Any animals must to see in Florida?
- Thread starter Evirapo
- Start date
Depends on your definition of must-see. What species are you interested in? Florida does have a handful of endemic species that can't be found anywhere else in the world, so I guess pending more info I suggest you start there.
Evirapo
Well-Known Member
I'm more interested in all mammals, So I would be happy to see any of these that is unique
Florida does have a handful of endemic mammals but they are small, secretive, and must be tracked down in the wild.
King of Komodo Dragons
Well-Known Member
Zoo Miami is a must see for rarities. It is one of only 3 zoos in the country with Indian Gaur, they hold quite a few uncommon hoofstock species besides the Gaur like Banteng, Lowland Anoa, and more, besides them they also have Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat, Dhole, Orinoco Crocodile, Cuban Crocodile, Sloth Bear, North Island Brown Kiwi(behind the scenes tour only), and also have some rare birds in their giant aviary.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm holds almost every species of crocodilian in the world and a few species are only kept there. A few of their rarities are the Mugger Crocodile, Black Caiman, Freshwater Crocodile, Hall's New Guinea Crocodile, and Philippine Crocodile.
Zoo Tampa also has some rarities like the Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby, Red Wolf, Malayan Flying Fox, Malayan Sun Bear, Florida Manatee, Lowland Anoa, Bay Duiker, and several rare hornbills
Naples Zoo is a smaller zoo but has some rarities such as the South American Coati, Buff-Cheeked Gibbon, Striped Hyena, Honey Badger, and the last White-Headed Lemur in the AZA.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm holds almost every species of crocodilian in the world and a few species are only kept there. A few of their rarities are the Mugger Crocodile, Black Caiman, Freshwater Crocodile, Hall's New Guinea Crocodile, and Philippine Crocodile.
Zoo Tampa also has some rarities like the Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby, Red Wolf, Malayan Flying Fox, Malayan Sun Bear, Florida Manatee, Lowland Anoa, Bay Duiker, and several rare hornbills
Naples Zoo is a smaller zoo but has some rarities such as the South American Coati, Buff-Cheeked Gibbon, Striped Hyena, Honey Badger, and the last White-Headed Lemur in the AZA.
And Shoebill.
Red Wolf, South American Coati, and Sloth Bear aren't really rare.
Lucas Lang
Well-Known Member
I remember Bear in Tampa is Sun bear? There is not so much in America's zoo I think.And Shoebill.
Red Wolf, South American Coati, and Sloth Bear aren't really rare.
Cougar from Florida (though for not is not a distinctive subspecies) maybe worth visit?
Yes, and it was included in the list of rarities. The three I listed were in general across their post.
King of Komodo Dragons
Well-Known Member
Can't believe I forgot about the Shoebill!And Shoebill.
Red Wolf, South American Coati, and Sloth Bear aren't really rare.
I've realized red wolfs are not as rare as I thought, but I thought the south american coati and sloth bear was only at a handful of AZA facilities so that's my bad sorry
tiger stingray
Member
Orcas st Sea World. Absolutely magnificent!
There are seventeen or eighteen sloth bear holders last I'd heard. Coati are generally common but I am unsure which subspecies is more common.
Zoo Miami should also have one or two of the rarer duiker species.
Disney's Animal Kingdom has lion-tailed macaques, Eld's Deer, and a few rare bird species.
South American Coati in particular is an extremely common zoo animal!And Shoebill.
Red Wolf, South American Coati, and Sloth Bear aren't really rare.
King of Komodo Dragons
Well-Known Member
I had always thought it was the White-Nosed Coati that was super common, South American Coati was uncommon, and Mountain Coati was rare as far as AZA zoos go
White-nosed and South American are common, Mountain is non-existent.
King of Komodo Dragons
Well-Known Member
Did San Diego's Mountain Coati's pass away then? In any case thanks, it seems I still have a ways to go learning what counts as rare
San Diego never had Mountain Coati - they're mislabeled South Americans. Same is currently true for all 'mountain' coatis in the USA.
South American is a bit more common than white-nosed, but there's still over 100 holders for each, possibly over 150. They are the only species kept in the USA. As @Great Argus said, all mountains are mislabeled (usually South Americans but sometimes white-nosed), and ones called things like "red" are dark South Americans. I've been to one zoo that had three coati exhibits and none were labelled correctly 
Platypusboy
Well-Known Member
I think Miami zoo still has Giant elands, at least a few months ago they did. You definitely don’t want to miss those.