Nonsense. The park regularly operated a nighttime version of the safari from 2016 (coinciding with the Pandora opening, the nighttime lagoon shows, and push toward greater nighttime activities in the park overall) through early 2020 until the Covid shutdowns. They did so in full compliance with animal welfare regulations and best practices.
Yes, there were challenges with certain species. No, not all species were present in the evening. Yes, visibility was limited with the low light levels. But they were able to operate the nighttime attraction for years, while complying with animal safety and comfort needs, without even needing to pause operations in the evening while certain animals came indoors for the evening. While the number of animals visible was lower than during the day, they were often much more active, accounting for some of the more interesting sightings I’ve had on the attraction (including a rhino running alongside our ride vehicle and lions getting frisky after dark).
They don’t run it any more because they’re too cheap to operate the park with any meaningful nighttime activities. And curiously, when there’s barely anything to do after dark and all of the animal viewing opportunities close early, park guests also leave early, reinforcing their self-fulfilling claim that nobody wants to be in the park after dark. It has nothing to do with animal welfare, and everything to do with being cheap. How quickly we (willfully?) forget our history!
