The Nighthowler flower is central to the events of Zootopia.
A. Capabilities
Consumption or pollen exposure can cause potent psychological and physical reactions in mammals which is due to the creation of a chemical reaction in the brain.
Decreasing brain activity except the cerebellum which tends to create hyper stimulation causing the affected person to lash at anything moving and the victim’s higher reasoning functions become limited or nonexistent.
Mammals would become aggressive to act wildly in an uncontrollable violent state that could be appropriately described as “savage”.
The effects could become long term and permanent with the condition persisting which would induce a drug like process that would synthesize whilst concentrating the effects of the flower.
Small creatures such as insects are most vulnerable and could be killed instantly.
B. What Nighthowlers could do?
In Zootopia it is used at Bunny burrow as a natural bug repellant even though it is often categorized as a “Class C Botanical” by Judy Hopps the main character in the animated movie with the status of a controlled substance due to its neurological effects on the brain.
Dawn Bellwether, the Assistant Mayor of Zootopia with her own political agenda initiated a clandestine operation where she employed the services of a disgraced scientist named Doug to extract chemicals from Nighthowler flowers and using his expertise distilled it to alter the toxin to create a liquid concentrate which was loaded into paintball like pellets to shoot at predators with a sniper gun.
Her determination was to get all predators removed from Zootopia by suggesting that the predators were biologically reverting back to their primitively savage genetic compositions and with that ensure only prey dominated Zootopia.
C. Nighthowler’s role in the film Zootopia
The film’s plot center’s around the Nighthowler flower and the systematic disappearance of 14 predators, being held captive unlawfully in a feral state by the Mayor Lionheart on the pretext of not causing any panic in the city for which he is charged, dismissed and incarcerated with the Asst Mayor Bellweather taking over.
Some of the victims were Mr. Otterton, Mr. Manchas and twelve other well known predators who had fell victim to the Doug Ramses dart gun, shooting chemically synthesized Nighthowler concentrated serum in paint ball type pellets.
The Police raid on the Cliffside Asylum where the 14 predators were held against their wishes and in questionable circumstances and the subsequent arrest of former Mayor Lionheart the events did not stop, it only increased with greater intensity with a large number of predators becoming savagely violent and bringing violence and turmoil to the city which was to threaten unity and possibly separate prey and predator forever.
Gideon Grey bringing the events in the film Zootopia to a climax reveals that his family always referred to a flower identified as Nighthowlers and its adverse property which makes Judy realize that it is this that could be the cause of all the savage outbreaks in predators.
She and Nick Wilde, con artist turned good Samaritan track down the thief, Duke Weaselton who had stolen the Nighthowler bulbs which information was sufficient for them to arrive at the doorstep of the disgraced scientist Doug and they take his equipment, to place them before the Zootopia Police Department as evidence that the predators were being unscrupulously used to further some people’s political agendas and not that the predators were becoming savage by natural instincts.
Just before they reach the ZPD, and near the Natural History Museum they are intercepted by Mayor Bellweather and her henchmen who were supposed to be on the side of the good.
They shoot Nick with the highly concentrated pellets in the Nighthowler gun, presumably for him to turn savage and kill Judy so that the story would end there.
Nick being a con artist had the instinctive habit of not trusting anyone and he had replaced the concentrated Nighthowler serum with blue berries in the gun and Judy had recorded Bellweather’ confession on her carrot pen to show that the predators were innocent.
The evidence was irrefutable and ZPD Chief Bogo ordered the arrest of Bellweather and her accomplices as well and the predator and prey communities in the city were reunited after the initial animosities that prevailed due to no fault of their own.
D. Trivia
Belonging to the crocus variety Nighthowlers could affect mammals that don’t have any genetically savage or violent behavior and have been noticed to bring non-predator mammals to turn very aggressive.
Bonnie’s brother Terry had eaten one whole and did go wild and the episode ended by attacking Bonnie and biting the dickens out of her but it could be said that apart from the individual’s behavior the issue is not contagious.
This was well documented a savaged rabbit bit Bonnie when she was young and also when Mr. Manchas became violent and bit Mr. Otterton once, in fact even inflicting sever injuries.
The eyes of those under the influence of the Nighthowler effect could differ and that would be seen when Mr. Manchas who has dull green eyes displayed brighter green with slit pupils when under the influence.
Identified scientifically as “Midnicampum Holicithias” with the first word seen to derived from the Latin meaning of “between the fields” while the second means “All Sheppard” which has resemblances to Greek connotations, which together could mean its use as a filed pesticide.
It could also be assumed that the first word would be closer to “midnight” and the second to the word “howl” and it could sound closer to what it is called in Zootopia.
E. Sickness
When consumed or injected induces savage and violent behavior in the afflicted victim with the tendency to attack anyone around.
F. Sniper gun
That was used to shoot innocent predator mammals with the highly potent lab synthesized serum in paint ball like pellets.
G. The serum
The serum which is highly potent chemical drug made in Zootopia by scientist Doug Ramses for the purpose of using it on predator mammals.
The plant that is described in the animated movie Zootopia with the scientific name “Midnicampum Holicithias” also called Nighthowlers which belongs to the Crocus variety, does exist in real life.
