Philadelphia Zoo Births, Deaths and Transfers

K

Kevin2342

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Hi everyone! One person on here posted a thread like this for the Toronto Zoo and I will do the same here. All of these happened in the last 4 years(2018-2021)

Births
4 Penguins-Juice, Harper, Realmuto, and Nola
2 Mongoose lemurs-Zoe and unnamed baby
1 Sloth
1 gibbon-Ophelia
1 bird-of-paradise
1 sloth bear-Keematee
5 black and white ruffed lemurs-Bob, Lucas, Connor, Mikey and Olivia
2 Francois langurs-Quy Bao and Lei
2 flamingos-Flaca and unnamed baby
Several goats

Deaths
1 coati-Spiderman
1 lynx-Freya
2 red river hogs-Hamilton and Ruby
1 goat-Polly
1 miniature horse-Flash
2 squirrel monkeys-Coco and Meg
1 Saki monkey-Mona
1 agouti-Karl
1 Sloth-Charlotte
1 Madagascar giant jumping rat-Rosalie
1 stork-Grace
1 Wolf-Rio
1 flamingo-Flaca
1 Alligator-Blackie
1 Andean bear-Rosie
1 Polar bear-Coldilocks
3 Pygmy marmosets-Bo, Pasta and Cali
1 Crimson-rumped toucanet
1 Great blue turaco
2 Red-whiskered bulbuls
4 Chinese hwameis
1 Yellow rat snake
1 Milksnake
1 Red diamond rattlesnake
1 African bullfrog
1 beaded lizard
1 Western banded gecko
1 forest cobra
1 emerald tree boa


Notable transfers
2 rhinoceros hornbills-Bob and Nancy to Atlanta
1 Brown spider monkey-Desi to Europe
1 One-toed amphiuma
1 Leopard-Kavan
3 eyelash vipers
1 condor-Princess
1 porcupine-Ginsu
1 mini horse-Dusty
1 Orangutan-Batu to Seattle(probably Woodland park Zoo)
1 East African gaboon viper
1 Tortoise-Bubba to California
1 Chinese alligator-Rocky to Florida
2 Pygmy marmosets-Beni and Pasta
4 Red pandas-Spark, Yeren, Ping Jing and Benjamin
 
Any idea what facility in California they shipped Aldabra giant tortoise Bubba to?
(I have overheard somewhere he is injured or something and was the principal reason the Galapagos giants could not be bred ...?)
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
Any idea what facility in California they shipped Aldabra giant tortoise Bubba to?
(I have overheard somewhere he is injured or something and was the principal reason the Galapagos giants could not be bred ...?)
Click to expand...
No idea, and how did you hear he’s injured? What happened to him? Is he ok? He might be very old since we’re not sure…
 
Updated List Philadelphia Zoo Deaths in the last couple years(since 2018)
These following species the zoo no longer keeps:
2 saddle-billed storks- Will and Grace
1 crimson-rumped toucanet- Dusty
0.1 Emerald tree boa
1.0 blue-bellied roller
1 alligator-Blackie
1 coati-Spiderman
1 lynx-Freya
1 agouti-Karl
3 Pygmy marmosets-Bo, Pasta and Cali
1 polar bear-Coldilocks
1 western banded gecko
1 yellow rat snake
1 Anderson’s salamander
1 red diamond rattlesnake
2 forest cobras(1.1)
2 pumas-Sage and Cinnabar
1 Douc langur-Toi

These species are not on exhibit but they might have more behind the scenes.
1.0 Blue poison dart frog(idk if the zoo has any behind the scenes)
1 conant’s milksnake(idk if any behind the scenes)
1 Black-tailed rattlesnake
0.1 blue tongued skink(idk any behind the scenes)

These species the zoo still keeps:
1 Miniature horse-Flash
4 goats-Noah, Patrick, Polly and another Arapawa(idk it’s name)
1.0 Mexican beaded lizard
0.1 Solomon Island tree boa
1 Pig-nosed turtle-Meatball(the zoo still has one behind the scenes)
1 Victoria crowned pigeon-Mary
1 Andean bear-Rosie
2 Red river hogs-Hamilton and Ruby
At least 2 ducks, idk how many the zoo has lost.
2 red-whiskered bulbuls
0.1 metallic starling
3 or 4 penguins-Pinto, Winkie and idk the others names
1.0 golden-breasted starling
1 flamingo-Flaca
1 kangaroo-Dan
1 sloth-Charlotte
1 Wolf-Rio
1 Saki monkey-Mona
1 baby orangutan
1 Madagascar giant jumping rat-Rosalie
2 squirrel monkeys-Coco and Meg
1.0 African bullfrog(there is still one behind the scenes)
Many budgies in kidzoo, not sure how many but only 4 left behind the scenes

That’s all I can think of, quite a lot of animals lost within nearly four years. More than 60 animals so we’re losing more than 20 a year.
 
