Time for TWO more deer species today. One is very common and one incredibly rare.
I've seen Sika Deer at 37 zoos. Looking at Zootierliste, there's at least a dozen subspecies of Sika Deer, a startlingly high number. I'm very curious as to how many I've seen. There's non-subspecific status Sika Deer listed in more than 20 American zoos, probably each one not even AZA-accredited. That organization, for a variety of reasons, is simply not interested in the vast majority of deer species. Therefore, any North American zoo nerd who wishes to see a few Cervid rarities needs to head to non-accredited establishments or venture overseas. In Europe, Sika Deer are super common and listed in close to 100 zoos just under the non-subspecific status category on Zootierliste. They also have had a long list of different names on zoo signs, as you will see below.
2019 = 9 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Sika Deer – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Sika Deer – 1998
3- Langenberg Wildlife Park (Switzerland) – Sika Deer – 2003
4- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Sika Deer – 2006
5- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2008
6- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2008
7- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Sika Deer – 2010
8- Zoo Montana (USA) – Sika Deer – 2010
9- Akron Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2010
10- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2010
11- Zoo Boise (USA) – Sika Deer – 2010
12- Oakland Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2011
13- Roosevelt Park Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2014
14- Wisconsin Deer Park (USA) – Sika Deer – 2014
15- Grant’s Farm (USA) – Sika Deer – 2014
16- Clay Center Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2014
17- Gators & Friends: Alligator Park & Exotic Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2015
18- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Sika Deer – 2015
19- Exotic Resort Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2015
20- Olympic Game Farm (USA) – Sika Deer – 2016
21- Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Canada) – Sika Deer – 2018
22- GarLyn Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2018
23- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2018
24- Van Blanckendaell Park (Netherlands) – Sika Deer – 2019
25- Opel Zoo (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
26- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Sika Deer – 2019
27- ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands) – Sika Deer – 2019
28- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
29- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
30- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
31- Tierpark Strohen (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
32- Nordhorn Zoo (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
33- Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Denmark) – Sika Deer – 2022
34- Jyllands Park Zoo (Denmark) – Sika Deer – 2022
35- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Sika Deer – 2023
36- Lanna Mini Zoo (Thailand) – Sika Deer – 2024
37- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Sika Deer – 2024
AND...
I've seen White-lipped Deer, also known as Thorold's Deer, at only 6 zoos. Here is an extremely rare species, listed at less than 30 zoos on the planet on Zootierliste and a third of those are found in China. Thinking about it, I'm lucky to have even seen this species at 6 locations and only ONCE in the last dozen years have I ever come across White-lipped Deer.
1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – White-lipped Deer – 2006
2- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – White-lipped Deer – 2008
3- Detroit Zoo (USA) – White-lipped Deer – 2008
4- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – White-lipped Deer – 2010
5- Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park (USA) – White-lipped Deer – 2012
6- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – White-lipped Deer – 2019
Sika Deer can still be found at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) in one of the spacious field enclosures. They are labeled as Indochinese Sika Deer.
@King of Komodo Dragons
Here's the Red Panda and Northern Mainland Sika Deer exhibits at Zoo Montana (USA) in 2010:
My photo from 2010 shows a couple of Sika Deer sitting in the shade at Akron Zoo (USA). I'm sure that this AZA zoo would have phased out the species by now. "We don't need no stinkin' deer diversity in our organization!"
The big Asian field exhibit at Montgomery Zoo (USA) held Banteng, Sika Deer, Axis Deer, Fallow Deer, Reeves's Muntjac and Sarus Cranes when I toured the zoo in 2010. Wow!
Zoo Boise (USA) had Mandarin Sika Deer in with Llamas in 2010:
@Ituri
Japanese Sika Deer was the name on the sign (in small print) when I visited Roosevelt Park Zoo (USA) in 2012.
Sika Deer began to pop up in obscure, privately-owned facilities with long names like Gators & Friends: Alligator Park & Exotic Zoo (USA).
And Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Canada):
I saw around a dozen Sika Deer at Van Blanckendaell Park (Netherlands), the first of 9 zoos that held the species on my summer 2019 zoo trek.
There's Vietnamese Sika Deer at ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands). I wonder how many different subspecies of Sika Deer I've seen?
