5 Must See Species Before You Die

Giant Eland said:
The time has once again come to update these lists!

In June I spent 10 grueling days in Ujung Kulon, Java but only managed footprints and dung of my #1 species. I did get a nice captive surprise later in the trip from my honorable mentions list! I also had the privilege of seeing and photographing 3 Red Colobus species on my Uganda/Kenya trip in early 2021.


When I last left off:

1. Javan Rhino (almost!)
2. Indri
3. Saola
4. Beaked Whale (any species)
5. Narwhal

Honorable mentions for:

1. Marsupial Mole
2. Red Colobus (3 species!) :p
3. Dingiso
4. Water Chevrotain
5. Otter Civet :cool:
6. Chiru

So the top 5 remains the same and I'll cap honorable mentions at 5 now:

Honorable mentions update:

1. Marsupial Mole
2. Dingiso
3. Water Chevrotain
4. Pink Fairy Armadillo
5. Chiru
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I was looking forward to your Ujung Kulon trip, since the Podcast episode. So you saw Otter Civet ? This is equaly amazing !
 
twilighter said:
I was looking forward to your Ujung Kulon trip, since the Podcast episode. So you saw Otter Civet ? This is equaly amazing !
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Ah very cool! Happy you listen to the pod!

Yes I saw an Otter Civet! Was so thrilled!!

WalkingAgnatha said:
I assume this was the V. Dinets trip? Were the otter civets the captive lifer? If so what zoo was it?

Also what podcast was this?
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Indeed it was the V. Dinets trip. Otter Civet was a captive lifer and at Batu Secret Zoo.

Podcast - Mammal Watching scroll down to "Episode 13: Alex Meyer & Tomer Ben-Yehuda"

Episode 10: Martin Royle also talks about it, as it's his tour company that runs the tour.
 
zoomaniac said:
Species I would like to see in ZOOS or AQUARIAS:

1. Golden snub nosed monkey
2. Zebraduiker or Jentinks Duiker
3. Pangolin (any species)
4. Numbat
5. Great White Shark

Species I would like to see in the WILD:

1. Tiger
2. Mountain Gorilla
3. Leopard
4. Elephant Seal (any species)
5. Great White Shark (in the water, but from a safe cage of course:))
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Luckily, I can update my list because I have seen Pangolins at Zoo Leipzig and San Diego Zoo and (Northern) Elephant Seal on the coast of California.

So for zoos and aquarias it is now:
1. Golden snub nosed monkey
2. Zebraduiker or Jentinks Duiker (although I presume this must happen in an African Rehab Center).
3. Numbat
4. Great White Shark
5. Giant Armadillo

For "in the wild":
1. Tiger
2. Mountain Gorilla
3. Leopard
4. Red Colobus (any species, maybe Sansibar prefered)
5. Great White Shark
 
In order of priority:

Shoebill
Red-shanked Douc Langur
African Manatee
Eastern Gorilla (Any subspecies)
Any of the Galapagos Iguana species
 
1. African elephant. This one should be relatively easy, as there are a handful of zoos in the UK that do have them, I've just never been to any.
2. Bottlenose dolphin. This one might be tricky, I'd have to go abroad because as far as I can tell there are no UK collections that have them. I've been thinking of getting a ferry to the Netherlands some time within the next few years, and if I do, I may try visiting the Dolfinarium in Haderwijck.
3. Any type of manatee. Again this will be a hard one, as nowhere in the UK keeps manatees either from what I've seen. Again, I may have to squeeze in a visit to Burgers Zoo if I go to the Netherlands.
4. Saltwater crocodile. Like the African elephant, there are a small handful of zoos in the UK that have them, but they'd all be a pain to get to from where I live.
5. Orca. This is a hard one in a moral sense, as I don't believe orca are suited for captivity and they shouldn't really be kept in aquariums, but it's still a species I want to see at least once before I die.
 
