I really would feel significantly more sympathy for this perspective if we were discussing an actual finalized species list, but responding this way to the announcement that the exhibit is opening before we have any concrete information or details feels like an extraordinary act of pessimism to me.

All I was commenting on was the overall decline in rare species held for this particular type of exhibit. The standard Bronx has set is quite high and I would love for them to surpass expectations for bringing in rare species; it just isn't as easy to do nowadays. I'll reiterate, I want to be wrong on this front.

All I’m saying is you never know with the Bronx. They brought in Vontsiras from overseas for the last big exhibit they opened, Madagascar! Knowing the Bronx, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are able to obtain a couple rarities .

This is very true; I'd love for that to happen again. Aye-aye is great, and more holders is definitely applauded. It's just not a mega-rarity, and that's fine. It is great for the zoo and the wider region. Even though Bronx is 'just' highlighting Aye-aye and some other species, which are fairly commonplace, it'd be great if they followed up with their history of bringing in rarer species. Even if this is a potentially likely possibility, I personally want to error on the side of caution to not end up disappointed and wanted to share this view.

I won't comment on this any further as I think it is bringing a bit too much unnecessary negativity to something that overall should be celebrated. Good on Bronx for bringing a new Nocturnal house a quarter of the way into the new century!

 

[ThylacineAlive]

They aren’t even that common, only being in 7 other American institutions, it only appears that way because most of them are some of the best and most popular institutions in the country (San Diego, Omaha, Cincinnati.)
I would definitely say a majority visitors to the zoo have never seen an Aye-Aye, especially locals. Even for me, someone who is decently traveled across the zoo world, I didn’t get to see an Aye-Aye until I traveled overseas to Dublin earlier this year.

And even then your chances of seeing San Diego's are basically non-existent.

~Thylo

 

[Mary]

And keep in mind, if there's any U.S. zoo willing to bring in rarities and obscure species, it's Bronx. Director Jim Breheny has publicly criticized AZA population managers for excessive phase-outs and has laminated the loss of species diversity in American zoos. Bronx has been excellent on maintaining a diverse collection and has committed to programs that many other zoos have abandoned.

Every day I am thankful that Jim and team fought to keep species like gaur, dholes, and ring-tailed mongoose at the zoo.

 

[tigris115]

Tbf, even if the species roster isn't spectacular, the presentation is going to be killer

 

[JVM]

Me and my family were watching an episode of The Zoo today from two years ago where the Bronx Zoo had acquired two young sand cat kittens (here) from the Columbus Zoo, named Draco and Luna, and referenced the species' previous residence at World of Darkness (old video here) which leads me to believe they are more likely to be a part of the upcoming reopening.

The individuals depicted would only be around two years old now and would still be at the zoo as far as I can tell. Prospect Park Zoo also keeps sand cats, but the individual sand cats there were identified as brothers Mali, Chad, and Atlas around the same period two years ago so I don't believe the two kittens were acquired with PPZ in mind.

Nothing is official until it is confirmed but I think this is some pretty safe speculation.

 

[AnActualFan]

Tbf, even if the species roster isn't spectacular, the presentation is going to be killer

Think as long as the presentation is amazing, and there are enough animals to make it feel long, it'll be a home run for the Bronx tbh

 

[ThylacineAlive]

Me and my family were watching an episode of The Zoo today from two years ago where the Bronx Zoo had acquired two young sand cat kittens (here) from the Columbus Zoo, named Draco and Luna, and referenced the species' previous residence at World of Darkness (old video here) which leads me to believe they are more likely to be a part of the upcoming reopening.

The individuals depicted would only be around two years old now and would still be at the zoo as far as I can tell. Prospect Park Zoo also keeps sand cats, but the individual sand cats there were identified as brothers Mali, Chad, and Atlas around the same period two years ago so I don't believe the two kittens were acquired with PPZ in mind.

Nothing is official until it is confirmed but I think this is some pretty safe speculation.

Those Sand Cats are animal ambassadors in the education department. It would be cool for them to go on-exhibit in WOD, but if they do bring in the species it's unlikely to be these individuals (which are part of Columbus' supposed African ssp line and are not part of the overall SSP to my knowledge).

~Thylo

 

[JVM]

Those Sand Cats are animal ambassadors in the education department. It would be cool for them to go on-exhibit in WOD, but if they do bring in the species it's unlikely to be these individuals (which are part of Columbus' supposed African ssp line and are not part of the overall SSP to my knowledge).

~Thylo

Thank you for clarifying. I had seen one reference suggesting that but another that conflicted so I was unsure.

 

[AnActualFan]

New Concept Art on the website
World of Darkness - Bronx Zoo

 

[StoppableSan]

New Concept Art on the website
World of Darkness - Bronx Zoo

That's the rockwork/mural from Central Park Zoo's bat exhibit! I'm curious to see how Bronx does things differently.

 

[Don Majeski]

That's the rockwork/mural from Central Park Zoo's bat exhibit! I'm curious to see how Bronx does things differently.

That is not the Central Park Zoo’s Nocturnal bat exhibit - which is greatly inferior to the conceptualized once shown here for,what appears to be, a father specie than that exhibited at COZ

 

[StoppableSan]

That is not the Central Park Zoo’s Nocturnal bat exhibit - which is greatly inferior to the conceptualized once shown here for,what appears to be, a father specie than that exhibited at COZ

I mean they used the bat exhibit mural/rockwork as part of the concept art. (To be fair, this is a recent picture where they updated the rockwork and added red lighting).

