Zoobat Collections (N. America)

[Coelacanth18]

@DavidBrown : do you know more about bats at LA Zoo? When, where, what species?

@jayjds2 : The fennec foxes are in an open-air enclosure just to the right of the entrance. The sloth and armadillo are in an enclosed exhibit with a glass viewing window on the opposite side of the building from the entrance. I was last there in July/August, but that has been the primary arrangement for much longer than that.

 

[DavidBrown]

The LA Zoo had flying foxes in the late 1990s - don't remember which species.
They had vampire bats when the renovated children's zoo Adventure Island opened in the late 1980s (1988?), but they weren't there for more than a few years.

 

[jayjds2]

@jayjds2 : The fennec foxes are in an open-air enclosure just to the right of the entrance. The sloth and armadillo are in an enclosed exhibit with a glass viewing window on the opposite side of the building from the entrance. I was last there in July/August, but that has been the primary arrangement for much longer than that.

When I visited in early July there were fennec foxes in both. I normally see the arrangement that you described- I guess what I saw on my visit was temporary, especially if you visited later in the month and saw it the normal way.

 

[jayjds2]

I just remembered that Kansas City Zoo keeps (or kept) some Egyptian fruit bats behind the scenes. I'm not sure why, but if they were there in the first place, I don't see why they still wouldn't be there now.

 

[jibster]

By the way, does anyone know what happened to the hammerhead fruit bats that use to live in San Diego and perhaps other places? Did they just die out or were they hard to keep? And where did San Diego put them on exhibit, assuming they did?

Edit: Website says they were at SDWAP, not SDZ, and that it was back in the 1970's. Still interested to know what happened and where exactly they were held, though.

I'm assuming the species died out in captivity (in North America, at least). I never saw them at San Diego, but remember them well from the indoor location next to the lions (under the lion/tiger habitat) at the National Zoo many years ago. There were, I recall, quite a few of the hammerhead bats there at the time. Of course, the species is long gone from the National's collection (and you can't see the indoor quarters of the big cats any longer)...

 

[Coelacanth18]

I'm assuming the species died out in captivity (in North America, at least). I never saw them at San Diego, but remember them well from the indoor location next to the lions (under the lion/tiger habitat) at the National Zoo many years ago. There were, I recall, quite a few of the hammerhead bats there at the time. Of course, the species is long gone from the National's collection (and you can't see the indoor quarters of the big cats any longer)...

Ah, what I would give to have been there! With the recent Ebola epidemic that happened in Africa, my guess is that chances of more African bats reaching captivity anytime soon are slim to none. It's quite a shame they died out, as they are a very fascinating and distinct species.

Out of curiosity, what else was held in that indoor area, and how long ago did it close to the public?

 

[jibster]

Ah, what I would give to have been there! With the recent Ebola epidemic that happened in Africa, my guess is that chances of more African bats reaching captivity anytime soon are slim to none. It's quite a shame they died out, as they are a very fascinating and distinct species.

Out of curiosity, what else was held in that indoor area, and how long ago did it close to the public?

Nothing else was there besides indoor viewing of the big cats (it may have been just the lions). The bats were in a quite bare exhibit next door. Not sure when it was closed off - maybe someone who visited there more regularly would know. It was open in 1984, at least, and I think it was still open when I visited in 1987; I know it was closed by my visit in 2001 (I was at the zoo at least a few other times between those spans, but mostly on short walk-throughs of certain areas and I know I skipped a lot - so I'm not sure when it closed). Other than the bats (and a chance to see the cats if they were otherwise off exhibit), the "bunker" (what the building really felt like) was disappointing and there was certainly no reason to visit. I believe I may have somewhere hidden deep in the basement a guide book from those early National Zoo visits - that was during the period when SNZ was touting its "Barbary" lions and first white tiger (and the zoo was full of now-long gone species such as dorcas gazelle and cusimanse). If not for the guidebook, I doubt I would have ever seen the bats, as that exhibit building was not, to my recollection), well signed - but after reading about the hammerhead bats, I knew I had to see it

 

[Chlidonias]

I think there were probably a few American zoos in the 70s with hammerheads. The Bronx was breeding them (there's an article in the 1980 IZY about it) which may have been the original source for the other zoos; I haven't read the article, I've just seen the title, but it probably gives the origin of their animals within it if anyone else has it. The following pdf has a photo of a pair at National: http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-357-01-0001.pdf

 

[Youssarian]

Audubon is getting bats! I know Common Vampire Bats are one of the species, but signage only indicates that the other is a "fruit bat"

 

[jayjds2]

Large/Malayan flying fox, Pteropus vampyrus

Also kept by Busch Gardens Tampa.

Indian flying fox, Pteropus giganteus

Also kept by Omaha and Houston.

Ruwenzori long-haired fruit bat, Rousettus lanosus

Also kept by Omaha.

Common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus

Also kept by Omaha. There’s a theme here

Greater spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus hastatus
Peoria Zoo, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo(?)

Pale spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus discolor
Miami Zoo(?) - received specimens in 2009. May still hold the species.

An interesting note here: in their Amazon and Beyond set of exhibits there is a pair of bat exhibits connected by tubes (to allow the animals to fly back and forth). The species signed were spear-nosed bat (with scientific name P. hastatus), short-tailed fruit bat (no scientific name given, but presumably Seba’s), and neotropical fruit bat (A. jamaicensis). However, according to ZIMS, Miami does not have P. hastatus, but I don’t have a way of searching for P. discolor at present. Is this just a mistake in signage? Does anybody have more information?