Blackduiker said:
Being that many of our fellow ZooChaters are quite young, this might not sound like such a daunting task. However, for some of us older members (I'll be 57 this May), it will take a bit more effort on our parts. So to start things off, here are 5 of my must see species, in no particular order:

Platypus
Mountain Gorilla
Whale Shark
Indri
Giant Armadillo
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So all of these revolve around the Monterey Bay Aquarium and their "Into the Deep" Exhibit as I know that they're the only Aquarium and Team (as of right now) that can keep them heatlhy and thriving and on display.

1. Atolla sp. | Tommy Knowles who is on the Jelly Team at the Aquarium said that Atolla and Periphylla species of Jellyfish aren't able to be kept right now since they're extremely sensitive to light and can't be kept with any illumination it sounds like. They're just a super cool species I really want to see

2. Helmet Jellyfish (Periphylla Periphylla) | Same reasoning as the Atolla, they're super sensitive to light. They hope to crack the code in the coming years on how to display them since Red light on a Red Animal isn't the most attractive (although it would be the only possible way in my mind on how to display them) so hopefully they'll be another species we can see on display soon

3. Sea Pigs | So Paul Clarkson who is the Director of Husbandry Operations at the Monterey Bay Aquarium mentioned they did work with Sea Pigs leading up to the exhibit, although they're pretty challenging as they live super far down, and their food is difficult to replicate which he has mentioned on a live stream too. His exact quote is, "No sea pigs for now, folks. Yes, we have worked with them a bit. But they're in the category of "super deep" so present some unique challenges. Additionally, it's difficult to replicate their food source. We hope to work with them again in the future and can hopefully crack that nut at a later time." Just an iconic Deep-sea animal that I'd love to see.

4. Vampire Squid | MBA has displayed 2 to 3 Vampire Squid in the past as apart of Tentacles for a few days, as well as a few other species of Deep-Sea Cephs (I was able to see 2 Flap Jack Octos once) but the Vampire Squid is so cool. It sounded like the biggest obstacle was also light from the other tanks / rest of the exhibit, so Into the Deep would be the perfect environment for one.

5. Anglerfish of any species | Again, another very famous deep-sea animal. They live within the depth range of animals that have proven to be pretty successful for MBA Deep-Sea wise being 200-800 meters. It probably wouldn't be possible to see it's bioluminescence but seeing a live one would already be amazing in itself

I could go on and on about deep-sea animals I'd love to see, but these are probably my Top 5. Can't wait to see what MBA accomplishes and displays next
 
I would like to revise my list, now that I have in fact, seen whale sharks, tiger sharks, black spot piranhas, and other rare species I have been itching to see.

1. Mola mola!!! The largest bony fish in the world, yet I still haven't seen them! If I ever go to Osaka I would love to see these amazing creatures up close.
2. Sailfish. My favorite type of billfish, yet they seem to be nigh-impossible to keep in captivity. Fukushima has attempted, with varying levels of success. I hope to see them either in the wild, or in a utopian future where we can keep them in captivity.
3. Tuna!!! I absolutely love tuna, they are one of my favorite types of fish. Any tuna species will do, bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye, skipjack, I don't care, I want to see tuna!!!
4. Beluga/Kaluga sturgeon. I'm lumping these two together because they're quite similar. Both very large and rare sturgeon species, it would be a dream to see either of these. Unfortunately they're very, very rare in aquariums and I can only list the ones that keep them on one finger.
5. Predatory tunicate. This is a bit of an unorthodox one, but they are one of my favorite marine invertebrates. They are so interesting to me and since they are kept in aquariums, I actually have a shot at seeing one.
 
Ebirah766 said:
I would like to revise my list, now that I have in fact, seen whale sharks, tiger sharks, black spot piranhas, and other rare species I have been itching to see.

