Same species in different parts of the zoo

elefante

elefante

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
How common is it to exhibit widespread species in different parts of the zoo? For example, keeping gray wolves in a North American and Asian-themed area? I seem to remember seeing this in Omaha but can't remember what species they were. What do you think of this in zoos? It seems like there is lots of educational value to me since it can illustrate how widespread some species are. It could also be effective since different subspecies could be exhibit, for example Mexican wolves and larger gray wolves.
 
Probably quite common but more to keep solitary animals away from each other apart from mating season, and to stop unwanted breeding and potential conflict in large groups, rather than as a geographical exhibit.
 
elefante said:
How common is it to exhibit widespread species in different parts of the zoo? For example, keeping gray wolves in a North American and Asian-themed area? I seem to remember seeing this in Omaha but can't remember what species they were. What do you think of this in zoos? It seems like there is lots of educational value to me since it can illustrate how widespread some species are. It could also be effective since different subspecies could be exhibit, for example Mexican wolves and larger gray wolves.
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Omaha has fossa in kingdoms of night and outside the madagascar building, and klipspringer in desert dome and then outside at the beginning of the africa section.

Toronto has tigers in both Indo-Malaya (Sumatran) and Eurasia Wilds (Amur).

Smithsonian has sloths (and aracaris) in the small mammal house and amazonia, but the amazonia ones are never seen.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any others in AZA that are split, especially based on region. Cheetahs are sometimes split, but that's between a regular exhibit and an ambassador/cheetah run area.
Non-AZA zoos tend to have species split but it's not due to regions.
 
There is a lot of benefit to a zoo housing multiple pairs or groups of the same species if they are serious about breeding them. With mate-selective species, such as cheetahs or psittacines, it makes it possible to quickly and relatively easily switch up pairs that prove not to be compatible until you finally find good matches. This is often done off-exhibit so as not to disturb breeding, but there's room for individuals on display also.
 
elefante said:
I seem to remember seeing this in Omaha but can't remember what species they were.
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In addition to what Tinopup said, I distinctly remember seeing Meerkats in both the Desert Dome and the newer Africa Grasslands exhibit and Francois Langurs in both Orangutan Forest and Lied Jungle during my Aug. 2017 visit.

The NC Zoo has Ostriches in both their Forest's Edge and Watani Grasslands Reserve exhibits (both exhibits represent slightly different biomes).

While zoos could do this to show how widespread some animals are, I have also seen this be used to provide a particular species with extra space, especially if they have a large population of a particular species or if they have individuals that cannot be housed together (like the aforementioned NC ostriches iirc).
 
Astrotom3000 said:
In addition to what Tinopup said, I distinctly remember seeing Meerkats in both the Desert Dome and the newer Africa Grasslands exhibit and Francois Langurs in both Orangutan Forest and Lied Jungle during my Aug. 2017 visit.

The NC Zoo has Ostriches in both their Forest's Edge and Watani Grasslands Reserve exhibits (both exhibits represent slightly different biomes).

While zoos could do this to show how widespread some animals are, I have also seen this be used to provide a particular species with extra space, especially if they have a large population of a particular species or if they have individuals that cannot be housed together (like the aforementioned NC ostriches iirc).
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Do ostriches not get along with other animals? I've seen them housed with multiple hoofstock species. Or is it a case of separating males and females?
 
elefante said:
Do ostriches not get along with other animals? I've seen them housed with multiple hoofstock species. Or is it a case of separating males and females?
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Both splitting sexes, and it's not unusual for them to have big personalities and to pick on hoofstock.
 
I've seen it happen a lot. At Safari Zoo Cumbria in the north of England, a few years ago they had a big expansion adding a huge African savannah enclosure with giraffes, rhinoceros, zebras, nyala and wildebeest living together. However, on the opposite end of the zoo, they still have giraffes in the older enclosure where rhinos also used to live with them. So they have two separate giraffe houses on opposite ends of the site, albeit different sub-species. The ones on the older enclosure are West African giraffes, and the ones in the newer savannah enclosure are a mixed herd of Rothschild's and Kordofan giraffes.
 
