Rarities by Zoo

[Kakapo]

According to their website, he went back to Sea World in 2015

I'm a bit confused. Before going to the lab in 2011 it was kept in the Pole zone, according to the article, on show. Maybe when it came back to SeaWorld in 2015 it was not kept anymore on show, but behind the scenes? I saw nothing about it (the animal, signage, indications, ZooChat talk...) during or shortly before my San Diego trip...

By other hand, I see mentioned also Common Dolphin for SeaWorld San Diego in this thread. It's sure? The dolphin pool contained only bottlenosed dolphins, they just have (mixed with the nominates) one individual of the rarely kept subspecies ponticus, that maybe leaded to confusion with Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis), a species that I'm possitively sure that is not kept at SeaWorld in public, at least as for 2016.

 

[Great Argus]

By other hand, I see mentioned also Common Dolphin for SeaWorld San Diego in this thread. It's sure? The dolphin pool contained only bottlenosed dolphins, they just have (mixed with the nominates) one individual of the rarely kept subspecies ponticus, that maybe leaded to confusion with Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis), a species that I'm possitively sure that is not kept at SeaWorld in public, at least as for 2016.

Supposedly it is per late December 2017, performing in the dolphin show. She was mentioned specifically among the Bottlenoses, and has a placard like many of the bottlenoses do near the entrance to the stadium. The accompanying photo did appear to be Common Dolphin to my recollection, and I did see a smaller dolphin among the bottlenoses like the speaker described. Unfortunately I did not manage to get a photo to confirm. I am still a little skeptical for that reason, but I can't make a confirmation one way or another. Anybody happen to have knowledge about this?

 

[jayjds2]

Supposedly it is per late December 2017, performing in the dolphin show. She was mentioned specifically among the Bottlenoses, and has a placard like many of the bottlenoses do near the entrance to the stadium. The accompanying photo did appear to be Common Dolphin to my recollection, and I did see a smaller dolphin among the bottlenoses like the speaker described. Unfortunately I did not manage to get a photo to confirm. I am still a little skeptical for that reason, but I can't make a confirmation one way or another. Anybody happen to have knowledge about this?

It’s a hybrid between bottlenose and common.

 

[Great Argus]

It’s a hybrid between bottlenose and common.

Thanks @jayjds2! Would you happen to know whether it was born in captivity or came in as a rehab?

 

[jayjds2]

Thanks @jayjds2! Would you happen to know whether it was born in captivity or came in as a rehab?

I believe it was born in captivity, but I’m really the wrong person to ask concerning cetaceans as there are forum members with far more knowledge about them.

That said, I’m good with most other animal groups in captivity, and I’ll make a large contribution to this thread soon.

 

[JVM]

I thought I was able to edit the first post but it appears I cannot. Now I feel dumb, heh - my intention was to keep updating it as people submitted suggestions. I thought I'd seen this sort of thing done elsewhere here.

I left the criteria a little vague on purpose, because some species may be common in some parts of the country but not others, or may still exist in a few places but have a geriatric population and thus are becoming rarer. I also didn't want us to be listing species that have been off display for decades, but did want to leave room to mention, say, the Sumatran rhinoceros situation, or the only red-faced Spider Monkey, both of which only left very recently.

But yeah, nobody should be mentioning meerkats

About 15 USA AZA zoos have takin, 10 for babirusa, 19 for red wolves, 20 for okapi. The rest of these I'd agree with.

I didn't realize Okapi had become quite so common, yet I'm also not terribly surprised. I never knew much about Takin but LPZ has often made a point of their rarity in captivity. They also have red wolf, which I wasn't sure to list.

 

[TigerValley98]

Erie and Pittsburgh have Visayan warty pigs. They are an AZA Ungulates priority species. More zoos will get them. Toledo and Wheeling have mongoose lemurs.

Pittsburgh has northern elephant seals. This is a confirmed rarity.

 

[Grant]

Cincinnati no longer has Mongoose lemur, some other rarities include a Margay (on display) and 3 female Gray's Crowned Guenons (off-display- but may change)

 

[TinoPup]

I'm a bit confused. Before going to the lab in 2011 it was kept in the Pole zone, according to the article, on show. Maybe when it came back to SeaWorld in 2015 it was not kept anymore on show, but behind the scenes? I saw nothing about it (the animal, signage, indications, ZooChat talk...) during or shortly before my San Diego trip...

By other hand, I see mentioned also Common Dolphin for SeaWorld San Diego in this thread. It's sure? The dolphin pool contained only bottlenosed dolphins, they just have (mixed with the nominates) one individual of the rarely kept subspecies ponticus, that maybe leaded to confusion with Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis), a species that I'm possitively sure that is not kept at SeaWorld in public, at least as for 2016.

