Snowleopard's Mammals: A Lifetime List of Species Mammalian and Non-Mammalian

[Austin the Sengi]

Bongos, my beloved!

In all seriousness, it should also be mentioned that if you ever decide to look through the “Your Top Five Favorite Antelopes” thread, which was created by yours truly last November. The results that followed greatly favored the Bongo as either their favorite, or, one of their favorite species of antelope. Thus, making the Bongo as ZooChat’s (unofficial) favorite antelope!

 

[Enzo]

I've seen a LOT of Bongo antelope. This is a very large, forest-dwelling mammal that is common in zoos across North America and Europe. The one continent where I've visited zoos that Bongo have not been common is Asia, where the species is extremely rare. It seems that everywhere else has Bongo in large numbers. Much like the Greater Kudu, here is an antelope that remains a focus of the AZA breeding programs and I've never once seen a Bongo at a roadside, unaccredited American zoo.

I've seen Bongo at 58 zoos:

2008 = 12 zoos
2010 = 9 zoos
2019 = 13 zoos

1- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Bongo – 2006
2- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2006
3- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Bongo – 2006
4- Denver Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2006
5- Taronga Zoo (Australia) – Bongo – 2007
6- Adelaide Zoo (Australia) – Bongo – 2007
7- Monarto Zoo (Australia) – Bongo – 2007
8- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – Bongo – 2008
9- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Bongo – 2008
10- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2008
11- Zoo Atlanta (USA) – Bongo – 2008
12- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2008
13- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2008
14- Mountain View Conservation Centre (Canada) – Bongo – 2008
15- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Bongo – 2008
16- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Bongo – 2008
17- Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Bongo – 2008
18- White Oak Conservation Center (USA) – Bongo – 2008
19- Zoo Miami (USA) – Bongo – 2008
20- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2010
21- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2010
22- Louisville Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2010
23- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2010
24- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2010
25- Houston Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2010
26- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2010
27- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2010
28- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2010
29- Sacramento Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2011
30- Great Plains Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2012
31- John Ball Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2012
32- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2012
33- Franklin Park Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2012
34- Virginia Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2012
35- Dickerson Park Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2012
36- Roosevelt Park Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2014
37- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Bongo – 2015
38- Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (USA) – Bongo – 2015
39- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Bongo – 2017
40- San Francisco Zoo (USA) – Bongo – 2017
41- Diergaarde Blijdorp (Netherlands) – Bongo – 2019
42- Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) – Bongo – 2019
43- Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) – Bongo – 2019
44- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Bongo – 2019
45- GaiaZOO (Netherlands) – Bongo – 2019
46- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Bongo – 2019
47- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Bongo – 2019
48- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Bongo – 2019
49- Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands) – Bongo – 2019
50- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Bongo – 2019
51- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Bongo – 2019
52- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Bongo – 2019
53- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Bongo – 2019
54- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Bongo – 2022
55- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – Bongo – 2022
56- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Bongo – 2022
57- Boras Zoo (Sweden) – Bongo – 2022
58- Night Safari (Singapore) – Bongo – 2024

Bongo have long been one of my favourite antelope species because they are astonishing looking mammals with their white stripes and chestnut brown coat. Here's one at Zoo Miami (USA):

@Austin the Sengi

The first time I ever saw a Bongo was at Calgary Zoo (Canada) in 2006. A spacious, shaded yard alongside the Bow River was a perfect location for a Bongo habitat, but the antelope were soon gone and this area is now Land of Lemurs.

@Ituri

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA) had a herd of Bongo when I first visited that zoo in 2008 and later on the species was included in the vast African Grasslands complex. I saw Bongo with Blue Cranes during my last visit to this zoo in 2018.

A really memorable Bongo exhibit can be found at Jacksonville Zoo (USA), as the enclosure is huge and includes a small lake. Yellow-backed Duiker were here as well at one point.

@Moebelle

When I was at White Oak Conservation Centre (USA) in late 2008, the facility had exactly a dozen Bongo in a huge paddock.

Just like at Omaha, Saint Louis Zoo (USA) used to have Bongo with Blue Cranes. The last photos of Bongo here are mine from 2014...has the species left Saint Louis in the last decade?

Houston Zoo (USA) had Bongo, Yellow-backed Duiker and Southern Ground Hornbill all together when I was last there in 2015. Any Bongo left now?

Here's a THIRD zoo with Bongo and Yellow-backed Duiker together, along with Colobus Monkeys! Caldwell Zoo (USA):

There's two Bongos and two Southern Ground Hornbills in this photo of a beautiful exhibit at John Ball Zoo (USA):

@Rhino0118

Does Franklin Park Zoo (USA) have Bongo these days? There's a handful of AZA zoos that have gone out of the species. Here's my photo from 2012:

The next three zoos on my list (Virginia, Dickerson, Roosevelt Park) all combined Bongo with Crowned Cranes, but in yards that were fairly boring and nondescript. I like the appearance of the Bongo exhibit at Blijdorp Zoo (Netherlands), with its nice benches, the rustic wooden fence and the typically European antelope barn. It all looks quite pleasant.

@Mr Gharial

Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) has created a new Bongo/Kirk's Dik-dik exhibit since my 2019 visit and this zoo does well with both species.

@KevinB

In an older section of Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) can be found a Bongo exhibit with apartment complexes as a backdrop.

