Trends in European zoo collections in the 21st century

Hmpf, these Aussies are getting me annoyed. As a firm believer of a negative trend in numbers of species, I hate being proven wrong :p

I’m just trying to figure out where the flaw lies. It feels like the main reason we’re on the up sofar is because a few zoos (well, mainly Hamerton) did seem to get hold of a few dead ends we’re bound to loose soon again anyway.

Could it also be that after what seem to be species-rich decades (70s, 80s), the year 2000 was actually the lowest point and we’re back up on the rise? Or is it just marsupials that are bucking the trend? I guess we’re all here to find out…

If this thread ends up proving me wrong and stripping me of my rights to complain about the loss of diversity, I might end up disliking this thread after all :mad:

I’m also a bit annoyed by calling echidnas up in popularity. It seems like the imports of the 70’s and 80’s were dying off (relatively slowly, because of longevity) and one or two dealers brought in 20-odd animals who were distributed around Europe so we’re set for the next 30-odd years watching these new ones die off slowly. With the current reproduction rates, calling this an increase in populatity seem to be stretching the definition.

Anyways, keep em coming.
 
jwer said:
I’m also a bit annoyed by calling echidnas up in popularity. It seems like the imports of the 70’s and 80’s were dying off (relatively slowly, because of longevity) and one or two dealers brought in 20-odd animals who were distributed around Europe so we’re set for the next 30-odd years watching these new ones die off slowly. With the current reproduction rates, calling this an increase in populatity seem to be stretching the definition.
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Well, put it this way - in the last decade the New Guinea imports have successfully bred at *least* nine times in public collections (I cannot speak to whether any of the privately-held stock has bred) with an additional three or four births where the offspring did not survive. Conversely, the animals imported in the 1970s bred a total of two or three times full stop - and took 20 years or so to breed for the first time at that.

As such, the situation *does* seem to be entirely different this time round, and I am not entirely sure why you are being so scornful about the current reproduction rate and believe it is no different to that observed in the prior population :P unless this breeding suddenly ceases entirely going forward, there is no reason to assume that the New Guinea population is certain to dwindle and die off.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Well, put it this way - in the last decade the New Guinea imports have successfully bred at *least* nine times in public collections (I cannot speak to whether any of the privately-held stock has bred) with an additional three or four births where the offspring did not survive. Conversely, the animals imported in the 1970s bred a total of two or three times full stop - and took 20 years or so to breed for the first time at that.

As such, the situation *does* seem to be entirely different this time round, and I am not entirely sure why you are being so scornful about the current reproduction rate and believe it is no different to that observed in the prior population :p unless this breeding suddenly ceases entirely going forward, there is no reason to assume that the New Guinea population is certain to dwindle and die off.
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First of all, I wasn’t aware of 9 births sofar. I remember a puggle in Rostock where it’s mother died right after kipping and a few odd ones after that, but as far as i know we’ve also already lost some of the imported adults, so we’re not into something stable yet. I do agree we’re doing better then ever with breeding them, so we’re in with a chance this time round.

I’m still wondering whether we’re on the up since 2000, and now I am actually wondering if we’re having less species then one year in the 70s or 80s. I mean, an easy trap to fall for is that you’re compairing one year (2023) to a whole decade in which animals appeared and disappeared. Oh well, enough with the derailing :)
 
jwer said:
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First of all, I wasn’t aware of 9 births sofar. I remember a puggle in Rostock where it’s mother died right after kipping and a few odd ones after that, but as far as i know we’ve also already lost some of the imported adults, so we’re not into something stable yet. I do agree we’re doing better then ever with breeding them, so we’re in with a chance this time round.

I’m still wondering whether we’re on the up since 2000, and now I am actually wondering if we’re having less species then one year in the 70s or 80s. I mean, an easy trap to fall for is that you’re compairing one year (2023) to a whole decade in which animals appeared and disappeared. Oh well, enough with the derailing :)
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Obviously the point of this thread was to prove everyone wrong at least at some point, but preferably more often :p.

