Sen, but I don't think it counts...
Corn snake (Breeding forms) (Pantherophis guttatus)
Domestic ferret (Mustela putorius f. furo)
My main focus was to see the pangolin baby, and did not see the whole zoo.
Bears, tigers etc from this zoo will be saved for next time.
TOTAL: 23 Species
Since I joined Zoochat last summer, this will be my first global challenge to officially take part.
I'm looking forward to sharing species from Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan, and maybe Thailand and Singapore too!
Seen, but I don't think it counts...
Corn snake (Breeding forms) (Pantherophis guttatus)
Domestic ferret (Mustela putorius f. furo)
My main focus was to see the pangolin baby, and did not see the whole zoo.
Bears, tigers etc from this zoo will be saved for next time.
TOTAL: 23 Species
Seen for the first time since returning to work after Christmas - they aren't very showy on my lunchtime walks!
Carnivora
8. Dwarf Mongoose, Helogale parvula
Remaining mammals at PZ include maned wolves and binturong (which I neglected to list last time). I hope to view the two croc and single snake species in croc swamp when it reopens this coming weekend. As far as I know, that will then be PZ done.
Still no luck with the Binturong, but a trip to Shaldon Zoo this weekend should help. It has a few choice carnivore species (including binturong) and several other "ticks" for the challenge.
Personally, I think Chapultepec is one of the best zoos in North America. It doesn't quite compete with the best of the best (Omaha, et al.), but I definitely think it fits into the conversation after those five or so zoos. Unfortunately, because it is not in the U.S. (or Canada for that matter) it doesn't get visited much or talked about. This was my second time visiting the zoos of Mexico City as I was there at the end of 2021 as well, but the last time I was there Chapultepec was only half open due to Covid restrictions and I was sick (not with Covid or anything else contagious) on the day I visited San Juan de Aragon, so I wanted to make a return trip. Luckily, when making plans for Mérida a layover option was through Mexico City, so we simply extended the layover by a few days so I could revisit the zoos.
That being said, I visited the three other facilities yesterday in Mexico City.
There were two snake species at San Juan de Aragon that do not show up in the IUCN listings, but I am also not sure what species these might be considered as by the IUCN. I have not counted them towards my total, but I am going to post them here in case someone can tell me if I should count them or what species they should be considered as for the purposes of this competition. The two species are:
Zoológico Los Coyotes, Mexico City, Mexico (1/15/25)
78. Cougar (Puma concolor)
79. Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Zoológico de San Juan de Aragon, Mexico City, Mexico (1/15/25)
80. South American Sea Lion (Otaria flavescens)
81. Central American Boa (Boa imperator)
82. Mexican Pygmy Rattlesnake (Crotalus ravus)
83. Common Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula)
84. Eastern Rock Rattlesnake (Crotalus lepidus)
85. Puff Adder (Bitis arietans)
86. Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus)
87. Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus)
88. Serval (Leptailurus serval)
89. Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Acuario Michin CDMX, Mexico City, Mexico (1/15/25)
90. Brownbanded Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum)
91. Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus)
92. Yellow Anaconda (Eunectes notaeus)
93. Amazon Tree Boa (Corallus hortulanus)
Still no luck with the Binturong, but a trip to Shaldon Zoo this weekend should help. It has a few choice carnivore species (including binturong) and several other "ticks" for the challenge.
I expected the Owstons Civets to be a no show as my visit was from 11-1. You are only likely to see them at the end of the day around feeding time. I'll visit again later in the year when its warmer and the zoo closes later.
Franklin Park Zoo - January 18th 2025
This visit was less successful for other challenges (due to the cold) but luckily, most of the predators are either indoors or cold-hardy.
I was going to go to Melbourne today to clean up the missed species from my first visit of the year, but my neighbour very considerately started doing construction work in his yard at 7 this morning (on a Sunday!), so I made the best of the early start and went further afield.
Snow leopards, Taiwan beauty snake and Kenyan sand boa are being elusive. Confident I’ll get the first at some point and hopeful about the second, but the third will take some luck.
I’m fairly sure I saw both fur seal species (Australian and long-nosed) but can’t be certain - with my worsening cataracts I just couldn’t tell. The zoo currently has 2 long-nosed (of which I definitely saw at least one) and 1 Australian fur seal, which I probably saw but will wait to claim until a future visit where I see all three individuals at once.
Melbourne Zoo - 25/1/2024
45. Red panda - Ailurus fulgens
46. Port Jackson shark - Heterodontus portusjacksoni
47. Long-nosed fur seal - Arctocephalus forsteri
48. Carpet python - Morelia spilota
49. Philippine crocodile - Crocodylus mindorensis
50. Tiger snake - Notechis scutatus
I was going to go to Melbourne today to clean up the missed species from my first visit of the year, but my neighbour very considerately started doing construction work in his yard at 7 this morning (on a Sunday!), so I made the best of the early start and went further afield.
24-01-25 La Aurora Zoo, Guatemala City
20. Leopard
21. Tiger
22. Margay
23. Ocelot
24, Jaguarundi
25. American Black bear
26. African painted dog
27. Coyote
28. Neotropical otter
29. American crocodile
30. Cuviers dwarf caiman
31. King vulture
32. White nosed coati
33. South American Sea lion
34. Cougar
35. Grey Fox
36. Great Horned Owl
37. Great Black Hawk
38. Red Tailed Hawk
Forgot to take pictures of all the snake signs oops!
I expected the Owstons Civets to be a no show as my visit was from 11-1. You are only likely to see them at the end of the day around feeding time. I'll visit again later in the year when its warmer and the zoo closes later.
A great stay in "Hog Deer Creek" at Port Lympne proved quite fruitful for the challenge! Followed by a complementary visit to Howletts the next day, allowing for a near clean sweep of all the carnivores needed...
Fishing Cats were very showy here and the Hunting Dogs were viewable, making up for the previous day. That makes the Rusty Spotted Cats the only needed no show this weekend. That said, I should be able to pick up the species at Exmoor or Axe Valley in the not too distant future.
Edit: I apologize, I forgot to add one species (A meerkat) and I also made a mistake in the total number of species. So here's the corrected list from my visit of Zoo Dresden:
Franklin Park Zoo - January 18th 2025
This visit was less successful for other challenges (due to the cold) but luckily, most of the predators are either indoors or cold-hardy.
