Bronx Zoo’s World of Darkness exhibit reopens after 16-year hiatus

The spotlight is back on New York’s darkest exhibit.

World of Darkness, the Bronx Zoo’s “groundbreaking” shadowy attraction showcasing more than two dozen rare and unusual nocturnal animals, is back after a 16-year hiatus.

The revamped exhibit, which opened to the public Saturday, offers a glimpse into the behaviors and adaptations of 25 species across the world, from two-toed sloths and cloud rats to sand cats and vampire bats. 

Entry to the 13,000-square-foot, 21-habitat exhibit is included with the purchase of a Bronx Zoo ticket.

“The opening of the new World of Darkness will once again provide Bronx Zoo visitors with a unique immersion experience to observe amazing creatures that have evolved to live and thrive in darkness,” said Bronx Zoo Director and Wildlife Conservation Society Executive Vice President of Zoos & Aquarium Jim Breheny in a statement.

The first World of Darkness exhibit at the zoo opened in 1969. It served as the first major zoo exhibit to feature nocturnal animals in a “reverse light cycle” so that onlookers could watch the nocturnal world in action during daytime hours, officials said.

The new modernized exhibit – the first iteration since the original closed in April 2009 because of financial issues – will continue on the legacy of creative lighting design, zoo officials said, with a new set of programmable LED lighting systems that simulate “soft” sunrise and sunset transitions.

The “reimagined” nocturnal house also offers “immersive soundscapes, interactive elements, and meticulously recreated habitats” from tropical forests and wetlands to deserts and caves, the zoo said.

Visitors can expect hands-on educational consoles, outdoor photo-op stations and up-close views of blood pythons, tarantulas and naked mole rats.

The exhibit also serves as the zoo’s only permanent bilingual attraction, with all signage, graphics and interactive elements in both English and Spanish.

The revitalized exhibit also features species rarely seen in zoos, including cloud rats, fat-tailed leumurs, and Guatemalan beaded lizards.

“Many New Yorkers have great memories of the exhibit which originally opened in 1969,” Breheny said, adding the zoo has “updated all aspects of the experience to ensure an amazing opportunity to enter a shadowy world rarely seen.”