@Gil

Duisburg Zoo (Germany) has a Bongo exhibit with several mature trees providing a substantial amount of shade.

@vogelcommando

The African-themed Takamanda area at Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) has an exhibit that is home to Bongo, Impala and Red River Hog. Now that's a unique mix!

Perhaps the best Bongo exhibit I've ever seen is the one at Givskud Zoo (Denmark). I saw maybe a dozen of the antelope in a space that must be a few acres in size.

Not to be outdone by its Danish peer, Ree Park Safari (Denmark) also has an enormous Bongo exhibit that is partly forested and can be seen via this viewing area.

A much smaller, simpler Bongo exhibit can be seen at Boras Zoo (Sweden):

Family Bovidae: 18 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (kind of like my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

I first heard about bongo antelope when I was child, while watching a documentary about the Congo Rainforest. I saw the species for the first time in Lisbon six years ago (basically my whole antelope species seen list is filled with entries from my visit to Lisbon).

I am not sure if any have been held in Brazil. I would have to have a read through the many Censuses of Rare Animals done by the IZY. However, there is a mounted skeleton at the USP Museum of Veterinary Anatomy.

Bongo, however, have been held in the wider South American region. At least a few were mixed with secretary birds at Temaikèn a few years ago, but all antelope besides blackbuck and eland are gone from Argentina.

 

[birdsandbats]

Bongo is yet another species which has been working its way into roadside zoos over the past few years.

 

[Osedax]

It seems that everywhere else has Bongo in large numbers.

Australia doesn't. We've got 6 individuals between three zoos, with only one breeding female. However, some zoos have expressed interest in this species, and as we are now able to import bovids, future imports may be on the cards.

 

[NNM.]

Just like at Omaha, Saint Louis Zoo (USA) used to have Bongo with Blue Cranes. The last photos of Bongo here are mine from 2014...has the species left Saint Louis in the last decade?

Yes, unfortunately.

 

[snowleopard]

Time to look at TWO species today. While yesterday's post about Bongo (58 zoos) discussed a hefty number of zoological establishments, there's an antelope species today that equals that total and another that's ultra-rare and now almost extinct in zoos worldwide. What a shame!

Are Common Eland still holding strong in AZA-accredited zoos? Scrolling through Zootierliste, it would appear that out of the almost 50 zoos in the United States with Common Eland, maybe just over a dozen are AZA-accredited and the rest are either ZAA or nothing. Hmmm...that's a little worrying if Common Eland are showing up at roadside menageries in large numbers and are now in fewer major zoos. Maybe they've been getting replaced by Greater Kudu and Bongo? There's definitely less than there used to be in AZA institutions. A real shock for me was seeing 10 zoos with Common Eland on my 3-week Southeast Asian trip. I wasn't sure how frequently I would see African megafauna in Asia, but Common Eland were everywhere and, per capita, are more common in Southeast Asian zoos than they are anywhere else I've been to.

As for Giant Eland, well that's a disaster story right there as they are all but extinct from North American zoos.

I've seen Common Eland at 58 zoos:

2015 = 8 zoos
2019 = 10 zoos
2024 = 10 zoos

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Common Eland – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Common Eland – 1998
3- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2006
4- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2006
5- Denver Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2006
6- Monarto Zoo (Australia) – Common Eland – 2007
7- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Common Eland – 2008
8- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Common Eland – 2008
9- White Oak Conservation Center (USA) – Common Eland – 2008
10- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
11- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
12- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
13- Nashville Zoo at Grassmere (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
14- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
15- Oakland Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
16- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
17- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
18- Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
19- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (USA) – Common Eland – 2012
20- Hattiesburg Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2012
21- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2014
22- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2014
23- Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
24- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
25- Gone Wild Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
26- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
27- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
28- Bayou Wildlife Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
29- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
30- Exotic Resort Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
31- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Common Eland – 2017
32- Detroit Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2018
33- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2018
34- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Common Eland – 2019
35- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Common Eland – 2019
36- Opel Zoo (Germany) – Common Eland– 2019
37- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
38- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
39- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Common Eland – 2019
40- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
41- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
42- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
43- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
44- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Common Eland – 2022
45- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – Common Eland – 2022
46- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Common Eland – 2022
47- Boras Zoo (Sweden) – Common Eland – 2022
48- Kristiansand Zoo (Norway) – Common Eland – 2022
49- Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand) – Common Eland – 2024
50- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – Common Eland – 2024
51- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Common Eland – 2024
52- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Common Eland – 2024
53- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
54- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
55- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
56- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
57- Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
58- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024

AND...

I've seen Giant Eland at 5 zoos:

1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Giant Eland – 2006
2- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Giant Eland – 2006
3- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Giant Eland – 2008
4- Zoo Miami (USA) – Giant Eland – 2008
5- Houston Zoo (USA) – Giant Eland – 2010

Stretching the very definition of what constitutes an 'exhibit', the vast expanse of land that holds Giraffe, Common Eland, Ostriches and perhaps other species over the years can be found at Monarto Safari Park (Australia).

@Swanson02

A much smaller, yet still very impressive African Savanna exhibit can be found at Nashville Zoo (USA) and as of last year this field held Common Eland, Bontebok, Plains Zebra and Ostrich.

@pachyderm pro

Another zoo, another African Savanna. Oakland Zoo (USA) has combined Common Eland with Giraffe, Dama Gazelle (now gone) and Egyptian Geese in the past.

