Sphenisciologist
Well-Known Member
With the former species threads emerging and growing popularity on the forum, I knew I wanted to make one for my home zoo — the Saint Louis Zoo.
The Saint Louis Zoo is an interesting case when it comes to species lost and gained over the years. Frequently, St. Louis is associated with having a good handful of rarities balanced alongside the popular ABC animals. It’s particularly nice in that case because the way that the zoo is designed is so that the ABC animals don’t take up all of the spotlight. Some of the rarities that are still held there today are the Soemmerring’s gazelle, the horned guan, and the golden saipan white-eye, to name a few. Over the years, the zoo has seen a growth and decline in animal populations, and with an accumulation of lots of new exhibits over the years and a staggering rate of visitor increase, let’s take a look back on the species previously held at this world-class institution.
This list has not documented every former St. Louis species (likely far from it at that), so feel free to add comments, questions, corrections, and/or clarification on some of these to get a discussion going. I’ve started off by adding a plethora of species I have researched, previously seen, and heard of at the zoo.
Mammals
American Bison (Bison bison) (1949) — Previously kept in the antelope yards. Confirmed by an old photo album.
Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) (1939-1952) — Happy and Pao Pei. One of St. Louis’ famous former species.
Through two vintage videos I could find posted on YouTube, there were a variety of species kept in both the 50’s and 60’s in which many are lone gone today. Most of these species were across the old elephant house and the antelope habitats.
The old seal basin had the Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris) in the mid 50’s.
The old elephant house had the Baird’s Tapir (Tapirus bairdii), the White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum), the Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis), and from a photo album, probably the African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana) also (mixed with Asian elephants). Through extra photo ID I came to the conclusion that the Baird’s was the most likely species the zoo had, and although there were common hippos too at the time, the pygmy’s in the video looked distinctively different than baby commons.
In the currently standing antelope habitats, there was the Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), the Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius), and the Plains Zebra (Equus quagga).
The old grotto habitats where the current bear exhibits and penguin exhibit reside had the Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), and the Wolverine (Gulo gulo) in the 50’s.
Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) (1961-1976) — Siegfried and several other specimens. One of St. Louis’ famous former species. Probably Atlantic.
Through the years in general the space that was the children’s zoo has seen a wide fluctuation in how the space is utilized for animal species — According to a South Coast Today article, and a commercial from the late 90’s, the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) was kept, which I suspect didn’t last super long. Other species added to the collection but no longer seen today are the Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda), Meerkat (Suricata suricatta), and the Naked Mole Rat (Heterocephalus glaber).
Nigerian Dwarf Goat (Capra hircus) — Phased out after the closing of the children’s zoo.
American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) (?) — Possibly kept in the old grottos some point in the early 21st century.
Bush Dog (Speothos venaticus) (2009(?)-late 2010’s(?)) — Previously kept in South America at the Rivers Edge. No longer held.
Andean Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) (Gone 2023) — Previously kept in South America at the Rivers Edge. Is/will be/has been sent off to Glady Porters Zoo.
Visayan Warty Pig (Sus cebifrons) — Kept in the antelope yards up until recently. No longer held as far as I know.
Birds
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)(1910’s) — Wikipedia lists that “a sandhill crane” was initially held at the zoo around the time it first opened.
Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) (1950’s) — Confirmed by an old postcard and an old video.
Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) (?) (1971(?)-1999(?)) — I was told by one of the penguin keepers that the old aquatic house that was in place (where the Rivers Edge currently is) before the Penguin & Puffin Coast opened in 2003 had Adélie’s at some point, but I couldn’t find any further confirmation. I know more zoos than today tried to exhibit the species at the time so it wasn’t completely unbelievable. The way he told it to me was brief and it was quickly dropped, so unfortunately I didn’t further ask him.
Judging from old maps and postcards, the only confirmed penguin species I can find that lived in the house are the kings, gentoos, and rockhoppers, all of which are still kept today. Humboldt’s were also kept in those earlier days.
Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus (?)) — Previously kept at the children’s zoo at least via the 90’s. Confirmed by an old commercial. Not positive if this was the exact species.
The King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) (2003(?)-2018/2019) and the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) were both previously kept at the Penguin & Puffin Coast. The eider individuals died out, not sure what happened to the pelicans. Likely removed after the avian flu, small possibility they are still behind-the-scenes.
Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) — Previously kept behind-the-scenes at the Penguin & Puffin Coast. Confirmed by a keeper that they were sent to MarineLand in Canada a few years back.
The following species are species that have been kept at the bird house, a majority of which are relatively recent phase-outs. If I know the estimated time in which the species was removed from the zoo’s collection, it’ll be listed. For older species, I’ll just list when I know for sure it was present.
Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) — Free-roamed.
Wattled Crane (Grus carunculata) — Previously kept in the antelope habitats.
Reptiles
Unfortunately I’ve never been the most familiar with St. Louis’ general herp collection to begin with, so I really can’t speak much for a majority of reptiles and amphibians previously kept in the facility.
Indian Python (Python molurus) (1948) — Confirmed from an old postcard.