Choosing a starting year to compare with obviously makes a difference, though I don't think 2000 would be an all time low for mammals overall, though it could well be for marsupials. Compare 2023 to the marsupial collection in 1990 and there are still clearly more species around now compared to then, though the difference is smaller then compared to 2000. Comparing to 1980 would likely paint a different picture solely because Diergaarde Blijdorp had just imported tons of Australian and New Guinean species for their Notogea expedition in the years prior, most of which disappeared in the decades after.

But marsupials are not the same as all mammals and each family/order/etc. seems to have its own dynamics. Part of that is just down to chance, but as we will see later there are more factors at play. Marsupials were a group that was quite widely expected to have gained popularity and that is indeed backed up by the data.
 
lintworm said:
Comparing to 1980 would likely paint a different picture solely because Diergaarde Blijdorp had just imported tons of Australian and New Guinean species for their Notogea expedition in the years prior, most of which disappeared in the decades after.
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Aiming even closer to the Notogea exhibition itself and setting 1977-1978 as the point of comparison would be even more stark - London Zoo obtained rather a lot of short-lived dasyurid species (and bandicoots as well, I think?) to mark the silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977.... all of which I suspect were long-since deceased by 1980.
 
London Zoo had a rufous spiny bandicoot from 1974-77, which I saw. According to ZTL, the Royal Family gave 6 young fat-tailed dunnarts to London Zoo in 1977. London Zoo had kowaris from 1982-2005, 2 northern quolls from 1961 to ? and spotted-tailed quolls from 1959 to ? and Tasmanian devils until 1990-91.
 
Valvas said:
It's a little different. The Reeves' muntjac EEP is actually set up to regulate further breeding with the species and maintain a European ex-situ population despite the invasive species law, because the species has been listed as Vulnerable in its native China. EAZA representatives have therefore negotiated an agreement with EU authorities to get exemptions on the invasive species law for participants of the EEP.
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This is incorrect as EAZA zoos are not allowed to breed Reeve’s muntjacs. And Sika deer are not banned yet.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
.....London Zoo obtained rather a lot of short-lived dasyurid species (and bandicoots as well, I think?) to mark the silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977.... all of which I suspect were long-since deceased by 1980.
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I am extremely puzzled by this comment; the ZSL Annual Report for 1977 lists no dasyurid species (and no bandicoot species either) as being obtained that year. In fact, according to this Annual Report, the only marsupials acquired that year were six red kangaroos; these were presented by Melbourne Zoo in honour of the Queen's Jubilee visit to that zoo.
Dassie rat said:
London Zoo had a rufous spiny bandicoot from 1974-77, which I saw. According to ZTL, the Royal Family gave 6 young fat-tailed dunnarts to London Zoo in 1977.
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Indeed two rufous bandicoots were acquired in 1974; they are listed in that year's Annual Report as being a genus new to the collection; the last died in 1977. (I saw them too.)
Re the dunnarts; again no marsupials are listed as being acquired that year.
 
Tim May said:
I am extremely puzzled by this comment; the ZSL Annual Report for 1977 lists no dasyurid species (and no bandicoot species either) as being obtained that year. In fact, according to this Annual Report, the only marsupials acquired that year were six red kangaroos; these were presented by Melbourne Zoo in honour of the Queen's Jubilee visit to that zoo.
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Yes, it was the dunnart listing on ZTL to which @Dassie rat referred that I was thinking of, along with similar "Royal gift" claims for common planigale and (I seem to recall) a quoll which appear to have been deleted entirely at some point since I last looked at them, presumably when someone caught onto the erroneous information. Annoyingly, the ZTL admin have recently removed the ability to entirely delete listings, or I'd mop the dunnart one up too given what you've said!

As for the mention of bandicoot, I was probably thinking of the ones which died in 1977.
 
