Species you wish your local zoo(s) still have.

Brookfield zoo:
Aardvark
Caracal
Rock Hyrax
Southern Cassowary
Walrus
There are a lot more really

Lincoln Park Zoo:
The cats that left for the lion house renovation, hopefully some will return

St.Louis Zoo:
Tuatara
Sloth Bear
Chinese Giant Salamander
Cuban Crocodile
 
Neil chace said:
Roger Williams never had vampire bats- are you thinking of the jamaican fruit bats?

Personally for Roger Williams I'd like to see returning-
Polar Bear
Arctic Fox
Humboldt Penguin
Chinese Alligator
African Wild Dog
Jamaican Fruit Bat
Grey Kangaroo
Green Aracari
Northern Tree Shrew
Dexter Cattle
Click to expand...

Yes I was thinking of the Jamaican Fruit Bats i was confused with Beardsley which has vampire bats. I completely forgot about the penguins.
 
These are eleven species I would bring back to Colchester Zoo that I remember with the locations I would house them:

1. Asian palm civet – In an actual enclosure rather than as a show animal; other places have mixed them with binturong and Asian small-clawed otters successfully, so I would try it in the Colchester mixed exhibit – if that is not workable, they could live in the old red panda enclosure viewable from the bridge

2. Barbary striped grass mouse – These were kept in one of the small glass enclosures in the petting barn before it was converted to the koi carp exhibit; I would keep a group of these in one of the larger glass-fronted displays in Kingdom of the Wild

3. Dalmatian pelican – I would move some of these back into their former space, on the Pelican Island in the largest of the zoo’s lakes

4-5. Dwarf mongoose and Von der Decken’s hornbill – The mongooses originally lived in the Small Mammal House while the hornbills lived in a mixed aviary elsewhere; I would have a new mixed aviary for these species created somewhere in the African section – either Edge of Africa or near Kingdom of the Wild

6. Eastern pygmy marmoset – I could have chosen any of the fairly recently-departed callitrichids, such as the silvery marmoset, Goeldi’s monkey or either the emperor or white-lipped tamarins, but I could imagine the pygmy marmosets fitting in with the golden lion tamarins and sloths in the Worlds Apart walkthrough

7. Keel-billed toucan – Originally lived in the old crowned pigeon aviary in Penguin Shores; I would move these into a refurbished aviary on the site of the old Parrot Rock

8. King baboon spider – I clearly remember this being in one of the terraria in Kingdom of the Wild; unless something has changed over the latest lockdown, this building now no longer has any invertebrates – this would be one of my favoured choices to return

9. Margay – For a long time, these lived in an enclosure now demolished for the Amur leopard exhibit; I would keep these in the now empty scarlet ibis aviary along the Inca Trail, as it is tall enough to allow a view of them at eye level while climbing

10. Montserrat oriole – Originally lived in the old crowned pigeon aviary in Penguin Shores (replacing the toucans); I would like to see them in a standalone outside aviary, possibly in the Familiar Friends section

11. Red-rumped agouti – Bringing these back and keeping them mixed with the squirrels monkeys in Heart of the Amazon, as they used to be kept

Also, these are five species that were at Colchester that I never saw, either because they were before my time or because they remained off-show - again the location of why I would keep them is included:

1. Dwarf seahorse – These arrived in 2006 from a customs seizure, but I don’t think they ever went on show; I would probably replace the rather uninspiring aquarium by the dart frogs in Worlds Apart with a group of these

2. Fanaloka – No detail on Zootierliste on when they arrived at or departed from Colchester, with the only information being they did not breed; I would put these in a new enclosure on the site of the old Snakes and Lizards building next to the mangabeys

3. Greater grison – Was kept at Colchester at least around the beginning of the 1960s; I would put these into a refurbished enclosure that incorporates one of the old bear dens near to the Inca Trail

4. Himalayan monal pheasant – Was kept at Colchester at least in 1976; I would convert one of the bird of prey aviaries in World of Wings (either condor or king vulture) into a temperate Asian aviary, where these pheasants could be kept with smaller songbirds as well

