US Zoo Records

birdsandbats

birdsandbats

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
2017 was an anniversary for the Milwaukee County Zoo (don't remember how old it is now), but during my 2017 visit, I noticed that to celebrate this, they put posters everywhere that said some of the records they hold in America's zoos. For example:

  • First US zoo to successfully breed Polar Bears.
  • First US zoo to successfully breed Spangled Cotingas.
  • First US zoo to successfully breed Siamangs.
  • First US zoo to have rockwork.
  • First US zoo to have predator-prey exhibits.
  • First US zoo to successfully breed Adelie Penguins.
  • Biggest population of Bonobos outside the species' native range.
  • Only US zoo to have Ornate Flying Snakes (they claim this, does anyone know if its true?)
That got me thinking, what other records do different zoos have? Off the top of my head, Brookfield was the first US zoo to have Giant Pandas, and Dallas World Aquarium was the first to successfully breed Guianan Cock-Of-The-Rocks. Anyone know of any others?
 
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo:
Most giraffe births (199 since 1954)
Largest giraffe herd in a zoo (currently at 17, not super positive if this is actually true)
Highest elevation (around 6,800ft at the entrance)
 
Somewhere along the way I saw a claim that the Bronx Zoo had bred more species of birds for the first time in captivity than any other zoo in the world. It also is, in area, the largest in-city zoo in the U.S.
 
Brookfield Zoo:
First US zoo to breed black rhinos.
First US zoo to exhibit Giant pandas.
First zoo Outside of Australia to exhibit and breed wombats.
Most breeding success with okapi than any other US zoo.
(Currently) Only US zoo to exhibit Pangolins
 
pachyderm pro said:
First zoo Outside of Australia to exhibit and breed wombats.
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That is not true.

To take just one example of many, London Zoo in the UK exhibited wombats (both Common and Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats) about 70 years before Brookfield Zoo even existed. The Common Wombat was bred at Halle Zoo in Germany in 1914, again well before Brookfield Zoo opened.

The record Brookfield Zoo has is that it was the first zoo outside Australia to breed Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats.
 
Chlidonias said:
To take just one example of many, London Zoo in the UK exhibited wombats (both Common and Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats) about 70 years before Brookfield Zoo even existed. The Common Wombat was bred at Halle Zoo in Germany in 1914, again well before Brookfield Zoo opened.
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London Zoo actually exhibited wombats about a century before Brookfield Zoo opened; London's first wombat arrived in 1830 and a wombat was born at London Zoo in 1858.
 
pachyderm pro said:
Most breeding success with okapi than any other US zoo.
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False. Brookfield has had 28 calves; Dallas has had 36. Brookfield was the first US Zoo to breed the species, however.

The Dallas World Aquarium holds many records:
  • The only zoo to currently (ever?) hold all five species of Mesoamerican eagles (Harpy eagle, black-and-white hawk-eagle, black hawk-eagle, ornate hawk-eagle, Guianan crested eagle).
  • Most breeding success with cocks-of-the-rock (nearly 200 chicks now, growing every year).
  • First aquarium to successfully maintain sea dragons long-term
  • Only zoo outside their native range with a three-toed sloth, which has set the captive longevity record (outside native range) for the species (almost 13 years now)
  • World's first breeding of blue-throated and blue-banded toucanets, northern ivory-billed aracari, golden-collared manakin, many-banded aracari, fiery-billed aracari, ribboned sea dragon, and probably others.
  • First zoo breeding of chestnut-eared aracari, Humboldt's lettered aracari, and probably others.
  • First to breed black-breasted wood quails outside their native range.
There are presumably more which I have forgotten about at the moment, or am unaware of.
 
Chlidonias said:
I'm somewhat doubtful of that, but I don't know if it is actually true or not.
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I just looked into this a little more, as I had doubted it as well, and you were correct. Leafy sea dragons were acquired in 1994 from the National Aquarium in Canberra, and they became "one of the first successful exhibits for this species outside of Australia and Japan" per a book I own about the aquarium. Weedy are not mentioned beyond the fact the aquarium has them. My source for the previous was found in this old article: Pregnant Male Fish Could Make Aquarium History in the following quote:
"To those of us who do sea dragons, it's a pretty big thing," added Paula Powell, Dallas World Aquarium curator of animal husbandry. "It's a really big step toward understanding these creatures. As of 1995, Dallas World was the only aquarium in the world to have even been able to keep sea dragons alive" in captivity.
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I'm not sure who the book was authored by, and there is absolutely no publishing data within it. Based on context of the book, I've determined it came out in 2009. Possible authors could be Daryl Richardson (the director) or Josef Lindholm (who worked at the aquarium at the time, and did a lot of writing for it in the form of their website, and has published several academic papers). Those are both shots in the dark, of course. Back on-topic, I find the discrepancy interesting.
 
Chlidonias said:
San Diego Zoo's first birth was in 1999.

The Smithsonian National Zoo's first birth was in 1983, followed by four more between 1984 and 1989, none of which survived. Their first cub to be raised was in 2005.
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I stand corrected. Thanks for the response.
 
elefante said:
I stand corrected. Thanks for the response.
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Well, you were correct. The National Zoo was the first in the USA to breed Giant Pandas. It's just that San Diego was the first to have a cub reared.
 
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