PossumRoach said:
Sika deer are still banned in most EU member countries despite not being listed in the Union’s IAS list. This concern has been brought up in the 2021 TAG report (page 55).
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The report states sika deer are banned in four countries, which isn't exactly a most.

HOMIN96 said:
Huh...so why a) the muntjac population didn't collapse already? b) are there so many young muntjac everywhere I go? :cool::D
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I don't exactly know the current situation, but at least in parts of Germany zoos seem to have gotten an exception to the EU rule from local governments, in the Netherlands the species seems to be slowly phased out though.
 
lintworm said:
The report states sika deer are banned in four countries, which isn't exactly a most.



I don't exactly know the current situation, but at least in parts of Germany zoos seem to have gotten an exception to the EU rule from local governments, in the Netherlands the species seems to be slowly phased out though.
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There are quite some differences in how countries in the EU implement the rules around IAS, but in general muntjac are not allowed to breed in zoos in the EU and based on the information I got: the exceptions given by some local governments are not in line with EU legislation. And Sika deer are not considered and invasive species yet (but discussions are on-going)
 
The discussions about EU regulations on invasive species are of course very interesting, but can they be moved on another thread, especially if they aren't focused on the species yet covered in the main subject of this thread (Trends in European Zoo collections in the 21st century), especially the marsupial and monotreme species for now (not the case of sika deer, muntjacs...) ?
Thanks.
 
Number of zoos kept (current and former during the holding period):
A 1 zoo
B 2-5 zoos
C 6-10 zoos
D >10 zoos

Time period kept:
1 < 1 year
2 1-5 years
3 6-10 years
4 11-20 years
5 > 20 years

* Species successfully bred
♱ Dead end (in case of species gained)
↑ Species gaining popularity (in case of species gained)

After finishing with all the Australian weirdos and some American cousins, it is now time for all the African weirdos with their cousins. It is time for the Afrotheria, a group of mammals containing 6 orders that were all hard to place until genetics confirmed some hints that these animals were indeed related, despite their differences.

GOLDEN MOLES & TENRECS - AFROSORICIDA
55 species across 3 families
5 species kept this century (9%)

Out of three families, only the tenrecs are kept in captivity. Neither golden moles (Chrysochloridae) nor otter shrews (Potamogalidae) appear to have ever been kept in any European zoo. Previously this order was included in the taxonomic waste basket that was called Insectivora.

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@ronnienl Rarely seen and absent from zoos: the golden moles. This not so golden mole is a dead Stuhlmann's golden mole in Uganda

Tenrecs - Tenrecidae
# Species kept 1-1-2000: 3
# Species kept currently: 3
# Species gained: 2
# Species lost: 2

Three species have been kept continuously this century in European zoos. The lesser hedgehog tenrec (Echinops telfairi) is by far the most common tenrec in captivity and seems to be slightly increasing in numbers. The greater hedgehog tenrec (Setifer setosus) and the tailless tenrec (Tenrec ecaudatus) are both rare in European zoos and numbers seem to be slightly decreasing in recent years. The two species of striped tenrecs have been kept for part of the century, but breeding was minimal, so no population was established. Apart from all these spiny tenrecs, pretending to be hedgehogs, there are also tenrecs that pretend to be moles, shrews or otter-shrews. Recent genetic work indicates there were even aardvark-like tenrecs: the bibymalagasy (Plesiorycteropus spec.), which went extinct roughly 2000 years ago.

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@Jakub Lesser hedgehog tenrec are the closest most zoo visitors come to and actual hedgehog, but despite the looks they are unrelated

Species gained and lost

Highland streaked tenrec - Hemicentetes nigriceps C4*
Kept in six different zoos this century and present in most years this century, though never long in the same zoo. Zoo Plzen was the first zoo in 2003-2004 to keep this species. The last zoo was the Den Bla Planet Aquarium in Copenhagen from 2017-2020. A few breeding events happened, but nothing sustainable.

