Cats in zoos
- Thread starter Cat-Man
- Start date
Which cats? All 36 species!!! Of course impossible, but the more the better as far as I'm concerned. All of the BIG cats are common in U.S. (even pumas, which are almost all rescued from orphaned cubs and are not being bred by AZA facilities). But the smaller cats, which is the majority of cat species, are under-represented. AZA has targeted 8 small cats they want to maintain, which is good and bad. Bad, because it's only 8 and the others are being phased out, but Good because more zoos are being asked to house some of these in order to maintain a self-supporting population.
Here are best U.S. zoos for cats (in terms of many species, at least 8 or more): CINCINNATI ZOO, EXOTIC FELINE BREEDING COMPOUND, THE LIVING DESERT, MEMPHIS ZOO, OKLAHOMA CITY ZOO (although I haven't been), SAN DIEGO ZOO (which has the most of everything, not just cats), PROJECT SURVIVAL CAT HAVEN, BIG CAT RESCUE.
Best cat collection in the world (I believe) is LE PARC DES FELINS in Nesle, France. I will be going there this October (as well as Port Lympne, England) on my first trip outside of the U.S.
Here are best U.S. zoos for cats (in terms of many species, at least 8 or more): CINCINNATI ZOO, EXOTIC FELINE BREEDING COMPOUND, THE LIVING DESERT, MEMPHIS ZOO, OKLAHOMA CITY ZOO (although I haven't been), SAN DIEGO ZOO (which has the most of everything, not just cats), PROJECT SURVIVAL CAT HAVEN, BIG CAT RESCUE.
Best cat collection in the world (I believe) is LE PARC DES FELINS in Nesle, France. I will be going there this October (as well as Port Lympne, England) on my first trip outside of the U.S.
Meaghan Edwards
Well-Known Member
I would love to see African Leopards; I've only ever seen them once, at a circus-type show when I was in kindergarten, at a Ringling Bros circus, and at North Carolina Zoo when they had them (I think it was back in 2000).
Count me in as wanting to see more Clouded Leopards; I've only ever seen them at Toronto and Buffalo Zoo.
Asian Lions would be nice; I only have seen them in London Zoo.
In general, I'm all for diversity
I would like to see better exhibits for jaguars, lynx and bobcats. I especially notice that bobcats and lynx are kept in smaller enclosures.
Count me in as wanting to see more Clouded Leopards; I've only ever seen them at Toronto and Buffalo Zoo.
Asian Lions would be nice; I only have seen them in London Zoo.
In general, I'm all for diversity
I would like to see better exhibits for jaguars, lynx and bobcats. I especially notice that bobcats and lynx are kept in smaller enclosures.
Maryland Zoo has african leopards and Columbus Zoo used to (not sure if they still do). Most other U.S. zoos have amur leopard, which makes sense because it is critically endangered while african leopards are classified either least concern or near threatened (but definitely NOT endangered).
Meaghan Edwards
Well-Known Member
That does make sense
I would not mind seeing more of them in zoos. I live about an hour from the nearest Amur Leopard; I have to get around to uploading pictures of him/her. I remember seeing Fisher Cats for for the life of me in a North American zoo I can't remember where it was. Riverbanks Zoo? I know they had Black-footed Cats.
Jaguarundi are unusual looking; they call them "otter cat" for a reason
They're another species I'd like to see. Them, Pallas' Cat, Geoffory's, Oncilla, Kodkod . . .
BigCatRescue
New Member
As someone who works with 16 species of wild cats, I would like to see no more of these cats bred for lives of confinement and deprivation. We have more than 100 exotic cats who have been zoo cast offs, rescues, born for the pet trade and raised for their fur. Each one is an amazing personality and none of them should have to live in cages. Our goal is a world where all wild cats live free. Carole Baskin, CEO and Founder of Big Cat Rescue 12802 Easy Street Tampa, FL 33625
North african leopards are critically endangered however i am not aware of any of these living in zoos. More generic african leopards though are, as you say, common.
Personally, I don't think jaguarundis are ugly and would like to see more in zoos as I have only seen one once. Also, I'm quite fond of fishing cats and would love to see some tiger s. species other than amur, bengal and sumatran.
BigCatRescue welcome to the site, I have heard that your organisation does a lot of good work in looking after big cats that are abandoned and used to be owned as pets.
This is an interesting thread, and it started me thinking about how many different cat species I've seen in my life. What is extremely confusing is that once an individual begins to wade through the murky waters of identifying all of the 36 known species there is still some level of doubt on the accuracy of the numbers of different cats. Some websites claim that there are 37 or 38 species, while others list only 34. The Bornean clouded leopard is named as a separate species on some sites, while others ignore that claim. The Tiger cat/Little spotted cat is listed on some and not others, the Chinese Mountain cat is sometimes counted as a subspecies of wild cat, and the Iriomote cat is potentially a subspecies of Leopard cat. I could continue listing the various subspecies that are worth a debate, including the recognition that all 3 lynx are actually distinctly separate species, but the confusion is at times overwhelming.
Overall, I believe that I have seen either 28 or 29 of the world's known cat species.
This site is quite helpful:
Wild Cat Species of the world
As is this one:
:: The Cat House ::
Overall, I believe that I have seen either 28 or 29 of the world's known cat species.
This site is quite helpful:
Wild Cat Species of the world
As is this one:
:: The Cat House ::
@Hix: one visit to the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio and that bangs off around 20-21 species of cat right there! There are establishments such as Mountain View Conservation Centre in Canada that have almost 10 small species of cat that are rarely found elsewhere:
Mountain View - Carnivores
The 7 or 8 species of cat that I have never seen are either not in captivity worldwide or simply not found barely anywhere in North American collections.
Mountain View - Carnivores
The 7 or 8 species of cat that I have never seen are either not in captivity worldwide or simply not found barely anywhere in North American collections.
PrimateKid
Well-Known Member
iriomite cat (Unlikely), Puma, African Leopards, Margay, Caracal (only seen them in Port Lympne), bobcats and many more smaller species!
PK
PK
There was only one in a zoo in Chile years ago, that has since died. That's the one Art Wolfe photographed in his book Wild Cats of the World. However, there are probably lots of small zoos or rehab centers in South America that are relatively unknown, so it's always possible.
Yes, the species/subspecies list changes every few years. There are still 36 "officially" even though two swapped in the last couple years. Clouded leopard was split from one to two species, while chinese mountain cat was downgraded from full species to wildcat subspecies. Iriomote cat was downgraded several years ago from full species to leopard cat subspecies, but that has always been a point of contention. One researcher believes pampas cat (always considered one species) should now be split into 3 species! But this is not yet confirmed, so still 36 according to IUCN Cat Specialist Group (which I take as the "official" source).