Favorite Individual Animals

Ashley LaRee Lewis

Ashley LaRee Lewis

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I know that there might have been one or two threads like this but I’m curious to know if anyone here has favorite animal personalities that they’ve become acquainted with through zoo visits, social media, or tv shows

I really love Annie and Wallace, the Short Clawed Otters, from Chester Zoo. Never been myself but they crack me up every time I see Secret Life of the Zoo

Post some individual animals below with their name, species, and why you like them!
 
Kuma - Chimpanzee at Taronga Zoo

Taronga Zoo have the largest chimpanzee community in Australasia with 21 chimps. Some of the family lines (including Kuma’s) descend from females imported in the 1950s.

Kuma had a difficult adolescence as her mother was exported when she was 6 years old. Kuma had a hard time raising her first son (Furahi), who was born when she was 11 and was one of the lowest ranking females; but following the birth of her second son (Fumo), Kuma rose to the position of alpha female at the age of 21.

Kuma is a large female chimpanzee, equal in size to many of the males and can easily take on any of them and win when defending her offspring in disputes.

0.1 Kuma - born 06/12/1991
1.0 Furahi - born 28/02/2003
1.0 Fumo - born 16/10/2013

A baby male chimpanzee is carried by his mother 'Kuma' at Taronga Zoo... News Photo - Getty Images
 
I liked a hand-reared plumbeous redstart, which lived in London Zoo's Bird House. It would come to the front of its enclosure as I neared it and move about in front of me. I consider it the friendliest zoo animal I've ever seen and I was upset when it died. There are none currently listed in European zoos, according to ZTL.
 
Dassie rat said:
I liked a hand-reared plumbeous redstart, which lived in London Zoo's Bird House. It would come to the front of its enclosure as I neared it and move about in front of me. I consider it the friendliest zoo animal I've ever seen and I was upset when it died. There are none currently listed in European zoos, according to ZTL.
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When was this, trying to recall whether I knew this bird.
 
I think the bird died ago, according to ZTL. It was kept somewhere in the middle of the right hand row of inside enclosures in the Bird House. This was the same area as the rather noisy bare-throated bellbird.
 
Cassidy Casuar said:
Hang on; 'Kuma' is Japanese for 'bear'... Is her name a reference to B.J. and the Bear? :D
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I’m afraid not...

Kuma was originally named Fanny in accordance with the tradition of naming offspring with the same initial as their mother. Her mother was called Ficha; and her grandmother was called Fifi.

This was all well and good in 1991 when she was born; but then the internet age took off and the zoo realised they would have a problem. Fanny, which means backside in the US (as in Nanny Fine found herself out on her fanny); means something totally different outside of the US and had the potential to offend some of the more sensitive customers.

So Kuma is the Swahili translation. Why they didn’t just give her a new African name beginning with F, I don’t know. Either way, her offspring have F names.
 
My favorites include...
The North American River Otter family at the National Zoo (Emmett, Ashkii, Coquille, Potomac, Nash). I especially like Ashkii, Potomac, and Nash
Kevin, Rutabaga, and Peaches (RIP), Asian Small-Clawed Otter siblings at the National Zoo
North American River Otters Calvert, Chessie-Grace, and Chumley from the Calvert Marine Museum (might be my all time favorite individual zoo animals)
Thor and Yeyuno (Giant Otters) from Philadelphia Zoo
Rocky and Arya (RIP) (North American River Otters) from Elmwood Park Zoo
 
Yi Qi said:
I love George, one of the bull asian elephants at African Lion Safari.
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I'm convinced George is my soulmate, and I love him to pieces. He's gentle and giving, allows close interaction, looks clear into your soul with those big brown eyes, and simply adores his head keeper. If he were human, I'd be head over heels in love. Heck, I am anyway. I indulged in a framed painting he did, and I can see both his mind and his heart in the brushstrokes. A lovely, special being.
 
Zoofan15 said:
I’m afraid not...

Kuma was originally named Fanny in accordance with the tradition of naming offspring with the same initial as their mother. Her mother was called Ficha; and her grandmother was called Fifi.

This was all well and good in 1991 when she was born; but then the internet age took off and the zoo realised they would have a problem. Fanny, which means backside in the US (as in Nanny Fine found herself out on her fanny); means something totally different outside of the US and had the potential to offend some of the more sensitive customers.

So Kuma is the Swahili translation. Why they didn’t just give her a new African name beginning with F, I don’t know. Either way, her offspring have F names.
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Dudley have a chimp called Fanny. It does also mean vagina in British English, but everyone knows that in previous generations it was a common girls' name so nobody would be offended.
 
Moe and Richie - Henry Vilas Zoo's pair of Lar Gibbons - are my personal favorites at the zoo. I have discovered the names of most individuals at the zoo - mostly the mammals - and have really grown an appreciation for each individual, but it's a lot easier to do that at Henry Vilas due to it being so small.
 
I have quite a lot of favourites , it would be hard to choose just one.

Aré - A Pampas cat at Sorocaba zoo

Ziraldo - An infant giant anteater at Sorocaba zoo

Mona - A female Muriqui monkey (first to give birth in captivity) at Sorocaba zoo

Wally - An ancient old black caiman at Sorocaba zoo

Princessa - A female giant otter at Sorocaba zoo

Golden lance head viper - A nameless individual kept at Sorocaba zoo

Xolotl - A wild type axolotl that was once (now long deceased) at Chapultepec zoo

Shunca - A female Jaguar that is / was once kept at Chapultepec zoo

Charlie - A spectacled bear that is / was once kept at Chapultepec zoo
 
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Ambika, NZP's 71-year-old Asian elephant. She's wicked smart, has a great sense of humor, and has been an ambassador for her species and a blessing to me since the year I was born.
 
Being that the Los Angeles Zoo is my home zoo, I do have a handful of favorites:

Kaloa the jaguar: although a bit shy when it comes to water or even the misters in his home, he makes his presence known every morning by roaring and will walk around his home with great confidence. Doesn’t care for any other animals near him, including the aviary behind his home full of vultures.

Bruno the Sumatran/Bornean orangutan: he’s a massive guy, able to traverse his home with ease and love to hide under his bucket on hotter days. Every orangutan in the exhibit seems to follow his lead even in doing simple actions such as going to a particular spot to relax or what to eat.

Kelly the silverback western lowland gorilla: one of the more striking individuals in the whole zoo, he is a very shy yet sometimes cranky individual. Occasionally will sprawl himself along the viewing windows to display his impressive size and also strike fear into zoo visitors despite being a good guy.
 
Julio C Castro said:
Bruno the Sumatran/Bornean orangutan: he’s a massive guy, able to traverse his home with ease and love to hide under his bucket on hotter days. Every orangutan in the exhibit seems to follow his lead even in doing simple actions such as going to a particular spot to relax or what to eat.

Kelly the silverback western lowland gorilla: one of the more striking individuals in the whole zoo, he is a very shy yet sometimes cranky individual. Occasionally will sprawl himself along the viewing windows to display his impressive size and also strike fear into zoo visitors despite being a good guy.
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Kelly and Bruno :p <3 I'd love to visit Los Angeles and see them.
 
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