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Kevin2342 said:
Updated List Philadelphia Zoo Deaths in the last couple years(since 2018)
These following species the zoo no longer keeps:
2 saddle-billed storks- Will and Grace
1 crimson-rumped toucanet- Dusty
0.1 Emerald tree boa
1.0 blue-bellied roller
1 alligator-Blackie
1 coati-Spiderman
1 lynx-Freya
1 agouti-Karl
3 Pygmy marmosets-Bo, Pasta and Cali
1 polar bear-Coldilocks
1 western banded gecko
1 yellow rat snake
1 Anderson’s salamander
1 red diamond rattlesnake
2 forest cobras(1.1)
2 pumas-Sage and Cinnabar
1 Douc langur-Toi
1.0 Blue poison dart frog(idk if the zoo has any behind the scenes)
1 conant’s milksnake(idk if any behind the scenes)
1 Black-tailed rattlesnake

These species the zoo still keeps:
1 Miniature horse-Flash
4 goats-Noah, Patrick, Polly and another Arapawa(idk it’s name)
1.0 Mexican beaded lizard
0.1 Solomon Island tree boa
1 Pig-nosed turtle-Meatball(the zoo still has one behind the scenes)
1 Victoria crowned pigeon-Mary
1 Andean bear-Rosie
2 Red river hogs-Hamilton and Ruby
At least 2 ducks, idk how many the zoo has lost.
2 red-whiskered bulbuls
0.1 metallic starling
3 or 4 penguins-Pinto, Winkie and idk the others names
1.0 golden-breasted starling
1 flamingo-Flaca
1 kangaroo-Dan
1 sloth-Charlotte
1 Wolf-Rio
1 Otter-Nina
1 baby orangutan
1.0 African bullfrog(there is still one behind the scenes)
That’s all I can think of, quite a lot of animals lost within three years.
Click to expand...
@Kevin2342 do you know what happened to the pumas?
 
Animallover360 said:
@Kevin2342 do you know what happened to the pumas?
Click to expand...
Sage and Cinnabar, the two females, both died within three years. Dakota was showing signs of depression so he was moved to another zoo. Both females didn’t wake up from procedures and were not euthanized, Cinnabar had a surgery and Sage was examined for kidney failure. They first didn’t want to move Dakota due to his age. The same person formerly in Guest Engagement said Dakota was still there, but he’s not anymore because earlier this fall someone told me he already left. The pumas were often not on exhibit as they got older, presumably due to their age. There have been people on here a while ago(when Dakota and Sage were still here) that mistakened that the zoo no longer had pumas at that point already.
 
Kevin2342 said:
Updated List Philadelphia Zoo Deaths in the last couple years(since 2018)
These following species the zoo no longer keeps:
2 saddle-billed storks- Will and Grace
1 crimson-rumped toucanet- Dusty
0.1 Emerald tree boa
1.0 blue-bellied roller
1 alligator-Blackie
1 coati-Spiderman
1 lynx-Freya
1 agouti-Karl
3 Pygmy marmosets-Bo, Pasta and Cali
1 polar bear-Coldilocks
1 western banded gecko
1 yellow rat snake
1 Anderson’s salamander
1 red diamond rattlesnake
2 forest cobras(1.1)
2 pumas-Sage and Cinnabar
1 Douc langur-Toi

These species are not on exhibit but they might have more behind the scenes.
1.0 Blue poison dart frog(idk if the zoo has any behind the scenes)
1 conant’s milksnake(idk if any behind the scenes)
1 Black-tailed rattlesnake
0.1 blue tongued skink(idk any behind the scenes)