5. Lowland paca – Was kept at Colchester at least around the beginnings of the 1960s; I would keep these mixed with a primate – possibly the yellow-breasted capuchins, as these two species have been kept together at Berlin Tierpark
 
ChunkyMunky pengopus said:
Brookfield zoo:
Aardvark
Caracal
Rock Hyrax
Southern Cassowary
Walrus
There are a lot more really

Lincoln Park Zoo:
The cats that left for the lion house renovation, hopefully some will return

St.Louis Zoo:
Tuatara
Sloth Bear
Chinese Giant Salamander
Cuban Crocodile
Click to expand...
Saint Louis does still have Tuatara bts.
 
birdsandbats said:
Saint Louis does still have Tuatara bts.
Click to expand...
imaginarius said:
Just found out STL no longer has tuataras, which is saddening. They were off-exhibit but still there for many years, until recently.

Other older, historic species no longer kept that I would like to see again are the Komodo dragon, Chinese giant salamander, koala, walrus, sloth bear, Cuban crocodile, and giant panda.
Click to expand...

Given their long lifespan I hope this isn't true
 
I did make a list earlier but it wasn't very extensive so I am going to redo it
San Diego Zoo
New Guinea Singing Dogs
Mongolian Wolf
African Painted Dog
Chinese Dhole
Siberian Lynx
North Chinese Leopard
Persian Leopard
Ussuri Black Bear
Kodiak Bear
Panda Bear
Himalyan Goral
East Cuacasian Tur
Spanish Ibex
Spotted Hyena
Snow Sheep
Mishmi Takin
Giant Forest Hog
Zulu Suni
Wisent
Pampas Deer
Forest Buffalo
Steppe Polecat
Banded Mongoose
Kiwi
Tiger Quoll
Sumatran Rhino
Eurasian Otter
Bushpig
Pine Marten
Douc Langur
L'host's Guenon

I am aware this isn't very feisable with many of these animals no longer being present in North American collections, but it would be great if the zoo housed these animals again.
 
At my local zoo, (the Fort Worth Zoo) I don’t believe they removed many species, but I do remember the koalas that were on loan from the San Diego Zoo. Man, I miss those guys.
 
Zoo Tampa/Lowry Park Zoo has had a few animals that I miss now. I really liked the temporary loans of the Red Pandas and Tasmanian Devils.

Permanent animals that I miss are the Persian Leopards, Naked Mole Rats, Asian Elephants, Cheetah, sloth bear, red kangaroos, and American Bison.

That said, while I miss the animals, some were replaced by animals I like better.
Persian Leopards - Clouded Leopards
Naked Mole Rats - area (Childrens Zoo) demolished and made into much larger Australian area
Asian Elephants - the exhibit is not suitable for elephants
Cheetah - African Painted Dogs
Sloth bear - Sun Bear
Red Kangaroo - Outback Australia Area closed (now storage and parking)
American Bison - replaced with a water flume ride, sadly.
 
Last edited:
Kudu21 said:
They did go out of them for awhile. They brought them back around 2018-ish when they imported a male from Berlin with the golden takin that are now on exhibit. They also still have their Sichuan takin herd behind the scenes as well.
Click to expand...
Ok so let me make sure I have this right, when panda canyon opened it had Sichuan takins until they were replaced in 2020 by golden takins, or do the golden takins and Sichuan takins share the exhibit?
 
Westcoastperson said:
Ok so let me make sure I have this right, when panda canyon opened it had Sichuan takins until they were replaced in 2020 by golden takins, or do the golden takins and Sichuan takins share the exhibit?
Click to expand...
The golden takins replaced the Sichuan takins on exhibit in Panda Canyon. The Sichuan takin herd was moved behind the scenes.
 