@Coelacanth18

Over the years, Common Eland have popped up in tons of roadside, junky American zoos. Here's a photo I took at Gone Wild Safari (USA):

Here's a great photo at Pakawi Park (Belgium), showing Common Eland, Giraffe, Plains Zebra and Scimitar-horned Oryx at feeding time. Those 4 species are in very close proximity!

@KevinB

ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) has a massive African Savanna that has a number of species roaming around, including Common Eland. This is a zoo with a very high quality set of exhibits.

It's very rare to see Common Eland by themselves, as this species is almost always combined with other types of mammals. Here's some eland with Plains Zebra at Berlin Zoo (Germany):

@JigerofLemuria

Here's another sprawling African Savanna with Common Eland and other species, this time at Kristiansand Zoo (Norway):

I've already highlighted the gorgeous African Savanna at Khao Kheow Open Range Zoo (Thailand) a couple of times, so on this occasion I will look at the African Savanna at Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand). Here can be found Common Eland, Giraffe, Plains Zebra (the usual three amigos), Waterbuck and Scimitar-horned Oryx.

Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) has an African Savanna with species such as Common Eland, Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Nyala, plus birds such as Greater Flamingo, Sacred Ibis and African Spoonbill. And, naturally there are Crab-eating Macaques and Southern Pig-tailed Macaques roaming the zoo as well. Do they count?

If you zoom in, you can see a keeper putting food out for the Common Eland in an exhibit at Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia). Here's a rare example of an exhibit for Common Eland and there's no other species mixed with them.

Just look at this African Savanna at Solo Safari (Indonesia). There's Common Eland, Plains Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Kafue Lechwe, Watusi and Ostrich all signed in this stunning, semi-forested enclosure. Sitatunga are in a side exhibit and the whole thing is gorgeous. The African Savanna type exhibits that are the closest to me (Greater Vancouver Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, Oregon Zoo) are sadly inadequate and downright outdated compared to the zoo savannas I've seen overseas. For example, Woodland Park's is mostly devoid of animals and really showing its age, while Oregon's Giraffe Barn is disgracefully tiny and yet the Giraffes are locked inside for probably 17 hours a day. In many Southeast Asian zoos, animals have 24/7 access to their entire enclosures due to warm temperatures.

As for Giant Eland, the very first time I saw one was in Horn & Hoof Mesa at San Diego Zoo (USA) in 2006, in an exhibit that was soon bulldozed to make way for the much-maligned Elephant Odyssey.

@Giant Eland (how appropriate!)

San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) had a large herd of Giant Eland for years and it was one of the highlights of a visit. They lived on a sloped hillside in the African Woods walking trail and so it was nice to spend time staring at them in awe. When I visited the Safari Park in 2017 there was a herd of around 20 Giant Eland and upon my next visit (2023) there was ZERO. The park went from 20 to 0 in 6 years.

@twilighter

I saw a couple of Giant Eland at Los Angeles Zoo (USA) in 2008 and here's one resting against a chain-link fence:

Here's a photo of 5 Giant Eland taken at Zoo Miami (USA) just last year. I first saw the species at this zoo 16 years ago and the herd has dwindled to almost nothing since then.

@SusScrofa

I have photos of Giant Eland from my visits to Houston Zoo (USA) in 2010 and 2015, but now this is yet another zoo without the species. They were combined, at various times, with Marabou Storks, Nyala, Dorcas Gazelles and Plains Zebra.

Family Bovidae: 20 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

 

[TeaLovingDave]

I love how the order in which you have recently been tackling species has flipped back and forth between strictly taxonomic (dealing with all the bovines, and then their sister groups the boselaphines and tragelaphines together) and wholesale "eh, why the hell not" logic by inserting a sheep into the middle of the bovines, and a gazelle into the middle of the tragelaphines

To rewind a bit, although Lesser Kudu are definitely one of the more uncommon tragelaphines in captivity I think your European experiences reflect the sample rather than the overall picture within the continent - having never left Europe, I've nonetheless seen the species at a total of 11 collections, not all that far off your own worldwide total. Conversely, I've only seen Greater Kudu at a total of 16 collections - only slightly more than you managed in Europe!

 

[Enzo]

Time to look at TWO species today. While yesterday's post about Bongo (58 zoos) discussed a hefty number of zoological establishments, there's an antelope species today that equals that total and another that's ultra-rare and now almost extinct in zoos worldwide. What a shame!

Are Common Eland still holding strong in AZA-accredited zoos? Scrolling through Zootierliste, it would appear that out of the almost 50 zoos in the United States with Common Eland, maybe just over a dozen are AZA-accredited and the rest are either ZAA or nothing. Hmmm...that's a little worrying if Common Eland are showing up at roadside menageries in large numbers and are now in fewer major zoos. Maybe they've been getting replaced by Greater Kudu and Bongo? There's definitely less than there used to be in AZA institutions. A real shock for me was seeing 10 zoos with Common Eland on my 3-week Southeast Asian trip. I wasn't sure how frequently I would see African megafauna in Asia, but Common Eland were everywhere and, per capita, are more common in Southeast Asian zoos than they are anywhere else I've been to.

As for Giant Eland, well that's a disaster story right there as they are all but extinct from North American zoos.