These species the zoo still keeps:
1 Miniature horse-Flash
4 goats-Noah, Patrick, Polly and another Arapawa(idk it’s name)
1.0 Mexican beaded lizard
0.1 Solomon Island tree boa
1 Pig-nosed turtle-Meatball(the zoo still has one behind the scenes)
1 Victoria crowned pigeon-Mary
1 Andean bear-Rosie
2 Red river hogs-Hamilton and Ruby
At least 2 ducks, idk how many the zoo has lost.
2 red-whiskered bulbuls
0.1 metallic starling
3 or 4 penguins-Pinto, Winkie and idk the others names
1.0 golden-breasted starling
1 flamingo-Flaca
1 kangaroo-Dan
1 sloth-Charlotte
1 Wolf-Rio
1 Saki monkey-Mona
1 baby orangutan
1 Madagascar giant jumping rat-Rosalie
2 squirrel monkeys-Coco and Meg
1.0 African bullfrog(there is still one behind the scenes)
Many budgies in kidzoo, not sure how many but only 4 left behind the scenes

That’s all I can think of, quite a lot of animals lost within nearly four years. More than 60 animals so we’re losing more than 20 a year.
Click to expand...
Reflecting overall, that’s quite a lot of animals lost, since it’s been 3.11 years we’re losing over 20 animals a year. Many of Philly Zoos animals are so old, I feel like a lot more than other zoos. It’s a very old zoo so it should be part of the reason.

One correction on the black tailed rattlesnake. There are no more anywhere in the zoo, including behind the scenes. The last one died in 2018 at the age of approximately 24, and there was another one who died before that.
 
Kevin2342 said:
Reflecting overall, that’s quite a lot of animals lost, since it’s been 3.11 years we’re losing over 20 animals a year. Many of Philly Zoos animals are so old, I feel like a lot more than other zoos. It’s a very old zoo so it should be part of the reason.
Click to expand...

That's really not that many. For example, LA Zoo's monthly animal reports usually have 2-8+ individual transfers out and 10-20 individual deaths. This is offset from anywhere from a handful to a large number of births. If you average it to say 20 individual animals a month out, that's a loss of 240 animals a year. But they're also actively breeding many species so it evens out.
Most zoos have a fairly stable low rate of turnover, especially if they hold many shorter lived species.
 
Great Argus said:
That's really not that many. For example, LA Zoo's monthly animal reports usually have 2-8+ individual transfers out and 10-20 individual deaths. This is offset from anywhere from a handful to a large number of births. If you average it to say 20 individual animals a month out, that's a loss of 240 animals a year. But they're also actively breeding many species so it evens out.
Most zoos have a fairly stable low rate of turnover, especially if they hold many shorter lived species.
Click to expand...
We are losing more than 20 animals a year because there are some im not sure how many have died and if I’m not sure on the animals passing it’s not on this list. For instance Simon the Mexican porcupine is not on here because I’m not 100 percent sure. But still definitely not 240. I don’t know how your zoo is losing 240 a year. That’s crazy. They must have even way more old animals than Philly.

I forgot to include Haitian anole on the list. Haitian galliwasp is not on the list because I don’t know what happened to it, but it was there in January 2021 according to one of the zoos Facebook posts. But by June 2021 when the Reptile House was opened the sign has been removed.

The whole reason I created this thread was because a regular Toronto Zoo visitor did one for the Toronto Zoo, and since I am a regular visitor at Philadelphia Zoo, I decided to do one as well.
 
Kevin2342 said:
We are losing more than 20 animals a year because there are some im not sure how many have died and if I’m not sure on the animals passing it’s not on this list. For instance Simon the Mexican porcupine is not on here because I’m not 100 percent sure.
Click to expand...

Okay, but some days ago you posted a eulogy of sorts to a snake that you later found to still be alive... So I'm a little confused there.

Kevin2342 said:
But still definitely not 240. I don’t know how your zoo is losing 240 a year. That’s crazy. They must have even way more old animals than Philly.
Click to expand...

I was including transfers in that, since you seem to count it as a loss... Big zoos have a lot of turnover in small species; many of those deaths are relatively small animals, not big ones. Many don't live more than 5-10 years on average. Also not all the animals are old either, infant mortality is still a problem, and illness too can be a factor. Also not every animal lives to extreme age either.
 
Great Argus said:
Okay, but some days ago you posted a eulogy of sorts to a snake that you later found to still be alive... So I'm a little confused there.



I was including transfers in that, since you seem to count it as a loss... Big zoos have a lot of turnover in small species; many of those deaths are relatively small animals, not big ones. Many don't live more than 5-10 years on average. Also not all the animals are old either, infant mortality is still a problem, and illness too can be a factor. Also not every animal lives to extreme age either.
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I do not count transfers as a loss, all the animals on the list are deaths in the last few years.