@KevinB
Tierpark Nordhorn (Germany) has a Sika Deer exhibit that's quite beautifully landscaped and it's actually a walk-through enclosure.
Another zoo with a walk-through Sika Deer exhibit is Jyllands Park Zoo (Denmark). Usually, I've come across many European zoos with deer walk-throughs, but it's mainly been with Fallow Deer.
As for White-lipped Deer, I saw this species for the first time at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) and, judging from this 2022 photo, it would seem that the species is still present at the facility. Maybe @Kudu21 knows how many are still there, but I do know that the park has had breeding success in recent years.
@MGolka
I also saw White-lipped Deer at Lincoln Park Zoo (USA) back before they phased them out. It's hard to believe that the zoo had TWO exhibits for the deer and now they are long gone.
Both photos via @geomorph
Detroit Zoo (USA) had a number of White-lipped Deer when I first visited in 2008...now all gone.
@pachyderm pro
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) also had a small herd of White-lipped Deer in the Northern Trek section of the zoo. All 8 photos of the White-Lipped Deer exhibit in the ZooChat gallery were taken by me back in 2010 and there's zero photos since then. Perhaps this rare deer species was phased out soon after my visit? Maybe @CMZman or another Cleveland regular would know when the deer were permanently removed from the zoo.
I know that Rosamond Gifford Zoo (USA) still maintains a few White-lipped Deer, right near the Asian Elephant complex. Perhaps those deer are a little overshadowed by the historic TWIN baby male elephants...
Thank goodness for a zoo like Berlin Tierpark (Germany). Honestly, this place "destroys" basically every zoo in North America in terms of biodiversity of hooved mammals. While zoo after zoo is phasing out rare and exotic species, the mighty Berlin Tierpark regularly has circa 70+ hooved species all across the grounds. Maybe even more. And each species is featured in fantastic, world-class exhibits that are spacious and so impressive that many other zoos look quite 'naff' in comparison. I really 'liked' the Tierpark in 2019 when I trudged around for 8 hours, but I have begun to 'love' it more and more as the years have gone by.
@SivatheriumGuy
Order Artiodactyla:
Antilocapridae: 1 species (30 zoos with Pronghorn)
Camelidae: 2 species (27 zoos with Guanaco, 18 Vicuna)
Cervidae: 23 species so far - (78 zoos with Reeves's Muntjac, 63 White-tailed Deer, 61 Common Fallow Deer, 56 Caribou/Reindeer, 41 Axis Deer, 37 Sika Deer, 30 Mule Deer, 23 Javan Rusa Deer, 21 Southern Red Muntjac, 20 Hog Deer, 20 Pere David's Deer, 19 Sambar Deer, 17 Tufted Deer, 14 Barasingha, 12 Eld's Deer, 8 Bawean Deer, 6 White-lipped Deer, 4 Northern Red Muntjac, 4 Persian Fallow Deer, 4 Philippine Spotted Deer, 3 Calamian Deer, 2 Mexican Red Brocket Deer, 1 Common Red Brocket Deer)
Delphinidae: 7 species (15 zoos with Common Bottlenose Dolphin, 3 Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin, 3 Killer Whale, 3 Pacific White-sided Dolphin, 1 Commerson's Dolphin, 1 False Killer Whale, 1 Short-finned Pilot Whale)
Giraffidae: 5 species (175 zoos with Giraffe (4 species), 31 Okapi)
Hippopotamidae: 2 species (65 zoos with Common Hippo, 44 Pygmy Hippo)
Iniidae: 1 species (1 zoo with Amazon River Dolphin)
Monodontidae: 1 species (7 zoos with Beluga Whale)
Phocoenidae: 1 species (3 zoos with Harbour Porpoise)
Suidae: 8 species (65 zoos with Red River Hog, 51 Warthog, 24 Babirusa, 17 Visayan Warty Pig, 17 Wild Boar, 6 Bearded Pig, 3 Javan Warty Pig, 1 Bushpig)
Tayassuidae: 3 species (33 zoos with Collared Peccary, 17 Chacoan, 4 White-lipped)
Tragulidae: 4 species (13 zoos with Lesser Indo-Malayan Chevrotain, 9 Javan, 7 Greater Indo-Malayan, 2 Balabac)
I've seen Sika Deer at 37 zoos. Looking at Zootierliste, there's at least a dozen subspecies of Sika Deer, a startlingly high number. I'm very curious as to how many I've seen. There's non-subspecific status Sika Deer listed in more than 20 American zoos, probably each one not even AZA-accredited. That organization, for a variety of reasons, is simply not interested in the vast majority of deer species. Therefore, any North American zoo nerd who wishes to see a few Cervid rarities needs to head to non-accredited establishments or venture overseas. In Europe, Sika Deer are super common and listed in close to 100 zoos just under the non-subspecific status category on Zootierliste. They also have had a long list of different names on zoo signs, as you will see below.