I've seen Common Eland at 58 zoos:

2015 = 8 zoos
2019 = 10 zoos
2024 = 10 zoos

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Common Eland – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Common Eland – 1998
3- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2006
4- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2006
5- Denver Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2006
6- Monarto Zoo (Australia) – Common Eland – 2007
7- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Common Eland – 2008
8- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Common Eland – 2008
9- White Oak Conservation Center (USA) – Common Eland – 2008
10- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
11- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
12- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
13- Nashville Zoo at Grassmere (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
14- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
15- Oakland Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
16- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
17- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
18- Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
19- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (USA) – Common Eland – 2012
20- Hattiesburg Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2012
21- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2014
22- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2014
23- Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
24- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
25- Gone Wild Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
26- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
27- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
28- Bayou Wildlife Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
29- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
30- Exotic Resort Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
31- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Common Eland – 2017
32- Detroit Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2018
33- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2018
34- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Common Eland – 2019
35- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Common Eland – 2019
36- Opel Zoo (Germany) – Common Eland– 2019
37- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
38- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
39- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Common Eland – 2019
40- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
41- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
42- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
43- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
44- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Common Eland – 2022
45- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – Common Eland – 2022
46- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Common Eland – 2022
47- Boras Zoo (Sweden) – Common Eland – 2022
48- Kristiansand Zoo (Norway) – Common Eland – 2022
49- Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand) – Common Eland – 2024
50- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – Common Eland – 2024
51- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Common Eland – 2024
52- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Common Eland – 2024
53- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
54- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
55- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
56- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
57- Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
58- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024

AND...

I've seen Giant Eland at 5 zoos:

1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Giant Eland – 2006
2- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Giant Eland – 2006
3- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Giant Eland – 2008
4- Zoo Miami (USA) – Giant Eland – 2008
5- Houston Zoo (USA) – Giant Eland – 2010

Stretching the very definition of what constitutes an 'exhibit', the vast expanse of land that holds Giraffe, Common Eland, Ostriches and perhaps other species over the years can be found at Monarto Safari Park (Australia).

@Swanson02

A much smaller, yet still very impressive African Savanna exhibit can be found at Nashville Zoo (USA) and as of last year this field held Common Eland, Bontebok, Plains Zebra and Ostrich.

@pachyderm pro

Another zoo, another African Savanna. Oakland Zoo (USA) has combined Common Eland with Giraffe, Dama Gazelle (now gone) and Egyptian Geese in the past.

@Coelacanth18

Over the years, Common Eland have popped up in tons of roadside, junky American zoos. Here's a photo I took at Gone Wild Safari (USA):

Here's a great photo at Pakawi Park (Belgium), showing Common Eland, Giraffe, Plains Zebra and Scimitar-horned Oryx at feeding time. Those 4 species are in very close proximity!

@KevinB

ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) has a massive African Savanna that has a number of species roaming around, including Common Eland. This is a zoo with a very high quality set of exhibits.

It's very rare to see Common Eland by themselves, as this species is almost always combined with other types of mammals. Here's some eland with Plains Zebra at Berlin Zoo (Germany):

@JigerofLemuria

Here's another sprawling African Savanna with Common Eland and other species, this time at Kristiansand Zoo (Norway):

I've already highlighted the gorgeous African Savanna at Khao Kheow Open Range Zoo (Thailand) a couple of times, so on this occasion I will look at the African Savanna at Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand). Here can be found Common Eland, Giraffe, Plains Zebra (the usual three amigos), Waterbuck and Scimitar-horned Oryx.

Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) has an African Savanna with species such as Common Eland, Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Nyala, plus birds such as Greater Flamingo, Sacred Ibis and African Spoonbill. And, naturally there are Crab-eating Macaques and Southern Pig-tailed Macaques roaming the zoo as well. Do they count?

If you zoom in, you can see a keeper putting food out for the Common Eland in an exhibit at Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia). Here's a rare example of an exhibit for Common Eland and there's no other species mixed with them.

Just look at this African Savanna at Solo Safari (Indonesia). There's Common Eland, Plains Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Kafue Lechwe, Watusi and Ostrich all signed in this stunning, semi-forested enclosure. Sitatunga are in a side exhibit and the whole thing is gorgeous. The African Savanna type exhibits that are the closest to me (Greater Vancouver Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, Oregon Zoo) are sadly inadequate and downright outdated compared to the zoo savannas I've seen overseas. For example, Woodland Park's is mostly devoid of animals and really showing its age, while Oregon's Giraffe Barn is disgracefully tiny and yet the Giraffes are locked inside for probably 17 hours a day. In many Southeast Asian zoos, animals have 24/7 access to their entire enclosures due to warm temperatures.

As for Giant Eland, the very first time I saw one was in Horn & Hoof Mesa at San Diego Zoo (USA) in 2006, in an exhibit that was soon bulldozed to make way for the much-maligned Elephant Odyssey.

@Giant Eland (how appropriate!)

San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) had a large herd of Giant Eland for years and it was one of the highlights of a visit. They lived on a sloped hillside in the African Woods walking trail and so it was nice to spend time staring at them in awe. When I visited the Safari Park in 2017 there was a herd of around 20 Giant Eland and upon my next visit (2023) there was ZERO. The park went from 20 to 0 in 6 years.

