This June, visitors can look forward to exciting new wildlife encounters along Night Safari’s walking trails, including the park’s first walk-in exhibit for its civets and the debut of two new unique nocturnal mammals, the Brazilian Porcupine and Grey-handed Night Monkey.
Nestled in the Leopard Trail, the walk-in civet exhibit is the new home for seven Common Palm Civets and seven Small-toothed Palm Civets. Guests can explore the habitat which is abundant with trees, complemented by manmade vines and branches for the civets to showcase their natural climbing abilities. Civets are arboreal species and spend most of their time in trees. For guests to be able to observe the civets’ feeding and foraging behaviours up close, feeders are strategically hung in areas near the walkways throughout the 677 square metre habitat.
It is safe for guests to share the same unobstructed space with the civets and signs are up to remind
guests not to touch or feed the animals. Visitors are also reminded to stay on the designated pathways.
At the Fishing Cat Trail, two species new to Night Safari, the Brazilian Porcupine and Grey-handed
Night Monkey will take up residence in the new mixed-species habitat featuring small arboreal
mammals native to South America. The Brazilian Porcupine has a characteristic prehensile tail the
length of its body that helps with its climbing abilities while the Grey-handed Night Monkey is one
of the few true nocturnal monkeys in the world. Grey-handed Night Monkeys are listed as Vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
A pair of Brazilian Porcupines has debuted in the Fishing Cat Trail exhibit while a pair of Grey-handed Night Monkeys will soon join them later this month. Both species were from zoos in Europe, under the
European Studbook (EB) programme recommendations. The ESB is an international studbook that issues breeding and transfer recommendations to ensure genetically diverse populations under human care. The Kinkaiou, a small mammal related to Raccoons and Coatimundis, will also be sharing the exhibit.