2019 = 9 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Sika Deer – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Sika Deer – 1998
3- Langenberg Wildlife Park (Switzerland) – Sika Deer – 2003
4- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Sika Deer – 2006
5- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2008
6- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2008
7- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Sika Deer – 2010
8- Zoo Montana (USA) – Sika Deer – 2010
9- Akron Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2010
10- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2010
11- Zoo Boise (USA) – Sika Deer – 2010
12- Oakland Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2011
13- Roosevelt Park Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2014
14- Wisconsin Deer Park (USA) – Sika Deer – 2014
15- Grant’s Farm (USA) – Sika Deer – 2014
16- Clay Center Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2014
17- Gators & Friends: Alligator Park & Exotic Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2015
18- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Sika Deer – 2015
19- Exotic Resort Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2015
20- Olympic Game Farm (USA) – Sika Deer – 2016
21- Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Canada) – Sika Deer – 2018
22- GarLyn Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2018
23- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Sika Deer – 2018
24- Van Blanckendaell Park (Netherlands) – Sika Deer – 2019
25- Opel Zoo (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
26- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Sika Deer – 2019
27- ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands) – Sika Deer – 2019
28- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
29- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
30- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
31- Tierpark Strohen (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
32- Nordhorn Zoo (Germany) – Sika Deer – 2019
33- Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Denmark) – Sika Deer – 2022
34- Jyllands Park Zoo (Denmark) – Sika Deer – 2022
35- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Sika Deer – 2023
36- Lanna Mini Zoo (Thailand) – Sika Deer – 2024
37- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Sika Deer – 2024
AND...
I've seen White-lipped Deer, also known as Thorold's Deer, at only 6 zoos. Here is an extremely rare species, listed at less than 30 zoos on the planet on Zootierliste and a third of those are found in China. Thinking about it, I'm lucky to have even seen this species at 6 locations and only ONCE in the last dozen years have I ever come across White-lipped Deer.
1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – White-lipped Deer – 2006
2- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – White-lipped Deer – 2008
3- Detroit Zoo (USA) – White-lipped Deer – 2008
4- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – White-lipped Deer – 2010
5- Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park (USA) – White-lipped Deer – 2012
6- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – White-lipped Deer – 2019
Sika Deer can still be found at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) in one of the spacious field enclosures. They are labeled as Indochinese Sika Deer.
@King of Komodo Dragons
Here's the Red Panda and Northern Mainland Sika Deer exhibits at Zoo Montana (USA) in 2010:
My photo from 2010 shows a couple of Sika Deer sitting in the shade at Akron Zoo (USA). I'm sure that this AZA zoo would have phased out the species by now. "We don't need no stinkin' deer diversity in our organization!"
The big Asian field exhibit at Montgomery Zoo (USA) held Banteng, Sika Deer, Axis Deer, Fallow Deer, Reeves's Muntjac and Sarus Cranes when I toured the zoo in 2010. Wow!
Zoo Boise (USA) had Mandarin Sika Deer in with Llamas in 2010:
@Ituri
Japanese Sika Deer was the name on the sign (in small print) when I visited Roosevelt Park Zoo (USA) in 2012.
Sika Deer began to pop up in obscure, privately-owned facilities with long names like Gators & Friends: Alligator Park & Exotic Zoo (USA).
And Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Canada):
I saw around a dozen Sika Deer at Van Blanckendaell Park (Netherlands), the first of 9 zoos that held the species on my summer 2019 zoo trek.
There's Vietnamese Sika Deer at ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands). I wonder how many different subspecies of Sika Deer I've seen?