@twilighter

I saw a couple of Giant Eland at Los Angeles Zoo (USA) in 2008 and here's one resting against a chain-link fence:

Here's a photo of 5 Giant Eland taken at Zoo Miami (USA) just last year. I first saw the species at this zoo 16 years ago and the herd has dwindled to almost nothing since then.

@SusScrofa

I have photos of Giant Eland from my visits to Houston Zoo (USA) in 2010 and 2015, but now this is yet another zoo without the species. They were combined, at various times, with Marabou Storks, Nyala, Dorcas Gazelles and Plains Zebra.

Family Bovidae: 20 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

I only saw common eland twice (both times in 2018, first at the Lisbon zoo, then at Zoo Santo Inácio).

They used to be very common in Brazilian zoos (BioParque do Rio (Rio de Janeiro), São Paulo (Simba Safari included), ZooParque Itatiba, PZMQB (Sorocaba), Belo Horizonte, Zoopark da Montanha (Marechal Floriano), Curitiba, Recife, Goiânia and Brasília all held the species), but currently there's only one holder (Portobello Safari Resort, Mangaratiba), and I fear they only have a sole female at the moment. They are still commercially bred at a few places though, but not that many zoos are interested in obtaining antelope, so I don't think I'll be seeing them soon.

They are very common in Upper Middle Income economies and island nations, though, hence why they are the dominant antelope species in Argentina, Thailand and Australia. I reckoned they were even more prevalent outside Brazil (with numbers increasing), but I guess I was wrong, especially about how common they are in the First World.

 

[Jurek7]

50 years ago, Eland was one of commonest antelope, and is considered easy to keep, calm and easy to tame, while Bongo was very rare and considered skittish and difficult. Decline of Eland and rise of Bongo is another case of an endangered species replacing a commoner one.

A fascinating fact is that zoo Askanya Nova in Ukraine, formerly USSR, sometime in the 20. century had a longstanding project to fully domesticate Eland including milking them. Unfortunately it was in the pre-internet era and I did not manage to trace the results. The eland were apparently dependably bred, tamed and milked, and the milk was considered of a higher quality than cow's milk. I guess they were not competitive to cattle.

 

[Enzo]

50 years ago, Eland was one of commonest antelope, and is considered easy to keep, calm and easy to tame, while Bongo was very rare and considered skittish and difficult. Decline of Eland and rise of Bongo is another case of an endangered species replacing a commoner one.

A fascinating fact is that zoo Askanya Nova in Ukraine, formerly USSR, had a longstanding project to fully domesticate Eland including milking them. Unfortunately it was in the pre-internet era and I did not manage to trace the results. The eland were apparently dependably bred, tamed and milked, and the milk was considered of a higher quality than cow's milk but were probably not competitive to cattle.

Now that you have mentioned an attempt at domesticating eland, I have remembered a story that happened in Northeastern Brazil forty years ago.

Twenty-four bovids (twelve common eland and twelve scimitar-horned oryx) were imported to Estação Experimental de Terras Secas ("dryland experimental station" in Portuguese), in Pedro Avelino (Rio Grande do Norte), from Texas in 1983. They were brought to Northeastern Brazil because it was believed they would outperform other livestock in the Caatinga due to their hardiness to semi-arid climates. The experiment, however, proved to be a failure, and the remaining three antelope, including a female oryx, were sent to Recife in 1988.

The Belo Horizonte zoo also supplied EETS with six eland, some of which passed away not long after arrival.

 

[Wisp O' Mist]

A fascinating fact is that zoo Askanya Nova in Ukraine, formerly USSR, sometime in the 20. century had a longstanding project to fully domesticate Eland including milking them. Unfortunately it was in the pre-internet era and I did not manage to trace the results. The eland were apparently dependably bred, tamed and milked, and the milk was considered of a higher quality than cow's milk. I guess they were not competitive to cattle.

Of interest: https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/rangelands/article/viewFile/11780/11053

https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.5555/20063028235

https://www.researchgate.net/public...omestication_of_the_eland_at_Askanya-Nova_Zoo

 

[ralph]

When it comes to antelopes, Europe falls short compared to the usa. You have already covered 3 species I haven't seen (royal antelope, bushbuck, giant eland) and I am sure you will cover some gazelles and duikers that are found on your side of the Atlantic, but not on mine.

 

[Panda_Fan]

Time to look at TWO species today. While yesterday's post about Bongo (58 zoos) discussed a hefty number of zoological establishments, there's an antelope species today that equals that total and another that's ultra-rare and now almost extinct in zoos worldwide. What a shame!

Are Common Eland still holding strong in AZA-accredited zoos? Scrolling through Zootierliste, it would appear that out of the almost 50 zoos in the United States with Common Eland, maybe just over a dozen are AZA-accredited and the rest are either ZAA or nothing. Hmmm...that's a little worrying if Common Eland are showing up at roadside menageries in large numbers and are now in fewer major zoos. Maybe they've been getting replaced by Greater Kudu and Bongo? There's definitely less than there used to be in AZA institutions. A real shock for me was seeing 10 zoos with Common Eland on my 3-week Southeast Asian trip. I wasn't sure how frequently I would see African megafauna in Asia, but Common Eland were everywhere and, per capita, are more common in Southeast Asian zoos than they are anywhere else I've been to.

As for Giant Eland, well that's a disaster story right there as they are all but extinct from North American zoos.