Lowland streaked tenrec - Hemicentetes semispinosus C4*
Kept in seven different zoos this century and present in most years this century, though never long in the same zoo. A few zoos managed to breed the species, but success was limited. Zoo Plzen was the first zoo to keep this species this century in 2003. The final animals were kept in the shady Tierpark Donnersberg in Rockenhausen, Germany, from 2017-2019.

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@Newzooboy Highland streaked tenrec are the punkers of the tenrec family, but didn't do terribly well in a captive environment

Progress
5/22 orders completed
13/106 families completed
31 species present in 2000
40 species present in 2023
24 species gained since 2000
15 species lost since 2000
 
HYRAXES - HYRACOIDEA
6 species in 1 family
4 species kept this century (67%)

The hyraxes of the present day are just a remnant of a great African group that was outcompeted by the arrival of the ungulates and has survived in places ungulates cannot reach. Currently only 6 species are recognized, but there is likely quite some hidden diversity that is yet undescribed.

Hyraxes - Procaviidae
# Species kept 1-1-2000: 1
# Species kept currently: 4 (+3)
# Species gained: 3
# Species lost: -

No other mammal group has seen its relative representation grow as much as the hyraxes. Only the rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) was already present in 2000. Rock hyraxes are still the most common species of hyrax in captivity though, but face more competition than ever before.

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@sooty mangabey A bush hyrax that managed to escape German dominance in Hamerton Zoo

Species gained

Yellow-spotted bush hyrax - Heterohyrax brucei D4*↑
It already seems hard to imagine that the first recent holding was in Tiergarten Bernburg, Germany, in 2003. They are the most successful species of an import of multiple African species to Bernburg that year, the others we will meet later in the thread. New other German holders were quickly added and the majority of zoos with bush hyraxes are still German. But a few other European zoos have also added the species in recent years.

Southern tree hyrax - Dendrohyrax arboreus B4*
Zoo Ostrava first imported this species in 2009 from Tanzania and has been breeding this species in sizeable numbers since 2012. It has spread to other zoos, with Zoo Plzen and Zoo Frankfurt as additional current holders. Zoo Plzen also managed to breed the species for the first time in 2022.

Benin tree hyrax - Dendrohyrax interfluvialis B3*
Zoo Ostrava definitely didn’t have enough tree hyraxes yet, so in 2016 it imported 2.2 animals from Togo of a second Dendrohyrax species. They started to breed quickly and are now kept in Zoo Jihlava and Zoo Plzen too. As those two zoos are also getting excellent breeding results it is probably only a matter of time until we will see real spread of this species and leave Czechia. Until recently the tree hyraxes from Togo were thought to be western tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax dorsalis), until a recent paper split the hyraxes from between the Niger and Volta Rivers, which includes Togo, into a previously undescribed species. Which means the animals from Ostrava are the newly described species. The origin of a mother-daughter pair that was confiscated and sent to Zoo Leipzig is unknown though. These animals went to Zoo Ostrava and are listed as western tree hyrax like all the Benin tree hyraxes there are. Whether they are bred with the Togo lineage is unclear, but that raises the possibility of the establishment of a hybrid population in European zoos.

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@HOMIN96 A southern tree hyrax, one of the many Czech small mammal specialities

Species gaining popularity

Rock hyrax - Procavia capensis
Long the only hyrax in Europe and until the 1990s this was a relatively rare species. But it was only this century that interest taken of and apart from the South African lineage already present, new imports from Egypt and the Arabian peninsula mean that there are now multiple subspecies kept in Europe, that could well be different species. The problem is that under taxonomists hyraxes seem rather unpopular, so we are still waiting for a range-wide genetic study.

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@Tim May An Arabian rock hyrax in the UK showing of their clearly different pelage colour compared to the more commonly kept Cape rock hyrax

Progress
6/22 orders completed
14/106 families completed
32 species present in 2000
44 species present in 2023
27 species gained since 2000
15 species lost since 2000
 
SENGI - MACROSCELIDEA
20 species in 1 family
4 species kept this century (20%)

The sengi or elephant-shrews are another uniquely African group of mammals that are often zoonerd favourites. But their popularity isn't restricted to zoochatters, as they are on the rise in general.