Lincoln Park Zoo used to have a ton of animals that I wish they still had:

African/Asian elephants (though I understand the lack of space means it'd be difficult to house them)
South American tapir
Warthog (replaced by the red river hog)
Sable antelope
Arabian oryx
Waterbuck (they had them for a few years when I wasn't living in Chicago and I missed them)
Spotted hyena (same as above; had them for a few years before sending them away)
Koala (though as I understand it they're incredibly difficult to care for in zoos)
Cheetah
Maned wolf
Orangutan
African porcupine (they had one very, very briefly when the African Journey exhibit opened)
Rock hyrax (another species that was in African Journey but didn't last too long for some reason)
Mandrill/Drill
Pygmy marmoset
Afghan leopard (Christian, their longtime Afghan leopard, passed away about a decade ago due to old age)

And Brookfield has a number I wish they still had:
African/Asian elephant
Ibex
Nile hippo
Walrus (I want to say they got rid of their last ones in the early 2000s; I did see one around 1997)
 
Burger's zoo

They used to have a nocturnal house, with white-bellied pangolins! There are no pictures of it, sadly. But I always love nocturnal houses. I've sadly only seen one, however
 
ChunkyMunky pengopus said:
Brookfield zoo:
Aardvark
Caracal
Rock Hyrax
Southern Cassowary
Walrus
There are a lot more really
Click to expand...

This. The Aardvark House is still collecting dust to this day. Either they should demolish it or try borrowing some Aardvarks from another zoo.

PAKMan said:
Lincoln Park Zoo used to have a ton of animals that I wish they still had:

African/Asian elephants (though I understand the lack of space means it'd be difficult to house them)
South American tapir
Warthog (replaced by the red river hog)
Sable antelope
Arabian oryx
Waterbuck (they had them for a few years when I wasn't living in Chicago and I missed them)
Spotted hyena (same as above; had them for a few years before sending them away)
Koala (though as I understand it they're incredibly difficult to care for in zoos)
Cheetah
Maned wolf
Orangutan
African porcupine (they had one very, very briefly when the African Journey exhibit opened)
Rock hyrax (another species that was in African Journey but didn't last too long for some reason)
Mandrill/Drill
Pygmy marmoset
Afghan leopard (Christian, their longtime Afghan leopard, passed away about a decade ago due to old age)

And Brookfield has a number I wish they still had:
African/Asian elephant
Ibex
Nile hippo
Walrus (I want to say they got rid of their last ones in the early 2000s; I did see one around 1997)
Click to expand...

Fact of the matter is that Lincoln Park don’t have enough space for too many animals. They only have the option of rotating them or just downsizing some existing exhibits. That one holding pen for one male Grevy’s Zebra could easily be used for another animal for example.

On the Brookfield side of things, they should give Nile Hippos another shot and refill the old pool. Walruses have this issue where their breeding is just too unsuccessful in the US. It gets depressing just seeing the Olga statue every time.

As for elephants, they should just tear down half of the hooftstock yard, that way a new elephant exhibit can house a whole herd. It’s so easily of a solution yet they never did it due to less funding than Lincoln Park, who gets all the donors.
 
Tapir Master said:
This. The Aardvark House is still collecting dust to this day. Either they should demolish it or try borrowing some Aardvarks from another zoo.



Fact of the matter is that Lincoln Park don’t have enough space for too many animals. They only have the option of rotating them or just downsizing some existing exhibits. That one holding pen for one male Grevy’s Zebra could easily be used for another animal for example.

On the Brookfield side of things, they should give Nile Hippos another shot and refill the old pool. Walruses have this issue where their breeding is just too unsuccessful in the US. It gets depressing just seeing the Olga statue every time.

As for elephants, they should just tear down half of the hooftstock yard, that way a new elephant exhibit can house a whole herd. It’s so easily of a solution yet they never did it due to less funding than Lincoln Park, who gets all the donors.
Click to expand...
Its been a number of years since I've been to Lincoln Park, but some of the species listed seem reasonable. Obviously elephants are not, but I could easily see:
- tapir, some of the other hoofstock, and even maned wolves would possibly work in that area behind the primates with the various hoofstock paddocks. I forget what species I saw back there other than takin.
- koala and hyrax could easily be exhibited in Small Mammal-Reptile House.
- Mandrills could easily return to Primate House or possibly an addition to African Journey.
-Pygmy Marmosets are an easy addition that could work in either Primate or Small Mammal-Reptile.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top