Animals You've Seen That Few Zoochatters Have Seen

olhl.animal.photography said:
I haven't been to many different zoos (though hopefully that will soon change). But from memory, some bird species I have seen that I'd deem relatively rare/unusual include:

St Lucia Amazon - Pairi Daiza (the only place it's kept worldwide)

St Vincent Amazon - Pairi Daiza (rare for Europeans like me but I'm aware Houston and San Diego keep them as well)

From Pairi Daiza I would add Spix's Macaws and Long Crested Eagle but unfortunately I missed out on them on my visit. From Chester and London, nothing springs to mind for birds, and I don't really keep a good track of other animal groups properly from other zoos (something else I need to get better at).

By the end of this summer, though, this list (definitely for birds at least) should improve, as I'm visiting Newquay, Paradise Park, Hawk Conservancy Trust, and Chester (again):

From Newquay, I should see Chinese Grosbeak (found nowhere else in captivity) and some subspecies of Vasa Parrot (plus Yellow Cardinal, Cuban Grassquits, and Bearded Tits, although I don't know how common or rare these two are for captive institutions).

From Paradise Park, I should see Lear's Macaws (I think they're quite rare), Collared Falconet (kept nowhere else globally), Azure Tit (only found in a few other places), Rajah Black Lory, and a wealth of other species.

From the Hawk Conservancy Trust, they do have some pretty special ones, like Wahlberg's Eagle, etc.

I do want to travel to mainland Europe fairly soon to cross off other zoos from my list (mainly in Germany, Czechia, and zoos dotted about in other countries) as well as a return trip to Pairi Daiza in Belgium to see those which I missed last time.
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I have seen everything on your list. Don't forget that many species, like those grosbeaks, are also kept in private hands. Don't be too eager to say something like 'nowhere else in captivity' while they might be breeding at John or Micky down the street.
 
I am not sure if any of these are rare but they can be:
• Sumatran Rhino
• Drill
• Honey Badger
• Bush Dog
• Tuatara
• Raccoon Dog
• Shoebill
• Black Wildebeest
• African Leopard
• Mishmi Takin
• Crocodile Tegu
• Yellow Banded Possum Wrasse
 
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USZOOfan42 said:
I am not sure if any of these are rare but they can be:
• Sumatran Rhino
• Drill
• Honey Badger
• Bush Dog
• Tuatara
• Raccoon Dog
• Shoebill
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Please use the website Zootierliste to see if the species are commonly kept around the world or not. If it lists few holders, you can assume it is rare. But even then, if they are kept at zoos that are famous amongst Zoochatters then it still isn't a perfect match for this thread.
Of your list, the Sumatran rhino is the rarest. Currently not kept anywhere in a public zoo. The others are too often seen, even though the tuatara and shoebill are technically very rare.
 
Sicarius said:
Please use the website Zootierliste to see if the species are commonly kept around the world or not. If it lists few holders, you can assume it is rare. But even then, if they are kept at zoos that are famous amongst Zoochatters then it still isn't a perfect match for this thread.
Of your list, the Sumatran rhino is the rarest. Currently not kept anywhere in a public zoo. The others are too often seen, even though the tuatara and shoebill are technically very rare.
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This I think is why I don't like very much this idea ....
I could name any one species I deem that 'few other ZooChatters have seen'; only to be met by some ZC demographic saying that many of them have seen it ... tuatara, tiger-quoll, bearded saki, splendid sunbird, northern brown kiwi ...
 
I guess two species of primates come to mind
Red Uakari and Proboscis monkeys, both species at Twycross Zoo in the 1970s, when Twycross had the most amazing collection of primates
 
Sicarius said:
I have seen everything on your list. Don't forget that many species, like those grosbeaks, are also kept in private hands. Don't be too eager to say something like 'nowhere else in captivity' while they might be breeding at John or Micky down the street.
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Fair enough, although I am under the impression that this thread is more zoo focused as opposed to the inclusion of private collections, or else most species deemed 'rare' could arguably be the opposite in captive terms. My list was based on that premise, hence my statement.
 
Strathmorezoo said:
I guess two species of primates come to mind
Red Uakari and Proboscis monkeys, both species at Twycross Zoo in the 1970s, when Twycross had the most amazing collection of primates
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Indeed I was fortunate to see both proboscis monkey and red uakari at Twycross. Other noteworthy species seen at Twycross include spotted cuscus, Lake Baikal seal and bonobo. However they are all species I've seen elsewhere too. (And, of course, many other ZooChatters will have seen these species too.)

The most important Twycross sighting for me was, unquestionably, the Kloss' gibbon; a species I've never seen in any other collection.
 
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It's a little counterintuitive, but even if an animal is only found in one or two institutions in a country (and especially if those are big, well known facilities), many zoo fans will have seen it. At their peak, for example, giant pandas were only found in 4 US zoos, so it stands to reason that the vast majority of the American public - even those members that enjoy going to zoos - might not have seen them. For folks who are really into zoo, however, they definitely would have made their way to one or more of those four facilities, either specifically to see the pandas or to see them along with a host of other species. Same with the platypus. Even discounting their presence in Australian collections, a lot of American zoo enthusiasts have made a point of going to Escondido to see them, so even though they're only at one American zoo, I suspect a large percentage of the American members here have seen them.

