2025. Welcome to the quarter point of the century, folks. Your reward: a new challenge! Available for a limited time in North America only 
As primates living in troubled times, what gets us through life is togetherness; as Bill Withers would say, “Lean on me…” And what better way to remind ourselves the importance of community than by joining with your fellow North Americans to count up all the social mammals you see at zoos in 2025?
What counts as a social mammal is listed below. I did my best to 1) include mammals that routinely socialize in groups larger than pairs; 2) get a sampling from different orders for group diversity; and 3) not make things too complicated by picking and choosing different species from within the same families. Based on my own list of captive mammals I’ve seen, this should break down to about 1/3 primates, 1/3 ungulates and 1/3 other mammals. Of course, this wouldn’t be Zoochat if someone doesn’t disagree with me on something, so feel free to critique this list with possible additions or subtractions as you see fit – while keeping in mind that I am now too old and ornery to debate any specific point for long:
Primates: all species *except* gibbons, orangutans, lorises, and aye-aye
Ungulates: all species *except* Pygmy Hippo; Black and Indian Rhinos; Okapi; tapirs; and small deer/bovids (duikers, pudu, muntjac, tufted deer, klipspringer, mouse deer, etc)
Bats
Cetaceans
Elephants
Marsupials: kangaroos and wallabies
Rodents: Squirrels, mole-rats and cavies (capybara and mara)
Carnivores: “pack canids” (Canis, Painted Dog, Dhole and Bush Dog); Lion; mongooses; otters; pinnipeds; and Spotted Hyena
---
As always, a quick shoutout to @Shorts for creating the original game and the template we still use. Now, the rules:
1. You have to actually see the animal, even if just for a second.
2. Photographic proof is not required; your word is your bond.
3. All entries must be in a numbered list and include the following: the species you’re counting, the day you saw it and the zoo you saw it at.
4. All animals must be seen in captivity in North America (Canada, the United States, or Mexico); in a public zoological collection (no farms, expos, pet stores, private or exclusive facilities); and via normal public access during normal public opening hours (no behind-the-scenes or VIP tours, exclusive events, etc.).
5. Report your progress on this thread as you go along; do not leave all your updates until the last minute. If you post several months’ worth of updates late in the year, I reserve the right to not count some or all of them. Non-new members waiting until late in the year to join with a high score are, from my POV, doing the same thing and I reserve the right to not count some or all of these late entries also. This is to ensure fairness and transparency for everyone.
6. The taxonomy source we will be using is IUCN. Our unit is species, not subspecies.
7. Hybrid animals and domestic animals do not count unless an exception is made.
8. Violating the rules or participating in unsportsmanlike conduct is grounds for disqualification from this year’s competition and/or from future North America challenges.
9. The winner will be whoever sees the most social mammal species between January 1 and December 31, 2024.
---
And with that, the challenge begins tomorrow. I will be on vacation from January 1 (tomorrow) through the 4th, so I may not respond quickly to questions or comments in the first few days but I promise I’ll get to them by next week when I have more time. Until then... let the games begin! But, you know... tomorrow
As primates living in troubled times, what gets us through life is togetherness; as Bill Withers would say, “Lean on me…” And what better way to remind ourselves the importance of community than by joining with your fellow North Americans to count up all the social mammals you see at zoos in 2025?
What counts as a social mammal is listed below. I did my best to 1) include mammals that routinely socialize in groups larger than pairs; 2) get a sampling from different orders for group diversity; and 3) not make things too complicated by picking and choosing different species from within the same families. Based on my own list of captive mammals I’ve seen, this should break down to about 1/3 primates, 1/3 ungulates and 1/3 other mammals. Of course, this wouldn’t be Zoochat if someone doesn’t disagree with me on something, so feel free to critique this list with possible additions or subtractions as you see fit – while keeping in mind that I am now too old and ornery to debate any specific point for long:
Primates: all species *except* gibbons, orangutans, lorises, and aye-aye
Ungulates: all species *except* Pygmy Hippo; Black and Indian Rhinos; Okapi; tapirs; and small deer/bovids (duikers, pudu, muntjac, tufted deer, klipspringer, mouse deer, etc)
Bats
Cetaceans
Elephants
Marsupials: kangaroos and wallabies
Rodents: Squirrels, mole-rats and cavies (capybara and mara)
Carnivores: “pack canids” (Canis, Painted Dog, Dhole and Bush Dog); Lion; mongooses; otters; pinnipeds; and Spotted Hyena
---
As always, a quick shoutout to @Shorts for creating the original game and the template we still use. Now, the rules:
1. You have to actually see the animal, even if just for a second.
2. Photographic proof is not required; your word is your bond.
3. All entries must be in a numbered list and include the following: the species you’re counting, the day you saw it and the zoo you saw it at.
4. All animals must be seen in captivity in North America (Canada, the United States, or Mexico); in a public zoological collection (no farms, expos, pet stores, private or exclusive facilities); and via normal public access during normal public opening hours (no behind-the-scenes or VIP tours, exclusive events, etc.).
5. Report your progress on this thread as you go along; do not leave all your updates until the last minute. If you post several months’ worth of updates late in the year, I reserve the right to not count some or all of them. Non-new members waiting until late in the year to join with a high score are, from my POV, doing the same thing and I reserve the right to not count some or all of these late entries also. This is to ensure fairness and transparency for everyone.
6. The taxonomy source we will be using is IUCN. Our unit is species, not subspecies.
7. Hybrid animals and domestic animals do not count unless an exception is made.
8. Violating the rules or participating in unsportsmanlike conduct is grounds for disqualification from this year’s competition and/or from future North America challenges.
9. The winner will be whoever sees the most social mammal species between January 1 and December 31, 2024.
---
And with that, the challenge begins tomorrow. I will be on vacation from January 1 (tomorrow) through the 4th, so I may not respond quickly to questions or comments in the first few days but I promise I’ll get to them by next week when I have more time. Until then... let the games begin! But, you know... tomorrow