I've seen Common Eland at 58 zoos:

2015 = 8 zoos
2019 = 10 zoos
2024 = 10 zoos

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Common Eland – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Common Eland – 1998
3- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2006
4- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2006
5- Denver Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2006
6- Monarto Zoo (Australia) – Common Eland – 2007
7- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Common Eland – 2008
8- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Common Eland – 2008
9- White Oak Conservation Center (USA) – Common Eland – 2008
10- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
11- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
12- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
13- Nashville Zoo at Grassmere (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
14- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2010
15- Oakland Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
16- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
17- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
18- Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2011
19- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (USA) – Common Eland – 2012
20- Hattiesburg Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2012
21- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2014
22- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2014
23- Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
24- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
25- Gone Wild Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
26- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
27- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
28- Bayou Wildlife Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
29- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
30- Exotic Resort Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2015
31- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Common Eland – 2017
32- Detroit Zoo (USA) – Common Eland – 2018
33- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Common Eland – 2018
34- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Common Eland – 2019
35- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Common Eland – 2019
36- Opel Zoo (Germany) – Common Eland– 2019
37- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
38- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
39- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Common Eland – 2019
40- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
41- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
42- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
43- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Common Eland – 2019
44- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Common Eland – 2022
45- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – Common Eland – 2022
46- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Common Eland – 2022
47- Boras Zoo (Sweden) – Common Eland – 2022
48- Kristiansand Zoo (Norway) – Common Eland – 2022
49- Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand) – Common Eland – 2024
50- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – Common Eland – 2024
51- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Common Eland – 2024
52- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Common Eland – 2024
53- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
54- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
55- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
56- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
57- Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024
58- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Common Eland – 2024

AND...

I've seen Giant Eland at 5 zoos:

1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Giant Eland – 2006
2- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Giant Eland – 2006
3- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Giant Eland – 2008
4- Zoo Miami (USA) – Giant Eland – 2008
5- Houston Zoo (USA) – Giant Eland – 2010

Stretching the very definition of what constitutes an 'exhibit', the vast expanse of land that holds Giraffe, Common Eland, Ostriches and perhaps other species over the years can be found at Monarto Safari Park (Australia).

@Swanson02

A much smaller, yet still very impressive African Savanna exhibit can be found at Nashville Zoo (USA) and as of last year this field held Common Eland, Bontebok, Plains Zebra and Ostrich.

@pachyderm pro

Another zoo, another African Savanna. Oakland Zoo (USA) has combined Common Eland with Giraffe, Dama Gazelle (now gone) and Egyptian Geese in the past.

@Coelacanth18

Over the years, Common Eland have popped up in tons of roadside, junky American zoos. Here's a photo I took at Gone Wild Safari (USA):

Here's a great photo at Pakawi Park (Belgium), showing Common Eland, Giraffe, Plains Zebra and Scimitar-horned Oryx at feeding time. Those 4 species are in very close proximity!

@KevinB

ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) has a massive African Savanna that has a number of species roaming around, including Common Eland. This is a zoo with a very high quality set of exhibits.

It's very rare to see Common Eland by themselves, as this species is almost always combined with other types of mammals. Here's some eland with Plains Zebra at Berlin Zoo (Germany):

@JigerofLemuria

Here's another sprawling African Savanna with Common Eland and other species, this time at Kristiansand Zoo (Norway):

I've already highlighted the gorgeous African Savanna at Khao Kheow Open Range Zoo (Thailand) a couple of times, so on this occasion I will look at the African Savanna at Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand). Here can be found Common Eland, Giraffe, Plains Zebra (the usual three amigos), Waterbuck and Scimitar-horned Oryx.

Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) has an African Savanna with species such as Common Eland, Giraffe, Plains Zebra, Nyala, plus birds such as Greater Flamingo, Sacred Ibis and African Spoonbill. And, naturally there are Crab-eating Macaques and Southern Pig-tailed Macaques roaming the zoo as well. Do they count?

If you zoom in, you can see a keeper putting food out for the Common Eland in an exhibit at Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia). Here's a rare example of an exhibit for Common Eland and there's no other species mixed with them.

Just look at this African Savanna at Solo Safari (Indonesia). There's Common Eland, Plains Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Waterbuck, Kafue Lechwe, Watusi and Ostrich all signed in this stunning, semi-forested enclosure. Sitatunga are in a side exhibit and the whole thing is gorgeous. The African Savanna type exhibits that are the closest to me (Greater Vancouver Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, Oregon Zoo) are sadly inadequate and downright outdated compared to the zoo savannas I've seen overseas. For example, Woodland Park's is mostly devoid of animals and really showing its age, while Oregon's Giraffe Barn is disgracefully tiny and yet the Giraffes are locked inside for probably 17 hours a day. In many Southeast Asian zoos, animals have 24/7 access to their entire enclosures due to warm temperatures.

As for Giant Eland, the very first time I saw one was in Horn & Hoof Mesa at San Diego Zoo (USA) in 2006, in an exhibit that was soon bulldozed to make way for the much-maligned Elephant Odyssey.

@Giant Eland (how appropriate!)

San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) had a large herd of Giant Eland for years and it was one of the highlights of a visit. They lived on a sloped hillside in the African Woods walking trail and so it was nice to spend time staring at them in awe. When I visited the Safari Park in 2017 there was a herd of around 20 Giant Eland and upon my next visit (2023) there was ZERO. The park went from 20 to 0 in 6 years.