To be honest, though, it can be a little fun having bragging rights and doing some one-upmanship, but at the end of the day what matters is how important or meaningful what you saw was to you. If you saw a gelada, or a tuatara, or a kiwi, and it was the first time you've seen it and it was an awesome experience for you that you never thought you'd have, it doesn't matter whether 1 or 1000 other forum members have seen it (though it might matter slightly within the confines of this thread). If you don't have a lot of rarities on your life list, it certainly doesn't mean you're not a good zoo-er!
 
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Gonna be completely honest, I doubt that any of the species I put on the "Captive" list really fit the criteria of species that few Zoochatters have seen, especially considering that basically all of these institutions are in institutions located in major metropolitan areas. However, I just thought it could be interesting to make a list of species I've seen that aren't held by that many institutions (at least according to zootierliste)

Captive (Mainly just based on the number of institutions on zoootierliste that have them)
Antelope Jackrabbit (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Apache Trout (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Australian Whipray (National Aquarium)
Baja California Rattlesnake (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Barkly Death Adder (National Aquarium)
Black Milksnake (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences)
Black Tandan (National Aquarium)
Bluehead Chub (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences)
Blue Salmon Catfish (National Aquarium)
Broken-Striped Newt (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences)
Brongersma's Pit Viper (Bronx Zoo)
Bullet Ant (Shedd Aquarium)
Butler's Grunter (National Aquarium)
Canyon Tree Frog (Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum)
Cape Fear Shiner (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences)
Carolina Pygmy Rattlesnake (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences)
Centralian Rough Knob-Tailed Gecko (National Aquarium)
Cochin Black Turtle (Bronx Zoo)
Colorado Pikeminnow (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Darwin Snake-Necked Turtle (National Aquarium)
Exuma Island Iguana (Shedd Aquarium)
Flying Steamerduck (Philadelphia Zoo)
Fowler's Toad (National Zoo)
Gila Topminnow (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Hecq's Shelldweller (National Aquarium)
Humpback Chub (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Hyrtl's Catfish (National Aquarium)
Indian Roofed Turtle (Bronx Zoo, only holder in the US)
Irwin's Turtle (National Aquarium)
Kihansi Spray Toad (Bronx Zoo)
Kimberly Snake-Necked Turtle (National Aquarium)
Long-Nosed Snake (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Longtail Salamander (National Zoo)
Milos Viper (Bronx Zoo)
Mojave Desert Sidewinder (Bronx Zoo)
Naked Goby (National Aquarium)
Northern Yellow-Faced Turtle (National Aquarium)
One-Toed Amphiuma (Philadelphia Zoo)
Pine Woods Tree Frog (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences)
Piping Plover (Lincoln Park Zoo)
Razorbill (National Aquarium)
Red-Backed Salamander (National Zoo)
Red-Cheeked Salamander (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences)
Red Milksnake (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences)
Ring-Tailed Vontsira (Bronx Zoo) (definitely unsure about whether or not to count this considering the number of European institutions, but only the Bronx and Nashville have it in the US)
Roundtail Chub (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Rufous Hummingbird (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Screaming Piha (National Aquarium)
Shenandoah Salamander (National Zoo)
Silver Cobbler (National Aquarium)
Skilletfish (National Aquarium)
Sonora Chub (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Sonoran Desert Sidewinder (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Sonoran Mud Turtle (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
South Pacific Tree Boa (Philadelphia Zoo)
Spotted Blue-Eye (National Aquarium)
Squirrel Tree Frog (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences)
Storm's Stork (Bronx Zoo)
Stripe-Necked Musk Turtle (North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences)
Twin-Spotted Rattlesnake (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)
Victoria Short-Necked Turtle (National Aquarium)
White-Throated Snapping Turtle (National Aquarium)
Yaqui Chub (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum)

Wild
Burrowing Owl
California Condor
Costa's Hummingbird
Devil's Hole Pupfish
Greater Antillean Grackle
Great Lakes Piping Plover
Heermann's Gull
Sonoran Mud Turtle
Sonoyta Pupfish
 
Do you think any chance that fish that a sometimes gets kept in the aqarium trade could increase the species list , for example
Nothobranchius eggersi:

I check zootierlist and there weren't any zoo with them
 
Eastern Lowland gorilla:Antwerp
Sumatran rhino: Bronx,Cinncinatti,Kent,UK, Jakarta
Basking shark: Coney Island aquarium
Leatherback turtle: Coney Island aquarium
Narwhal: Coney Island aquarium
Long Nosed Echidna: London, Sydney
Hispaniolan Solenodon: Washington DC
Numbat: Perth
Platypus : Sydney, Healesville
Forest elephant: Bronx Zoo
Pangolin: Ueno
Philippine Eagle: Bronx, LA
Tarsier: Duke primate center
Grey whale: San Diego Sea World
Atlantic walrus : Coney Island, Quebec
California condor : San Diego
Baikal seal: Leipzig
Javan leopard : Berlin
 
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