There have been cases of six or eight different meerkat exhibits in a zoo. Would even the most fanatical meerkat enthusiast be that interested in so many exhibits?
 
I didn't realise this until I looked at the map on their website the other day, but Chester Zoo now has orangutans in two different areas, on opposite ends of the site. Sumatran orangutans in their Indonesian Islands zone, and Bornean orangutans in the "Realm of the Red Ape" exhibit in another area.
 
Well... a zoo that is very famous for having 1 species in different enclosures in the park is the Rotterdam Zoo. They have 2 enclosures with tufted deer, 3 bali myna enclosures, 2 ring-tailed lemurs enclosures and also different enclosures for Antillean iguanas. And in the future they might also have 2 enclosures for red pandas, I think that is a bit too much and they can keep the animals they 'have too much' behind the scenes instead of keeping them in another enclosure in the park, the ring tailed lemurs for example could easily be replaced by another species of lemur in 1 of the 2 locations were they're keeped in the zoo.
 
From what I remember when I visited in early 2019, San Diego Zoo has Amur Leopards both in their Africa Rocks exhibit as well as elsewhere nearer to the old Giant Panda exhibit. This is due to the zoo replacing African Leopards with Amur as most AZA facilities do.
 
I know that this isn't a case of having an animal with a big geograpic range being exhibited in two different exhibits, but Bronx has tigers in the Wild Asia Monorail and in Tiger Mountain.
 
Bronx also has red pandas in both Himalayan Highlands and the Wild Asia Monorail.

Detroit (as of 2020 anyways) housed their red pandas in two habitats, the main one in Asian Forest and one behind the grizzly bear habitat.

Detroit also has follow deer in both Asian Forest with the camels and American Grasslands with the guanacos, pronghorn, peccaries, and white-lipped deer.
 
Jambi said:
I didn't realise this until I looked at the map on their website the other day, but Chester Zoo now has orangutans in two different areas, on opposite ends of the site. Sumatran orangutans in their Indonesian Islands zone, and Bornean orangutans in the "Realm of the Red Ape" exhibit in another area.
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Bornean and Sumatran orang-utans are now classified as separate species.
 
evilmonkey239 said:
Bronx also has red pandas in both Himalayan Highlands and the Wild Asia Monorail.

Detroit (as of 2020 anyways) housed their red pandas in two habitats, the main one in Asian Forest and one behind the grizzly bear habitat.

Detroit also has follow deer in both Asian Forest with the camels and American Grasslands with the guanacos, pronghorn, peccaries, and white-lipped deer.
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I didn't see fallow deer there this summer. But I do remember them in the African plains exhibit and South America one. I don't remember seeing pronghorn ever.
 
evilmonkey239 said:
Bronx also has red pandas in both Himalayan Highlands and the Wild Asia Monorail.

Detroit (as of 2020 anyways) housed their red pandas in two habitats, the main one in Asian Forest and one behind the grizzly bear habitat.

Detroit also has follow deer in both Asian Forest with the camels and American Grasslands with the guanacos, pronghorn, peccaries, and white-lipped deer.
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When did Detroit get peccaries and what species are they?
 
Minnesota Zoo has Przewalski’s Horse in two different areas on the Northern Trail, along with Great-Horned Owls in both the North American Porcupine & Red Fox exhibits.
Hemker Park & Zoo has Rocky Mountain Goats both in front of the West Caucasian Tur exhibit & mixed with the Dalls Sheep.
Safari North Wildlife Park has Nilgai in two or three exhibits across the park.
 
Detroit had Collared peccaries, but as far as I know they’ve been phased out for awhile now.

Wanted to note that sometimes its also due to space requirements which is why animals of the same species would also be split to other parts of the zoo.
 
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