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The Night (Te Pō)
Darkness is when New Zealand really comes alive. From the kiwi and morepork, to weta and short-tailed bats, New Zealand is home to an amazing number of nocturnal animals. While many of these animals are icons for our country, few New Zealanders get the chance to see them because they are so rare, and so secretive.
In The Night (Te Pō), Te Wao Nui's nocturnal habitat, visitors can explore the hidden world and uncover the incredibly unique animals that inhabit it. Entering through a cave, The Night is lit by a night sky filled with stars. Alongside the kiwi, kauri snails and wetas will introduce our invertebrate species, while inanga and kokopu will reveal the truth about the fish commonly known as whitebait.
As much as this habitat reveals the beauty of a New Zealand forest at night, it also highlights just how much these animals rely on us to survive. A trapper's tent illustrates the nocturnal predators that invade the darkness, while a Department of Conservation hut shows off the incredible work they are doing in conjunction with the Zoo and other partners.
Some species in The Night: Short-tailed bat (pekapeka), brown kiwi, morepork (rūrū), cave weta, kauri snail (pūpūrangi), banded kokopu, climbing galaxias (koaro), inanga, red-finned bully (toitoi), Cran's bully, common bully (pako), giant kōkopu, torrent fish (papamako), black mudfish