Sengi - Macroscelidae
# Species kept 1-1-2000: 1
# Species kept currently: 3 (+2)
# Species gained: 3
# Species lost: 1

At the start of the century, there was only one species of sengi present in European zoos: the round-eared sengi (Macroscelides proboscideus), which at the time wasn’t really commonly seen. Nowadays there is a more diverse cast and a record number of zoos with sengi.

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@vogelcommando black-and-rufous sengi are slowly expanding their imperium

Species gained

Rufous sengi - Galegeeska rufescens B4*♱
1.2 animals were imported by Cologne zoo in 2008 and they were the start of what appeared to be a blooming breeding population for several years. Offspring were sent to 6 different zoos around 2010. But then the population quickly declined and for several years only Cologne still had them. Although there was still regular breeding, breeding could not win from the deaths and the decision was made to stop keeping this species in Cologne in 2022. The final 5 animals were sent to Aquazoo Dusseldorf and Zoo Frankfurt, where the final animals will likely pass away in the coming years. Currently there are only a maximum of 3 individuals of this species still alive.

Black-and-rufous sengi - Rhynchocyon petersi D4*↑
This species has been maintained in US zoos since 1998 and the first animal to cross the Atlantic came to the now closed RSCC in 2009, where it was kept until 2010. The real start of the European population came in 2011 when Diergaarde Blijdorp, Rotterdam, acquired a wild-caught female. In 2012 males from the USA followed and the first European breeding happened in 2013. Breeding in Diergaarde Blijdorp went very well and other zoos, like Zoo Wroclaw, Zoo Leipzig and Zoo Antwerp, have followed suit with breeding results. This means that the European population is now larger than the one in the USA and there are currently 13 European zoos with black-and-rufous sengi.

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@Tomek On its way to the exit again, the rufous sengi

Species gained and lost

Chequered sengi - Rhynchocyon cirnei B3
A few singletons have been kept in Europe this century, but without any breeding. Zoo Prague kept a female from 2009-2012 and a male in 2012, which died the year it arrived. Another single male was kept 2013-2015 in Tierpark Berlin and was then sent to Zoo Plzen where it was kept 2015-2017.

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@Michal Sloviak Only a few chequered sengi were ever kept in European zoos

Species gaining popularity

Karoo round-eared sengi - Macroscelides proboscideus
The current zoo distribution shows a big tilt towards Germany, but that is where the zoos are located that keep or have kept this species for decades, with good breeding results. The first European zoo breeding occurred in Zoo Wuppertal in 1988, which is also the year the species was imported. Together with mainly Tierpark Berlin, Zoo Frankfurt, and the Wilhelma, Stuttgart, which all acquired this species around 1990, an incredible amount of offspring was produced. As an example in a good year the Wilhelma alone could successfully raise 15 sengi and Zoo Wuppertal over 30. This prolific breeding has led to a record number of zoos keeping this species currently, of which the majority is still German, but with over 50 European holders this species has long lost its rarity status.

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@NigeW Breeding like rabbits and coming to a zoo near you

Progress
7/22 orders completed
15/106 families completed
33 species present in 2000
47 species present in 2023
30 species gained since 2000
16 species lost since 2000
 
Nix said:
Any clue from where they were imported?
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I can't find any more specifics, but I would assume the import was directly from Southern Africa. Wuppertal was very prolific with these sengi, producing over 500 offspring!

Just a sidenote I forgot to add, the chequered sengi at Prague was most likely a natural hybrid with black-and-rufous sengi which explains why it doesn't look like a typical chequered sengi (which are quite variable anyway). The animal held in TP Berlin and Plzen was a more typical representative:
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@KevinVar
 
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