There was never signage or anything for him, to my understanding. I've found a few photos that look like one, and two people who believe they've seen him, but we're trying to get official confirmation from sea world.

As said above she's half Atlantic Bottlenose, half Long-beaked Common. Her half-brother lives at Discovery Cove in Orlando, so I'm assuming she's captive-bred.

 

[Great Argus]

Sacramento Zoo also has Mongoose Lemurs.

 

[birdsandbats]

Brookfield has Mongoose Lemurs.

 

[jayjds2]

Give that there are 14 US holders of mongoose lemurs, I’m not sure they’d qualify as rare, personally.

 

[Echobeast]

Since this keeps coming up, how are we defining rare? Is it less than ten facilities or so or is it subjective? Maybe if people put the number of facilities that animal can be found at in their post, we can see at a glance how rare something is. With over 200 AZA facilities, I’d probably define something as rare if it is found at less than 5% of them (10 or less places) but that’s just my opinion.

 

[birdsandbats]

Since this keeps coming up, how are we defining rare? Is it less than ten facilities or so or is it subjective? Maybe if people put the number of facilities that animal can be found at in their post, we can see at a glance how rare something is. With over 200 AZA facilities, I’d probably define something as rare if it is found at less than 5% of them (10 or less places) but that’s just my opinion.

Over 200 AZA...

...and over 1,000 throughout the country.

 

[CuseZoofan]

Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse recently acquired five Kimberly Rock Monitors, supposedly they are the only AZA facility to house them. They were brought in as part of their special Dinosaur Invasion exhibits this summer. I'm sure they have other rarities but that was the biggest I could think of.

 

[JVM]

Since this keeps coming up, how are we defining rare? Is it less than ten facilities or so or is it subjective? Maybe if people put the number of facilities that animal can be found at in their post, we can see at a glance how rare something is. With over 200 AZA facilities, I’d probably define something as rare if it is found at less than 5% of them (10 or less places) but that’s just my opinion.

It seems it was a a mistake to do so, but the lack of a hard rule was completely intentional.

There's situations like species that were once common but are on a sharp decline due to geriatric populations, like Asiatic black bears, or species that were rare but are increasing numbers, like the Takin, which Lincoln Park Zoo has previously advertised as a rarely-seen species in captivity, and there's local/regional factors in play - a species common in California might not be common in the Midwest, even if the numbers skew high.

If we need a hard rule of thumb, I'd say fifteen or so facilities seems like a good number, a little higher than ten is needed imo, but I wanted to avoid this thread to devolve into people (politely or otherwise) correcting each other about the exact number of facilities holding a species.

All that said, again, my intention was to compile lists based on facility, and that doesn't look to be happening, so perhaps this standard is a grain of salt at this point.

 

[jayjds2]

National/International Rarities
Regional Rarities are not included because each list became extremely long.
Number of US holders, if known, in parentheses behind each species. I am using 15, as suggested, as a threshold.

Smithsonian National Zoo
Giant Panda (4)
Indian sloth bear (4)
Japanese giant salamander (7)
Philippine crocodile (7)
Gharial (10)
Long-tailed salamander
Coronated tree frog (5)
Bourret's box turtle
McCord's box turtle
Golden coin turtle
Central American bushmaster
Common opossum (1)
Lesser hedgehog tenrec
Sand cat
Brush-tailed bettong
Red-fronted lemur
False water cobra
Australian big-headed turtle

National Aquarium in Baltimore
Hosmer's skink (2)
Northern death adder
Grey-headed flying fox (2)
Irwin's snapping turtle (1)
Northern Australian snapping turtle (1)
Kimberley snake-necked turtle (1)
Australian king parrot
Australian freshwater crocodile (3)
Screaming piha (3)
Green-and-gold tanager (2?)
Wompoo fruit dove
Fawn-breasted bowerbird
Cotinga River sideneck turtle
Black guillemot (1)
Razorbill (1)
Brazil nut poison frog (1)
Harlequin poison frog (1)
Lovely poison frog
Splendid leaf frog
Largetooth sawfish
Humphead wrasse
Blacknose shark
Reticulate whiptail ray

