I have been following with interest some of the discussions on here regarding the decline in species diversity at some of the larger zoos and the increase in holdings at some privately owned zoos. Without wanting to re-hash old arguments, I thought it would be interesting to do a comparison of the number of exotic mammal species at different zoos using the online census tool (CPOS). The results of this are below.
Institutions by no. of exotic mammal species:
Adelaide = 34
Altina = 33
Western Plains = 31
National = 30
Mogo = 29
Perth = 29
Melbourne = 28
Darling Downs = 25
Halls Gap = 25
Taronga = 25
Hunter Valley = 23
Monarto = 23
Tasmania = 20
Sydney = 19
Werribee = 19
Wildlife HQ = 17
Gorge = 16
Australia = 13
Crocodylus = 12
Symbio = 8
Zoodoo = 8
Shoalhaven = 8
A couple of caveats. Firstly I had to make a few subjective decisions about what constitutes 'exotic'. I did not include common domesticated animals (llama, goat, horse, alpaca, sheep, rabbit, black rat, guinea pig, cow, dog). However, I did include a number of mammals feral in Australia (camel, water buffalo, wild boar, banteng). I counted hybrid and sumatran orang-utans separately (both are held at Mogo, National and Melbourne). I also counted hybrid and sumatran tigers separately (both are held at Mogo, National, Australia and Sydney). I wasn't sure how to deal with subantarctic fur-seals so I didn't count them (Taronga is the only zoo in this list that holds them). I have only included zoos with five or more exotic mammals.
Secondly, these totals are entirely reliant on the CPOS data, which is supplied by each zoological institution. As such, these totals are only as accurate as the data entered into the system by these institutions.
I hope this is of interest. While Mogo and National have always had great exotic collections, the growth over the last decade of Altina, Darling Downs, Halls Gap, Hunter Valley, Tasmania and Sydney is impressive.
Institutions by no. of exotic mammal species:
Adelaide = 34
Altina = 33
Western Plains = 31
National = 30
Mogo = 29
Perth = 29
Melbourne = 28
Darling Downs = 25
Halls Gap = 25
Taronga = 25
Hunter Valley = 23
Monarto = 23
Tasmania = 20
Sydney = 19
Werribee = 19
Wildlife HQ = 17
Gorge = 16
Australia = 13
Crocodylus = 12
Symbio = 8
Zoodoo = 8
Shoalhaven = 8
A couple of caveats. Firstly I had to make a few subjective decisions about what constitutes 'exotic'. I did not include common domesticated animals (llama, goat, horse, alpaca, sheep, rabbit, black rat, guinea pig, cow, dog). However, I did include a number of mammals feral in Australia (camel, water buffalo, wild boar, banteng). I counted hybrid and sumatran orang-utans separately (both are held at Mogo, National and Melbourne). I also counted hybrid and sumatran tigers separately (both are held at Mogo, National, Australia and Sydney). I wasn't sure how to deal with subantarctic fur-seals so I didn't count them (Taronga is the only zoo in this list that holds them). I have only included zoos with five or more exotic mammals.
Secondly, these totals are entirely reliant on the CPOS data, which is supplied by each zoological institution. As such, these totals are only as accurate as the data entered into the system by these institutions.
I hope this is of interest. While Mogo and National have always had great exotic collections, the growth over the last decade of Altina, Darling Downs, Halls Gap, Hunter Valley, Tasmania and Sydney is impressive.