@KevinB
Tierpark Nordhorn (Germany) has a Sika Deer exhibit that's quite beautifully landscaped and it's actually a walk-through enclosure.
Another zoo with a walk-through Sika Deer exhibit is Jyllands Park Zoo (Denmark). Usually, I've come across many European zoos with deer walk-throughs, but it's mainly been with Fallow Deer.
As for White-lipped Deer, I saw this species for the first time at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) and, judging from this 2022 photo, it would seem that the species is still present at the facility. Maybe @Kudu21 knows how many are still there, but I do know that the park has had breeding success in recent years.
@MGolka
I also saw White-lipped Deer at Lincoln Park Zoo (USA) back before they phased them out. It's hard to believe that the zoo had TWO exhibits for the deer and now they are long gone.
Both photos via @geomorph
Detroit Zoo (USA) had a number of White-lipped Deer when I first visited in 2008...now all gone.
@pachyderm pro
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) also had a small herd of White-lipped Deer in the Northern Trek section of the zoo. All 8 photos of the White-Lipped Deer exhibit in the ZooChat gallery were taken by me back in 2010 and there's zero photos since then. Perhaps this rare deer species was phased out soon after my visit? Maybe @CMZman or another Cleveland regular would know when the deer were permanently removed from the zoo.
I know that Rosamond Gifford Zoo (USA) still maintains a few White-lipped Deer, right near the Asian Elephant complex. Perhaps those deer are a little overshadowed by the historic TWIN baby male elephants...
Thank goodness for a zoo like Berlin Tierpark (Germany). Honestly, this place "destroys" basically every zoo in North America in terms of biodiversity of hooved mammals. While zoo after zoo is phasing out rare and exotic species, the mighty Berlin Tierpark regularly has circa 70+ hooved species all across the grounds. Maybe even more. And each species is featured in fantastic, world-class exhibits that are spacious and so impressive that many other zoos look quite 'naff' in comparison. I really 'liked' the Tierpark in 2019 when I trudged around for 8 hours, but I have begun to 'love' it more and more as the years have gone by.
@SivatheriumGuy
Order Artiodactyla:
Antilocapridae: 1 species (30 zoos with Pronghorn)
Camelidae: 2 species (27 zoos with Guanaco, 18 Vicuna)
Cervidae: 23 species so far - (78 zoos with Reeves's Muntjac, 63 White-tailed Deer, 61 Common Fallow Deer, 56 Caribou/Reindeer, 41 Axis Deer, 37 Sika Deer, 30 Mule Deer, 23 Javan Rusa Deer, 21 Southern Red Muntjac, 20 Hog Deer, 20 Pere David's Deer, 19 Sambar Deer, 17 Tufted Deer, 14 Barasingha, 12 Eld's Deer, 8 Bawean Deer, 6 White-lipped Deer, 4 Northern Red Muntjac, 4 Persian Fallow Deer, 4 Philippine Spotted Deer, 3 Calamian Deer, 2 Mexican Red Brocket Deer, 1 Common Red Brocket Deer)
Delphinidae: 7 species (15 zoos with Common Bottlenose Dolphin, 3 Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin, 3 Killer Whale, 3 Pacific White-sided Dolphin, 1 Commerson's Dolphin, 1 False Killer Whale, 1 Short-finned Pilot Whale)
Giraffidae: 5 species (175 zoos with Giraffe (4 species), 31 Okapi)
Hippopotamidae: 2 species (65 zoos with Common Hippo, 44 Pygmy Hippo)
Iniidae: 1 species (1 zoo with Amazon River Dolphin)
Monodontidae: 1 species (7 zoos with Beluga Whale)
Phocoenidae: 1 species (3 zoos with Harbour Porpoise)
Suidae: 8 species (65 zoos with Red River Hog, 51 Warthog, 24 Babirusa, 17 Visayan Warty Pig, 17 Wild Boar, 6 Bearded Pig, 3 Javan Warty Pig, 1 Bushpig)
Tayassuidae: 3 species (33 zoos with Collared Peccary, 17 Chacoan, 4 White-lipped)
Tragulidae: 4 species (13 zoos with Lesser Indo-Malayan Chevrotain, 9 Javan, 7 Greater Indo-Malayan, 2 Balabac)