Step into the Mysterious World of Cave-Dwelling Wildlife!
The special partnership between the Zoo and Les Débrouillards magazine goes back several decades. In the early 1990s, the Zoo de Granby dismantled its former primate pavilion and transformed the structure of the large building into the Caverne des nocturnes. The exhibit was later renamed Caverne des Débrouillards when the creators of the well-known youth magazine joined the project. They even enlisted the talents of their illustrator, Jacques Goldstyn, to design the graphic panels. Nearly 25 years later, the very same artist lent his skills once again to create the new graphic identity of Caverne des Débrouillards 2.0!
From its opening to the public in 1992, the Cave has offered visitors a total change of scenery, plunging them into the fascinating and almost mythical world of underground spaces and their surprising wildlife. Inspired by the landscapes of different types of caves found across North America, its many nooks and crannies are filled with stalactites, stalagmites, columns, draperies and, of course, strange animals: enigmatic bats, blind fish, and astonishing axolotls, to name only a few!
Cave-dwelling animals are generally divided into three categories based on their level of dependence on the underground environment.
Trogloxenes
Considered strangers to caves, they enter occasionally but systematically, using them as temporary shelters or as hibernation or aestivation sites where they remain immobile for several months. They feed and reproduce outside the caves. This is the case for bats, some snakes, rodents, and butterflies.
Troglobites
On the other hand, troglobites are the true residents of caves: their entire life cycle unfolds underground, and survival outside this environment is impossible. Their morphological and physiological adaptations make them prisoners of this unique habitat. Among them are beetles, arachnids such as Heteropoda maxima (one of the largest spiders in the world), fish, crustaceans, and amphibians.
Troglophiles
Literally “friends of caves”, troglophiles split their lives between the surface and the underground, carrying out essential life processes such as feeding or reproduction in total darkness without being permanently confined to it. This group includes certain mosquitoes, butterflies, cave-dwelling birds such as oilbirds and swiftlets, and amphibians like salamanders.
Adapting to a Hostile Environment
The underground world is defined by unique conditions that make it drastically different from surface habitats.
With no light, it quickly sinks into total darkness as one moves away from the entrances, eliminating all reference to the day-night cycle. The absence of sunlight prevents chlorophyll-based vegetation from growing and thus severely limits available food sources.
The atmosphere is also marked by very high humidity, often more than 40% higher than outside air and sometimes reaching close to 60%. This unusual environment is also characterized by an exceptionally stable temperature throughout the year, with variations so minimal that they are measured only in fractions of a degree.
Over the course of evolution, many cave-dwelling species have developed remarkable adaptations to survive underground. Vision, unnecessary in total darkness, tends to disappear: young troglobites are often born with visible eyes, but these regress with age until covered by skin, resulting in partial or total blindness. Likewise, the absence of solar radiation renders pigmentation useless, leaving most organisms with a pale appearance.
Their metabolism has also slowed dramatically, since constant darkness and stable temperatures do not favor intense physiological activity, which leads to slower growth and development. Finally, elongated limbs and enlarged sensory organs, such as antennae or legs, help compensate for the lack of vision, improving spatial perception and orientation in this unusual environment.
No Helmet or Pickaxe Needed, Explore the Depths of the Cave!
The Caverne des Débrouillards invites explorers young and old to enjoy a unique journey into a fascinating world, without the hassle of specialized gear!
Welcomed by the graceful flight of several hundred Jamaican fruit bats, visitors are introduced to species that are little-known yet utterly captivating.
Now that you know a little more about these environments and the wildlife that inhabits them, don’t miss the chance to step into the Cave and experience the enveloping atmosphere of this hushed, mysterious world!
