Among the nocturnal creatures on display are a veiled chameleon A display of nocturnal insects, reptiles and birds that are indigenous to the UAE has opened for viewing at the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo at Dubai Mall. The creatures include a family of fruit bats, a chameleon hiding amidst the foliage of an artificial tree and scorpions that appear to glow in the dark – all part of the zoo's UAE's Night Creatures exhibit.
The display aims to show visitors a glimpse of the country's rich biodiversity with many animals living in the country in abundance and, in some cases, in close proximity to humans.
"As the city develops, as people get more involved in this metropolitan lifestyle, we forget there is all this wildlife still around us,” said Paul Hamilton, the head curator. "As we are going through the journey, we are going to look at different settings. We have taken inspiration from certain parts of the UAE,” he said.
A reproduction of a cave habitat shows visitors a sample of the creatures living there.
"Even in a space like this, [the bats] are amazing at knowing where they are and where the objects are and it is all echolocation,” he said.
Visitors will also be able to see a pair of barn owls, which also live in close proximity with humans.
Also featured are creatures that inhabit the country's rocky mountains and sand dunes, such as veiled chameleons, frog-eyed geckos and Cheesman's gerbils. There are also scorpions, that when viewed under a special black light show off their fluorescence. This replicates how the creatures will look if spotted in the sand dunes at night, lit only by the moon.
The display finishes with a replica camping scene, designed to show "what sort of animals will be around you if you were to pitch a camp here in the UAE”, said Mr Hamilton.
With the hot climate, being active at night is a survival strategy used by many native animals, including all those in the display.
"A lot of the animals that live in the desert, they have to live at night because of the extreme temperatures so you will find that most of our displays are very subtly lit.”
The display relies on special lighting to replicate the day and night cycle with lights dimmed at 9.30am just ahead of the arrival of the first visitors. At midnight, after visitors and staff have left the facility, lights get brighter replicating the sun, and the animals will hide in nooks and crevices.
Source: The National