Bronx Zoo
Maleo (4)
Sulawesi forest turtle (3?)
Montezuma oropendola (2)
Raggiana bird of paradise (11)
Lesser bird of paradise (6)
Red bird of paradise (4)
Red fody (2)
Crimson-rumped toucanet (5)
Chinese merganser
Western capercaillie
Violaceous euphonia (7)
Song thrush
Ruddy-breasted seedeater (1)
Black-and-white seedeater (1)
Cuban grassquit
Haitian bananaquit
Palm tanager
Andean band-tailed pigeon (2?)
Plate-billed mountain toucan (4)
Andean cock-of-the-rock (9)
Capuchinbird (4)
Black-capped social weaver
North Island brown kiwi
Storm's stork (5?)
Lesser adjutant (1)
Little blue penguin (6)
Peruvian pelican (1)
Freckled monitor
Blue tree monitor
Malagasy turtle dove (1)
Coquerel's sifaka (11)
Crowned lemur (11)
Collared lemur (10)
Ring-tailed vontsira (1)
Mikado pheasant
Australian brush-turkey
Fire skink
Long-tailed hornbill (4?)
Aardvark
Mary River turtle
Malagasy leaf-nosed snake
Grey mouse lemur (3)
Snouted cobra
Puff adder
Beale's four-eyed turtle (2)
Mozambique girdled lizard
Evergreen toad
Gelada (2)
Black-necked crane (4)
Javan langur (2)
Daurian pika (1)
African pygmy mouse
Afghan mouse-like hamster (1?)
Kusu rat
African dormouse

Well, I'm worn out after just that!

 

[birdsandbats]

Here is a list of animals only kept at one US zoo, and the zoo they are kept at (in no order):


Giant Oceanic Manta Ray Manta birostris - Georgia Aquarium
Brown-Throated Three-Toed Sloth Bradypus variegatus - Dallas World Aquarium
Long-Wattled Umbrellabird Cephalopterus penduliger - Dallas World Aquarium
Black Hawk-Eagle Spizaetus tyrannus - Dallas World Aquarium
Ring-Tailed Mongoose Galidia elegans - Bronx Zoo
Emperor Penguin Aptenodytes forsteri - SeaWorld San Diego
Pondicherry Vulture Sarcogyps calvus - Palm Beach Zoo
Aardwolf Proteles cristata - Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden
Harnessed Bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus - Gladys Porter Zoo
Guanay Cormorant Leucocarbo bougainvillii - Bronx Zoo
Peruvian Pelican Pelecanus thagus - Bronx Zoo
Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops - Bronx Zoo
Capuchin Babbler Phyllanthus atripennis - San Diego Zoo
Sociable Weaver Philetairus socius - San Diego Zoo
Talaud Red-And-Blue Lory Eos histrio - San Diego Zoo
Goliath Heron Ardea goliath - San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Barbary Deer Cervus elaphus barbarus - San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Ugandan Kob Kobus kob thomasi - San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Fanaloka Fossa fossana - Capital of Texas Zoo
Black-Faced Friarbird Philemon moluccensis - Reid Park Zoo
White-Crowned Hornbill Berenicornis comatus - St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park
Desert Crocodile Crocodylus suchus - St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park
Whale Shark Rhincodon typus - Georgia Aquarium
Giant Hammerhead Shark Sphyrna mokarran - Adventure Aquarium
Galapagos Shark Carcharhinus galapagensis - Mandalay Bay Aquarium
Irwin’s Snapping Turtle Elseya irwini - National Aquarium in Baltimore
Northern Australian Snapping Turtle Elseya dentata - National Aquarium in Baltimore
Beal’s Four-Eyed Turtle Sacalia bealei - Tennessee Aquarium
Javan Cochoa Cochoa azurea - Zoo Miami
Thick-Billed Euphonia Euphonia laniirostris - Dallas World Aquarium
Resplendent Quetzal Pharomachrus mocinno - Dallas World Aquarium
Crested Quetzal Pharomachrus antisianus - Dallas World Aquarium
Guiana Crested Eagle Morphnus guianensis - Dallas World Aquarium
Saffron Toucanet Pteroglossus bailloni - Dallas World Aquarium
Fiery-Billed Aracari Pteroglossus frantzii - Dallas World Aquarium
Many-Banded Aracari Pteroglossus pluricinctus - Dallas World Aquarium
Versicolored Barbet Eubucco versicolor - Dallas World Aquarium
Red-Capped Manakin Ceratopipra mentalis - Dallas World Aquarium
Blue-Crowned Manakin Lepidothrix coronata - Dallas World Aquarium
Lance-Tailed Manakin Chiroxiphia lanceolata - Dallas World Aquarium
Little Tinamou Crypturellus soui - Dallas World Aquarium
Maxwell’s Duiker Philantomba maxwellii - Bronx Zoo
Yellow-Casqued Hornbill Ceratogymna elata - Memphis Zoo
Northern Elephant Seal Mirounga angustirostris - Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium
White-Thighed Hornbill Bycanistes albotibialis - Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium
Wood Bison Bison bison athabascae - Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis - Monterey Bay Aquarium
Togo Slippery Frog Conraua derooi - Brookfield Zoo
Brolga Antigone rubicunda - International Crane Foundation
Persian Leopard Panthera pardus tulliana - Feline Conservation Center
Spotted Knifejaw Oplegnathus punctatus - Newport Aquarium
Malayan Black Hornbill Anthracoceros malayanus - Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium
Mariana Fruit Bat Pteropus mariannus - Guam Zoo
Magnificent Bird-Of-Paradise Diphyllodes magnificus - San Diego Zoo
Yellow-Rumped Tinkerbird Pogoniulus bilineatus - San Diego Zoo
Double-Toothed Barbet Lybius bidentatus - San Diego Zoo
Gray-Headed Flying Fox Pteropus poliocephalus - National Aquarium In Baltimore
White-Winged Vampire Bat Diaemus youngi - Rosamond Gifford Zoo
Pale Spear-Nosed Bat Phyllostomus discolor - Zoo Miami
Pallid Bat Antrozous pallidus - Fort Worth Zoo
Mexican Free-tailed Bat Tadarida brasiliensis - San Antonio Zoo
Evening Bat Nycticeius humeralis - Lubee Bat Conservancy
Southeastern Myotis Myotis austroriparius - Lubee Bat Conservancy
Common Opossum Didelphis marsupialis - Smithsonian National Zoo
Yapok Chironectes minimus - Dallas World Aquarium
Long-Nosed Potoroo Potorous tridactylus - Gladys Porter Zoo
Antillean Manatee Trichechus manatus manatus - Dallas World Aquarium
Red Uakari Cacajao calvus - Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens
Guatemalan Mantled Howler Monkey Alouatta palliata - Gladys Porter Zoo
Venezuelan Red Howler Monkey Alouatta seniculus - Dallas World Aquarium
Red-Shanked Douc Langur Pygathrix nemaeus - Philadelphia Zoo
White-Ruffed Manakin Corapipo altera - Dallas World Aquarium
White-Bearded Manakin Manacus manacus - San Diego Zoo
Red-Throated Bee-Eater Merops bulocki - Oklahoma City Zoo
Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus - San Diego Zoo
Mustached Guenon Cercopithecus cephus - Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens
Oriental White-Rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis - Zoo Miami
White-Headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis - Toledo Zoo
Black Curassow Crax alector - Hattiesburg Zoo
Wattled Guan Aburria aburri - Dallas World Aquarium
Chaco Chachalaca Ortalis canicollis - Tracys Aviary
Northern Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes moseleyi - Moody Gardens
Gray’s Crowned Guenon Cercopithecus pogonias grayi - Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
Kimberley Rock Monitor Varanus glauerti - Rosamond Gifford Zoo
Kimberley Snake-Necked Turtle Chelodina walloyarrina - National Aquarium in Baltimore
Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle - National Aquarium in Baltimore
Razorbill Alca torda - National Aquarium in Baltimore
Brazil-Nut Poison Frog Adelphobates castaneoticus - National Aquarium in Baltimore
Harlequin Poison Frog Oophaga histrionica - National Aquarium in Baltimore
Ruddy-Breasted Seedeater Sporophila minuta - Bronx Zoo
Black-And-White Seedeater Sporophila luctuosa - Bronx Zoo
Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus - Bronx Zoo
Malagasy Turtle Dove Nesoenas picturatus - Bronx Zoo
Daurian Pika Ochotona dauurica - Bronx Zoo

