the Sacred ibis has its name because the bird was an object of religious veneration in ancient Egypt.
The African cave
The African cave is a section of the African dome. Together with the aquarium, it opened in February 2005.
The African cave is lit solely by electric hurricane lamps. A colony of bats live in the cave. You can find them in the stalactite cave or spot them hanging from the ceiling. Sometimes they fly past you, as you walk through the cave.
In the cave, you can also experience the peculiar Aardvark, commonly known as earth hog. The animal looks like a mix between a kangaroo, a rabbit, and a pig.
The peculiar Aardvark
Animals of the Night
All the animals in the African cave are nocturnal; that is to say animals that sleep most of the day and are active at night. In nature, by being active at night, the Aardvark, as an example, avoid running into a day active leopard.
Another nocturnal animal in the cave is the African giant rat. It has a highly developed sense of smell and is so easily trained that it is used for sniffing out abandoned land mines several places in the world. In spite of its size, the rat is so light that it doesn't trigger the land mines.