The timber rattlesnake is alive so I did not put it in here. I never got evidence that he died and that was just a speculation since he was off exhibit. I have evidence he is alive and well since he returned to his habitat.
 
Kevin2342 said:
I do not count transfers as a loss, all the animals on the list are deaths in the last few years.
Click to expand...
Where do you get your figure of "more than 60 animals lost" then? Your two lists of "deaths" only equals 44 animals.
 
Chlidonias said:
Where do you get your figure of "more than 60 animals lost" then? Your two lists of "deaths" only equals 44 animals.
Click to expand...

If you add the list of notable transfers to the deaths, it adds up to 65 animals. Which is why I thought he included transfers. So I'm curious to where the other animals come from as well.
 
Great Argus said:
If you add the list of notable transfers to the deaths, it adds up to 65 animals. Which is why I thought he included transfers. So I'm curious to where the other animals come from as well.
Click to expand...
Actually, looking back at the posts - and this was not at all clear to me - in post #4 I realise now that the list for "These species the zoo still keeps" are also deaths. So all the numbers in that post total about 60.
 
Chlidonias said:
Actually, looking back at the posts - and this was not at all clear to me - in post #4 I realise now that the list for "These species the zoo still keeps" are also deaths. So all the numbers in that post total about 60.
Click to expand...
The “at least 20 animals a year” was because there were more than 60 animals total on my list, but some were not sure of the exact numbers like the budgies and ducks. Many may have died within the past few years. However I did get evidence that they have lost quite a few but I never got evidence of the exact number. Also there are some animals that may not be on the list because either I’m not aware of their death, or they are behind-the-scenes animals.
 
Hi Kevin2342,

Philadelphia is also our "home" zoo. We live an hour north in upper Bucks County. The zoo webisite used to be very helpful in keeping track of the individual animals, listing names, birth dates, etc. I used to check it at least once a month. We also used to visit almost every month. Alas, the current website is virtually worthless. Where are you able to find your information?
 
kitnkat58 said:
Hi Kevin2342,

Philadelphia is also our "home" zoo. We live an hour north in upper Bucks County. The zoo webisite used to be very helpful in keeping track of the individual animals, listing names, birth dates, etc. I used to check it at least once a month. We also used to visit almost every month. Alas, the current website is virtually worthless. Where are you able to find your information?
Click to expand...
I keep in touch with a bunch of zoo employees and i can also remember the animals from the old website
 
Philadelphia zoo used to post of the animal names on their webpage; I wonder if they still do?
 
Philadelphia Zoo Births, Deaths and Transfers 2023
Births
2 sloth bears- Kelce and Harper
2 penguins- Topper and unnamed female(who passed away unfortunately)
2 golden-breasted starlings- Goose and unnamed chick(who also passed away unfortunately)

Deaths
1 zebra- Laura
1 golden lion tamarin- Dorito
1 pied tamarin- Chip
1 cattle egret
1 green tree python
1 black tree monitor
1 red-capped mangabey- Storm
1 white stork- Pugsley
1 Temminck’s tragopan
2 penguins- Sushi and unnamed chick
1 golden-breasted starling
5 meerkats- Ari, Nkosi, Nya, Kgala and Lula
1 snow leopard- Maya
1 Amur leopard- Nelkan
1 duck
5 goats- Buckley, Spunky, Dale, Chance and Sage
1 Jacob sheep
1 Royal Palm turkey
3 roosters- Bruce, Roy and Hay
1 barn owl- Alba
1 Madagascar giant jumping rat- Edward
1 degu- Tony
1 ivory-billed aracari- Billy
1 eclectus parrot- Ruby
1 sidewinder rattlesnake
1 uromastyx
1 hellbender
1 fire belly toad
1 Mertens water monitor
1 radiated tortoise- Rhonda
1 great Argus- Fefe
1 violaceous turaco
1 Madagascar teal
1 Nicobar pigeon

Species that the zoo lost in 2023(because last individual died)
Radiated tortoise
Uromastyx
Hellbender
Eclectus parrot
Sidewinder rattlesnake
Meerkat
Ivory-billed aracari
Madagascar giant jumping rat
Red-capped mangabey
Cattle egret
Violaceous turaco
Degu
 
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