@twilighter

I saw a couple of Giant Eland at Los Angeles Zoo (USA) in 2008 and here's one resting against a chain-link fence:

Here's a photo of 5 Giant Eland taken at Zoo Miami (USA) just last year. I first saw the species at this zoo 16 years ago and the herd has dwindled to almost nothing since then.

@SusScrofa

I have photos of Giant Eland from my visits to Houston Zoo (USA) in 2010 and 2015, but now this is yet another zoo without the species. They were combined, at various times, with Marabou Storks, Nyala, Dorcas Gazelles and Plains Zebra.

Family Bovidae: 20 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

Wonder what zoochaters prefer. The Elephant Odyssey or the Horn and Hoof mesa?

 

[Wisp O' Mist]

Wonder what zoochaters prefer. The Elephant Odyssey or the Horn and Hoof mesa?

Have you even been on this 'site for very long? It's Horn and Hoof Mesa by a large margin. lol

 

[Panda_Fan]

Have you even been on this 'site for very long? It's Horn and Hoof Mesa by a large margin. lol

I supposed it, lossing a lot of rare species for what is consider a bad complex was a hard hit for the zoo, and for the belivers that the zoo is 'the best'. (me included )

 

[Aardwolf]

Worth noting that within its lifetime, Horn and Hoof Mesa was frequently criticized both by members of the public and by a decent number of zoo professionals for just being a series of bland, dusty paddocks. What was in those paddocks, to be sure, was very interesting, but I think the rarities present (mixed with nostalgia) cause us to excuse what really were a bunch of mediocre enclosures.

 

[Panda_Fan]

Worth noting that within its lifetime, Horn and Hoof Mesa was frequently criticized both by members of the public and by a decent number of zoo professionals for just being a series of bland, dusty paddocks. What was in those paddocks, to be sure, was very interesting, but I think the rarities present (mixed with nostalgia) cause us to excuse what really were a bunch of mediocre enclosures.

Knowing SDZ, I think they could have modernized the exhibits and have rarities which could have been a preaty decent area.

 

[Enzo]

I first heard about bongo antelope when I was child, while watching a documentary about the Congo Rainforest. I saw the species for the first time in Lisbon six years ago (basically my whole antelope species seen list is filled with entries from my visit to Lisbon).

I am not sure if any have been held in Brazil. I would have to have a read through the many Censuses of Rare Animals done by the IZY. However, there is a mounted skeleton at the USP Museum of Veterinary Anatomy.

Bongo, however, have been held in the wider South American region. At least a few were mixed with secretary birds at Temaikèn a few years ago, but all antelope besides blackbuck and eland are gone from Argentina.

I forgot to mention Bongo are still present in Chile, both at the National Zoo and in Buín.

When it comes to antelopes, Europe falls short compared to the usa. You have already covered 3 species I haven't seen (royal antelope, bushbuck, giant eland) and I am sure you will cover some gazelles and duikers that are found on your side of the Atlantic, but not on mine.

Be glad you live in the Northern Atlantic, it could be worse lol.

Zoos in South America and Oceania lack antelope diversity. Only two species (blackbuck and waterbuck) dominate zoos this side of the Pacific, while three (blackbuck, eland and scimitar-horned oryx) are more prevalent on the other.

 

[Aardwolf]

Knowing SDZ, I think they could have modernized the exhibits and have rarities which could have been a preaty decent area.

Two challenges there. First of all, it's pretty hard to maintain rarities by yourself. For a species to really be stable, you need a few zoos to commit to them; there's a reason that the new SSP rule is to have 15 zoos participating in each studbook (though I myself think that rule is a bit arbitrary, especially when you consider social species which can have a lot of breeding pairs at one zoo). To that end, San Diego's commitment to rarities isn't enough - they need partners that are also holders working with the species (we'll see how long Bronx is able to keep gaur going, they may make a liar of me yet).

The other challenge is that San Diego is inevitably going to face comparisons with the Safari Park. That's true enough for the lion, tiger, gorilla, etc, but hoofstock are where the comparisons can get a bit jarring are the hoofstock. Even as a kid, I noticed the difference between antelope exhibits on H&H M versus the park, and felt like some animals had hit the jackpot by going to Escondido. Nothing makes your antelope, giraffe, and rhino exhibits look antiquated like having a sister zoo nearby with single enclosures that are larger than many whole zoos.

I've long felt that urban zoos should consider focusing their exhibit space on ungulates that don't do large herds or play nice in the big, mixed-species exhibits, but are best managed as smaller united (anoa, critically endangered and fiercely territorial, come to mind) and really shine there, while the C2S2s take lead on herd species (or focus on holding surplus, bachelor males), but that's just my curmudgeon old keeper take.

 

[snowleopard]

After finishing off Common Eland (58 zoos) and Giant Eland (5 zoos), and reading through a lot of fantastic comments, it's time for TWO more species in this next post.

To see an Impala is to see grace and poise, and this speedy species is so famous that a vehicle was named after it. Chevrolet Impala was discontinued in 2020, but from the 1950s onwards there was a whole series of automobiles named after the African antelope. Almost every single zoo I've seen the species at has been an accredited facility and a dozen of my sightings were in a single month in Western Europe in 2019. On a side note, I wonder how cold tolerant Impala are, as by looking at them I cannot imagine they appreciate frigid winters. But, in all honesty, many warm weather mammals are quite adaptable to chilly temperatures.

