The Montreal Biodome
A Series of Climate Controlled Ecosystems You Can Visit
The Montreal Biodome offers a fascinating walk through tropical and Laurentian forests, an Atlantic marine ecosystem, the subarctic and the subantarctic.
Don’t visit Montreal, Canada without going to the Montreal Biodome. This amazing building, containing four different climate controlled environments is a fascinating way to visit the tropics, the poles, the ocean, and a North American forest all in a few hours. Even better, it's easy to see animals native to these environments that are seldom seen in the wild by the casual visitor.
The Tropical Forest
The tropical forest is the first habitat in the Montreal Biodome. The warmth and humidity here are striking. The abundance of green is surprising too—plants are growing thickly on either side of the walkway and tropical trees tower overhead. The longer one remains here, studying the forest floor and watching for movement among the foliage, the more one sees: tropical birds, monkeys, reptiles, even fish. The sloths are usually high in the canopy, and they’re very hard to see; however the biodome nature interpreters carry binoculars and often know where the sloths are.
The Laurentian Forest
The Laurentian forest habitat is very different from the tropical forest. The air is dryer and there is a more open feeling. Porcupines climb the trees, otters play in the water and slide on slippery slopes, and lynx sleep among the rocks. If the beavers are in the den, they are often visible remotely, through a crafty spyhole along the way. A temperature difference of about 14 degrees between summer and winter allows the Laurentian forest to cycle naturally through the four seasons.
The St. Lawrence Marine Ecosystem
The St. Lawrence marine ecosystem recreates an authentic piece of the northeast North American Atlantic coast. It comes complete with the smell of the sea and seabirds wheeling overhead. A touch tank allows visitors to see sea cucumbers, starfish, or other marine animals close up and even touch them. For some, however, the glass-walled tunnel down below is the biggest thrill: here one can watch whole schools of ocean fish swim past while ducks and seabirds dive for food.
The Polar World
The polar world has a bit of the north (subarctic) and a bit of the south (subantarctic). The penguins are the biggest attraction—everyone loves to watch them dive into the water, swim gracefully along in front of the glass and then leap, with amazing agility, back onto the ice. At feeding time, some of these friendly birds will try amusing tacticsin the hope of getting more fish. The colorful puffins in the arctic section are popular too.
The Montreal Biodome has other attractions such as interactive exhibits and videos as well, and it’s close to the Montreal Insectarium and Botanical Gardens—it’s well worth setting aside a whole day to see these excellent exhibits of the natural world.
Other Interesting Biology Topics:
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