As for P. hastatus, Omaha indeed has the species, as does Assiniboine Park.

Pallas's long-tongued bat, Glossophaga soricina

Also kept by Montreal Biodome and—you guessed it— Omaha.

Seba's short-tailed fruit bat, Carollia perspicillata

Additionally kept by Miami, Montreal Biodome, Omaha, Nashville, Moody Gardens, Tulsa, and Elmwood Park.

Egyptian fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus

Also kept by Omaha (big surprise here) and Memphis.

Sorry if I let a bit of sarcasm leak into my updates where Omaha was concerned.

Pallid bat, Antrozous pallidus
Fort Worth Zoo

Lesser long-nosed bat, Leptonycteris yerbabuenae
Fort Worth Zoo

Lesser short-nosed fruit bat, Cynopyerus brachyotis
Lubee Bat Conservancy

Trinidadian fruit bat, Artibeus lituratus
Lubee Bat Conservancy

 

[Coelacanth18]

@jayjds2 Thanks for the updates. I have mixed feelings about Omaha as a whole, but when it comes to bat diversity they truly reign supreme!

As I posted the original list almost exactly a year ago, I will post an updated list to address recent changes and new findings.

 

[jayjds2]

@jayjds2 Thanks for the updates. I have mixed feelings about Omaha as a whole, but when it comes to bat diversity they truly reign supreme!

I believe Omaha may also hold Rodrigues flying fox, as there was an unsigned flying fox species in Lied Jungle that looked too small to be Indian (which was kept in Kingdoms of the Night). This puts them at 10-11 species. I'm not quite sure how to tell them apart, and I didn't get too great of a photo, but here it is: Flying fox (Pteropus) ID | ZooChat

As for Omaha, I can understand your mixed feelings. The new director is making magnificent progress in beginning to reverse the worse parts of Lee Simmons' rule over the zoo... the Cat Complex is being emptied little by little (with future plans for demolition with most species either getting new exhibits or leaving), several exhibits that were too small for their original inhabitants now have new ones, etc. On my visit two months ago, I noted several changes from my previous visits which were mostly in 2009-2013. The master plan is strong and I hope that the zoo continues to grow... as well as its bat collection

 

[Vision]

A wonderful topic, thanks for putting in the time to work this out, as this is an invaluable resource!

I can confirm that the Toronto Zoo has both Egyptian and Straw-coloured fruit bats as of September 2017. You can get rid of those question marks

 

[carlos55]

Los Coyotes Zoo in México City has a colony of lesser long nosed bats or tequila bats which is most likely the only zoo group of this species in the world.

 

[DDcorvus]

An interesting note here: in their Amazon and Beyond set of exhibits there is a pair of bat exhibits connected by tubes (to allow the animals to fly back and forth). The species signed were spear-nosed bat (with scientific name P. hastatus), short-tailed fruit bat (no scientific name given, but presumably Seba’s), and neotropical fruit bat (A. jamaicensis). However, according to ZIMS, Miami does not have P. hastatus, but I don’t have a way of searching for P. discolor at present. Is this just a mistake in signage? Does anybody have more information?

Miami has P. discolor

 

[birdsandbats]

Common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, Louisville Zoo, Denver Zoo, Buffalo Zoo, Cincinnati Zoo, Dallas World Aquarium, Brookfield Zoo? (I think entire colony was exported to Europe, but not if they were replaced), Philadelphia Zoo, North American Wildlife Park (Hershey, PA), probably other institutions?

Also I think Brookfield has more than one species, but I don't know what there is besides the rods.

Milwaukee has Common Vampire Bats. The Common Vampire Bats of Brookfield are definitely not on exhibit, but if there are some behind the scenes, I do not know. Also, as of this summer, Brookfield only has Rodrigues Flying Foxes on exhibit.

 

[Coelacanth18]

Milwaukee has Common Vampire Bats. The Common Vampire Bats of Brookfield are definitely not on exhibit, but if there are some behind the scenes, I do not know. Also, as of this summer, Brookfield only has Rodrigues Flying Foxes on exhibit.

Thanks. When I last visited Brookfield, a keeper said they were keeping another fruit bat species besides Rodrigues, but that might have been a temporary situation. I couldn’t tell any of them apart in the dark.

To my knowledge, Brookfield exported their colony to a zoo in Hungary. I’d be curious to know what occupies their enclosure now.

Also thanks for that interesting addition @carlos55. If you know any more about bats in Mexican zoos, let me know!

 

[carlos55]

Oh yes, Africam Safari Puebla and Chapultepec zoo have egyptian fruit bats. The bat cave at Africam is quite nice. Zoomat in Chiapas stat e has a nice colóny of mexican fishing bats. Mexican zoos should really do much moré in holding native species and educating the públic about them, so the new bat group at Los Coyotes is very good news. Check the Los Coyotes zoo forum for a link to information about the bat colony there and the biologist Dr. Medellin who helped establish it.

 

[jayjds2]

Los Coyotes Zoo in México City has a colony of lesser long nosed bats or tequila bats which is most likely the only zoo group of this species in the world.

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, the Fort Worth Zoo also holds this species.

 

[birdsandbats]

To my knowledge, Brookfield exported their colony to a zoo in Hungary. I’d be curious to know what occupies their enclosure now.

Their exhibit was in The Living Cost building in its own small area inside the Seabird Free-Flight room. They have completely blocked off this section of the area. The enclosure probably still exists, but is behind the scenes, so I do not know what is in it.