Let me know of any that are wrong or missing, please.

 

[jayjds2]

Guanay Cormorant Leucocarbo bougainvillii - Bronx Zoo

Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops - Bronx Zoo
Capuchin Babbler Phyllanthus atripennis - San Diego Zoo

All dead.

Desert Crocodile Crocodylus suchus - St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park

Also kept at Philadelphia.

Beal’s Four-Eyed Turtle Sacalia bealei - Tennessee Aquarium

Also kept at Bronx.

Javan Cochoa Cochoa azurea - Zoo Miami

Dead.

Saffron Toucanet Pteroglossus bailloni - Dallas World Aquarium
Fiery-Billed Aracari Pteroglossus frantzii - Dallas World Aquarium

Both maintained by Emerald Forest Bird Gardens.

Magnificent Bird-Of-Paradise Diphyllodes magnificus - San Diego Zoo

Held by Honolulu and one other zoo.

Gray-Headed Flying Fox Pteropus poliocephalus - National Aquarium In Baltimore

Held by Lubee Bat Conservancy.

Yapok Chironectes minimus - Dallas World Aquarium

White-Ruffed Manakin Corapipo altera - Dallas World Aquarium

Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus - San Diego Zoo
Mustached Guenon Cercopithecus cephus - Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens

All long gone.

Black Curassow Crax alector - Hattiesburg Zoo

There are multiple other holders of this species in US collections.

 

[Mehdi]

Maxwell’s Duiker Philantomba maxwellii - Bronx Zoo

And as far as I know, all the Maxwell's duiker at the zoo have died out.