1. Mola mola!!! The largest bony fish in the world, yet I still haven't seen them! If I ever go to Osaka I would love to see these amazing creatures up close.
2. Sailfish. My favorite type of billfish, yet they seem to be nigh-impossible to keep in captivity. Fukushima has attempted, with varying levels of success. I hope to see them either in the wild, or in a utopian future where we can keep them in captivity.
3. Tuna!!! I absolutely love tuna, they are one of my favorite types of fish. Any tuna species will do, bluefin, yellowfin, bigeye, skipjack, I don't care, I want to see tuna!!!
4. Beluga/Kaluga sturgeon. I'm lumping these two together because they're quite similar. Both very large and rare sturgeon species, it would be a dream to see either of these. Unfortunately they're very, very rare in aquariums and I can only list the ones that keep them on one finger.
5. Predatory tunicate. This is a bit of an unorthodox one, but they are one of my favorite marine invertebrates. They are so interesting to me and since they are kept in aquariums, I actually have a shot at seeing one.
Click to expand...
Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth, Minnesota keeps Beluga Sturgeon.
 
Having seen pangolins this year at Brookfield, seems like a good time to set new targets. Going to cheat and do mammals, birds, and herps.

Mammals
  1. Sumatran rhinoceros
  2. Dugong
  3. Ethiopian wolf
  4. Indri
  5. Platypus

Birds
  1. All species of redstart and wheatear (another cheat!)
  2. California condor
  3. Wandering albatross
  4. Harpy eagle
  5. Great Indian bustard
Herps
  1. Leatherback sea turtle
  2. Yellow-bellied sea snake
  3. Japanese giant salamander
  4. Galapagos iguana
  5. Thorny devil
 
Always a fun list to update:

In June I returned to Ujung Kulon, Java and this time heard Rhinos crashing through the brush and calling to each other, but never got a visual. As a consolation prize, I did manage my #2 most wanted during a trip to Madagascar!


When I last left off:

1. Javan Rhino (heard!)
2. Indri :cool:
3. Saola (Species hasn't been seen since 2013 and that was a camera trap, so I will reluctantly remove it until some better news arises)
4. Beaked Whale (any species)
5. Narwhal

Honorable mentions for:

1. Marsupial Mole
2. Dingiso
3. Water Chevrotain
4. Pink Fairy Armadillo
5. Chiru

My new top 5:

1. Javan Rhino
2. Beaked Whale (any species)
3. Narwhal
4. Water Chevrotain
5. Tibetan Fox

Honerable Mentions:

1. Marsupial Mole
2. Dingiso
3. Pink Fairy Armadillo
4. Chiru
5. Nilgiri Tahr
 
Giant Eland said:
Always a fun list to update:

In June I returned to Ujung Kulon, Java and this time heard Rhinos crashing through the brush and calling to each other, but never got a visual. As a consolation prize, I did manage my #2 most wanted during a trip to Madagascar!


When I last left off:

1. Javan Rhino (heard!)
2. Indri :cool:
3. Saola (Species hasn't been seen since 2013 and that was a camera trap, so I will reluctantly remove it until some better news arises)
4. Beaked Whale (any species)
5. Narwhal

Honorable mentions for:

1. Marsupial Mole
2. Dingiso
3. Water Chevrotain
4. Pink Fairy Armadillo
5. Chiru

My new top 5:

1. Javan Rhino
2. Beaked Whale (any species)
3. Narwhal
4. Water Chevrotain
5. Tibetan Fox

Honerable Mentions:

1. Marsupial Mole
2. Dingiso
3. Pink Fairy Armadillo
4. Chiru
5. Nilgiri Tahr
Click to expand...

Great list! Are water chevrotain tough? I’ve heard they’re not too difficult with a good tracker and sturdy pair of boots.
 
My list

In Captivity(note that some of these species may not be present in current collections):
Wolverine
Saola
Sumatran Rhino
Vaquita
Iriomote Cat

In the Wild:
Great White Shark
Ruddy Kingfisher
Amami Rabbit
Oriental White Stork
Okinawa Rail
 
My list is:
1. Sumatran Rhinoceros
2. Pacific White Sided dolphin
3. South China Tiger
4. Pygmy Elephant
5. Elephant Seal
 
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