The Saint Louis Zoo is an interesting case when it comes to species lost and gained over the years. Frequently, St. Louis is associated with having a good handful of rarities balanced alongside the popular ABC animals. It’s particularly nice in that case because the way that the zoo is designed is so that the ABC animals don’t take up all of the spotlight. Some of the rarities that are still held there today are the Soemmerring’s gazelle, the horned guan, and the golden saipan white-eye, to name a few. Over the years, the zoo has seen a growth and decline in animal populations, and with an accumulation of lots of new exhibits over the years and a staggering rate of visitor increase, let’s take a look back on the species previously held at this world-class institution.
This list has not documented every former St. Louis species (likely far from it at that), so feel free to add comments, questions, corrections, and/or clarification on some of these to get a discussion going. I’ve started off by adding a plethora of species I have researched, previously seen, and heard of at the zoo.
Mammals
American Bison (Bison bison) (1949) — Previously kept in the antelope yards. Confirmed by an old photo album.
Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) (1939-1952) — Happy and Pao Pei. One of St. Louis’ famous former species.
Through two vintage videos I could find posted on YouTube, there were a variety of species kept in both the 50’s and 60’s in which many are lone gone today. Most of these species were across the old elephant house and the antelope habitats.
The old seal basin had the Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris) in the mid 50’s.
The old elephant house had the Baird’s Tapir (Tapirus bairdii), the White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum), the Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis), and from a photo album, probably the African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana) also (mixed with Asian elephants). Through extra photo ID I came to the conclusion that the Baird’s was the most likely species the zoo had, and although there were common hippos too at the time, the pygmy’s in the video looked distinctively different than baby commons.
In the currently standing antelope habitats, there was the Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), the Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius), and the Plains Zebra (Equus quagga).
The old grotto habitats where the current bear exhibits and penguin exhibit reside had the Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), and the Wolverine (Gulo gulo) in the 50’s.
Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) (1961-1976) — Siegfried and several other specimens. One of St. Louis’ famous former species. Probably Atlantic.
Through the years in general the space that was the children’s zoo has seen a wide fluctuation in how the space is utilized for animal species — According to a South Coast Today article, and a commercial from the late 90’s, the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) was kept, which I suspect didn’t last super long. Other species added to the collection but no longer seen today are the Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda), Meerkat (Suricata suricatta), and the Naked Mole Rat (Heterocephalus glaber).
Nigerian Dwarf Goat (Capra hircus) — Phased out after the closing of the children’s zoo.
American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) (?) — Possibly kept in the old grottos some point in the early 21st century.
Bush Dog (Speothos venaticus) (2009(?)-late 2010’s(?)) — Previously kept in South America at the Rivers Edge. No longer held.
Andean Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) (Gone 2023) — Previously kept in South America at the Rivers Edge. Is/will be/has been sent off to Glady Porters Zoo.
Visayan Warty Pig (Sus cebifrons) — Kept in the antelope yards up until recently. No longer held as far as I know.
Birds
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)(1910’s) — Wikipedia lists that “a sandhill crane” was initially held at the zoo around the time it first opened.
Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) (1950’s) — Confirmed by an old postcard and an old video.
Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) (?) (1971(?)-1999(?)) — I was told by one of the penguin keepers that the old aquatic house that was in place (where the Rivers Edge currently is) before the Penguin & Puffin Coast opened in 2003 had Adélie’s at some point, but I couldn’t find any further confirmation. I know more zoos than today tried to exhibit the species at the time so it wasn’t completely unbelievable. The way he told it to me was brief and it was quickly dropped, so unfortunately I didn’t further ask him.
Judging from old maps and postcards, the only confirmed penguin species I can find that lived in the house are the kings, gentoos, and rockhoppers, all of which are still kept today. Humboldt’s were also kept in those earlier days.
Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus (?)) — Previously kept at the children’s zoo at least via the 90’s. Confirmed by an old commercial. Not positive if this was the exact species.
The King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) (2003(?)-2018/2019) and the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) were both previously kept at the Penguin & Puffin Coast. The eider individuals died out, not sure what happened to the pelicans. Likely removed after the avian flu, small possibility they are still behind-the-scenes.
Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) — Previously kept behind-the-scenes at the Penguin & Puffin Coast. Confirmed by a keeper that they were sent to MarineLand in Canada a few years back.
The following species are species that have been kept at the bird house, a majority of which are relatively recent phase-outs. If I know the estimated time in which the species was removed from the zoo’s collection, it’ll be listed. For older species, I’ll just list when I know for sure it was present.
- Blacksmith Lapwing (Vanellus armatus)— Listed on the zoos website a few years ago.
- Blue-bellied Roller (Coracias cyanogaster)
- Edward’s Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi)
- Gray-winged Trumpeter (Psophia crepitans)
- Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis)
- Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) (Gone 2017)
- Plush-crested Jay (Cyanocorax chrysops) — Listed on the zoos website a few years ago.
- Raggiana(?) Bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) (1940) — A bird-of-paradise species was confirmed, but there is no species label, it just says “Bird Of Paradise.” I suspect it to be Raggiana.
- Speckled Pigeon (Columba guinea)
- Zebra Finch (No idea which species) — Listed on the zoos website a few years ago.
Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) — Free-roamed.
Wattled Crane (Grus carunculata) — Previously kept in the antelope habitats.
Reptiles
Unfortunately I’ve never been the most familiar with St. Louis’ general herp collection to begin with, so I really can’t speak much for a majority of reptiles and amphibians previously kept in the facility.
Indian Python (Python molurus) (1948) — Confirmed from an old postcard.