 

[USZOOfan42]

As for the species list so far, here are my thoughts:
Confirmed:
• Aye-Aye, shown in all concept art and website
• Egyptian Fruit Bat, shown in concert art
• Two Toed Sloth, Concept Art

Likely:
• Caiman, I can’t identify the species
• Loris, I believe there are 2 bts
• Sand Cat, mentioned by @JVM could stay as ambassadors though
• Night Monkey, Concept art for visitors, mentioned by @Mary
• More bats, shown in multiple concept arts

 

[MOG2012]

As for the species list so far, here are my thoughts:
Confirmed:
• Aye-Aye, shown in all concept art and website
• Egyptian Fruit Bat, shown in concert art
• Two Toed Sloth, Concept Art

Likely:
• Caiman, I can’t identify the species
• Loris, I believe there are 2 bts
• Sand Cat, mentioned by @JVM could stay as ambassadors though
• Night Monkey, Concept art for visitors, mentioned by @Mary
• More bats, shown in multiple concept arts

I think it’s a broad-shouted caiman . Maybe the other bats are the flying foxes from. Jungle world

 

[ThylacineAlive]

I would be surprised if vampire bats were not included given their popularity.

~Thylo

 

[Astrotom3000]

We're back! We've never been so back!

Of course, this comes after I had already visited this zoo this year (and thus likely won't be returning for a while), and this would be the 2nd time this year that I would visit a major zoo only for them to announce some major returning exhibit afterwards (the other being the Smithsonian's Giant Pandas).

Yes, the reopening of this exhibit is absolutely significant on its own, but one thing I see getting glossed over is just how significant this is for the Bronx Zoo as a whole. Recall that the original World of Darkness (amongst several other exhibits) were closed back in the 2009 due to budget cuts, with the cost of running World of Darkness itself also being a factor.

For the Bronx Zoo to be reopening this exhibit may possibly signal that the Bronx Zoo is in a far better position than it was 15 years ago, back when it was forced to close exhibits. I do wonder now what the zoo has in the pipeline in the future (granted, the zoo is already so stacked it can stall for another 10 years and I would still consider it an elite-tier zoo).

 

[StoppableSan]

I would be surprised if vampire bats were not included given their popularity.

~Thylo

The original species list for World of Darkness listed Mexican vampire bats, but honestly, I'd be just as satisfied if Bronx got common vampire bats. They're exactly at 15 holders according to Zootierliste, and the more holders, the merrier! Especially if they'll continue being an SSP species, since the stipulation is (?) 15 or more holders.

 

[USZOOfan42]

I think it’s a broad-shouted caiman . Maybe the other bats are the flying foxes from. Jungle world

As for the bats, I also meant its as every nocturnal house has them.

 

[15399]

Tbf, even if the species roster isn't spectacular, the presentation is going to be killer

I definitely agree with this. In truth, I'd actually rather that Bronx Zoo didn't go crazy trying to get rare animals for the sake of having rare animals with this project. A lot of the small mammals that are more common in US zoos are struggling due to a lack of committed institutions willing to breed them, so Bronx Zoo could be having a much bigger impact on the AZA as a whole housing breeding pairs of Southern tamandua and prehensile-tailed porcupine than if they focused on importing species that nobody else in the US has.

There are plenty of fascinating nocturnal species that, even if they won't cause a pilgrimage of Zoo Chatters, are still engaging species with important educational messaging to tell for the general public. Pygmy slow lorises, for instance, are an endangered species, one of the only venomous mammals, and challenge the average visitor's idea of what a primate is. They could be an incredible choice, even if there are a number of other US zoos exhibiting the species. There are also a lot of nocturnal native species that aren't often seen in the wild, so could be valuable from that educational angle- such as striped skunk, Virginia opossum, and Eastern screech owl.

If they are to pursue some less common species, lowland paca are a really fascinating species that I loved seeing at Belize Zoo, and I'd also love to see at least one Australian species make the cut- such as brush-tailed bettong or southern hairy-nosed wombat.

Part of me also wonders if the kiwi might move over from Aquatic Bird House, as thematically World of Darkness would be a better fit for them.

• Egyptian Fruit Bat, shown in concert art

I'm not sure we can definitely say those are Egyptian fruit bats. The concept art certainly shows a fruit bat species, but it could just as easily be, say, straw-colored fruit bats instead. Some species of bat, however, is almost certainly a guarantee.

The original species list for World of Darkness listed Mexican vampire bats, but honestly, I'd be just as satisfied if Bronx got common vampire bats. They're exactly at 15 holders according to Zootierliste, and the more holders, the merrier! Especially if they'll continue being an SSP species, since the stipulation is (?) 15 or more holders.

Common vampire bats, to the best of my knowledge, have never been an SSP species. A lot of the more colonial bat species are difficult to manage genetics for, so the benefits of a bat species having an SSP are not as large as the benefits would be for a monogamous species or one that lives in small groups.

 

[15399]

As for the bats, I also meant its as every nocturnal house has them.

While bats are obviously being shown as a presence in this nocturnal house, not all nocturnal houses have bats. Capron Park Zoo had a nocturnal building for many years, and for most of its existence no bats were on display. Rosamond Gifford Zoo likewise has a nocturnal exhibit (still operating), but hasn't had bats since 2021 at least.