Steenbok are incredibly rare species, even now almost extinct anywhere in captivity outside of Africa. Very few zoos have Steenbok and I've only seen them at 3 locations and all in California!

I've seen Impala at 38 zoos:

2019 = 12 zoos

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Impala – 2006
2- Toledo Zoo (USA) – Impala – 2008
3- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Impala – 2008
4- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Impala – 2008
5- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Impala – 2008
6- Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Impala – 2008
7- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Impala – 2010
8- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Impala – 2010
9- Binder Park Zoo (USA) – Impala – 2010
10- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Impala – 2010
11- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Impala – 2010
12- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Impala – 2010
13- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Impala – 2011
14- Brevard Zoo (USA) – Impala – 2012
15- Naples Zoo (USA) – Impala – 2012
16- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Impala – 2012
17- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (USA) – Impala – 2012
18- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Impala – 2015
19- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Impala – 2017
20- Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) – Impala – 2017
21- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Impala – 2018
22- Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) – Impala – 2019
23- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Impala – 2019
24- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Impala – 2019
25- Opel Zoo (Germany) – Impala– 2019
26- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Impala – 2019
27- Krefeld Zoo (Germany) – Impala – 2019
28- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Impala – 2019
29- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – Impala – 2019
30- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Impala – 2019
31- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Impala – 2019
32- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Impala – 2019
33- Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen (Netherlands) – Impala – 2019
34- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – Impala – 2022
35- Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Impala – 2022
36- Safari World Bangkok (Thailand) – Impala – 2024
37- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) – Impala – 2024
38- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) - Impala – 2024

AND...

I've seen Steenbok at 3 zoos:

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Steenbok – 2006
2- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Steenbok – 2008
3- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Steenbok – 2008

Impala have been a fixture at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) for ages, and here's a herd of them all lining up to take a ride in the ridiculous hot air balloon later in the evening when the crowds die down.

@MGolka

Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) has had Impala for many years and in 2019 the zoo even opened Impala Plains as part of the Adventure Africa complex.

@Milwaukee Man

Check out this mixed-species exhibit! When I toured BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) in 2010, this enclosure held Impala, Bongo and Warthog all together as one happy family.

I'm not sure what the situation is like now, but when Giants of the Savanna opened at Dallas Zoo (USA), there was eventually (over a long acclimation period) African Elephants, Giraffes, Impala and other species mixed together.

Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) has two Impala exhibits and this one is a dusty paddock with a huge pile of tree branches in the middle.

I've been to SEVEN zoos just in Florida with Impala as that antelope species used to be found in vast numbers in that state. ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) has combined African Elephants with Impala and Nile Lechwe for many years. Fresno Chaffee Zoo also had African Elephants with Impala but for some reason that antelope species didn't last long in Fresno.

@Moebelle

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA) has a fantastic Giraffe/Impala/Lesser Kudu/Ostrich/White Stork exhibit that is amongst the best of its kind.

There's another stunning African Savanna with Impala, alongside Giraffes, Blue Wildebeest and others, at Opel Zoo (Germany).

@Philipine eagle

Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen (Netherlands) has a sprawling African Savanna called Serenga and there's Impala amidst the various other hoofstock species.

Yet another vast African Savanna, this time at Ree Park Safari (Denmark), is home to a LOT of animals. During my visit in August 2022 I saw at least 20 Impala, 20 Blue Wildebeest, 20 Waterbuck, Giraffes, Plains Zebras, Common Eland, several Ostriches and even a Black Rhino (!!) all together on the savanna. How do keepers manage those 8 species all at the same time?

Here's a herd of Impala with some Giraffes and Blesbok at Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark):

@Javan Rhino

At Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia), visitors stroll down a long hallway, with windows into various African Savanna exhibits on each side. It's an extraordinary setup, designed to encourage families to visit the zoo even in the wet season when there can be thunderous rainstorms. My photo shows a portion of the Impala yard:

I had dinner with @Sicarius while in Indonesia, but he never told me that he once saw Black-faced Impala at Barcelona Zoo (Spain). I've never seen one before, but I'd like to as they are a striking animal.

@Sicarius

As for Steenbok, glancing through the ZooChat gallery it's possible that San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) has held Steenbok continuously since my first visit in 2006. I've toured that zoo on 5 occasions and over the years Steenbok have been mixed with species such as Sitatunga, Soemmerring's Gazelle, Yellow-backed Duiker, Red-flanked Duiker, Black Crowned Crane, Kori Bustard, South African Shelduck, White-faced Whistling Duck, Abdim's Stork and Yellow-billed Stork. Steenbok must be quite amiable to be with such a wide variety of species.

@Julio C Castro

San Diego Zoo (USA) used to have Steenbok, but my guess is that the species has not been there for at least a decade. The most recent ZooChat photo is from 2012 and you can see a Steenbok in my photo (below) that was a mixed-species enclosure with Red-flanked Duikers being the other occupants.

Just like at San Diego Zoo, the last photos of a Steenbok at Los Angeles Zoo (USA) date from 2012 and so I don't think this species is there any longer.

@Blackduiker

Family Bovidae: 22 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos