Ueno Zoo Ueno Zoo - visit and species list: February 2025

Chlidonias

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Ueno Zoo (Tokyo, Japan): (28 February 2025)


Ueno Zoo is one of the major Japanese zoos which everybody visits. It is a fairly large zoo, divided by a road into two sections (West Garden and East Garden). It has a large and varied collection of animals, but it is also a very old zoo and has a lot of very poor enclosures.

There are three entrances to the zoo. The Main Gate is at the bottom of the East Garden. The West Garden has two gates, the Benten Gate at the bottom and the Ikenhata Gate at the top. I came in through the Benten Gate and left through the Main Gate, which I think is a good way to approach the zoo, especially because most of the main Zoochatter attractions are in the West Garden (Aye-Aye House, Small Mammal House, Vivarium, and the Shoebills).

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In the West Garden the best enclosures are mostly aviaries (ironically, given that most of the zoo's birds are actually housed in the East Garden). The Shoebills in particular have a large living space, and the aviary for Inca Terns and Eurasian Oystercatchers is quite good. The Vivarium is great, apart for a few hiccups like the tiny Galapagos Tortoise pen - I spent about an hour inside this building. There are quite a lot of native Japanese amphibians and reptiles in here.

The worst of the West Garden are the line of extremely small pens for megafauna (the rhinos and hippos, and giraffes to a lesser extent), and sadly the Small Mammal House which should have been one of the highlights. The collection of species in this house is amazing, but their living conditions are not - almost all enclosures are far too small and several animals were stereotyping. The Aye-Ayes were similar - amazing creatures but stereotyping in too-small enclosures.

The East Garden has more large mammal species than the West Garden, and again enclosures were often much too small - although mostly not to the extent of the rhino and hippo pens. Even the best and newest large-mammal enclosures here were still pretty small, e.g. the gorillas and tigers. The Bird House was closed due to Bird Flu, so the best part of the East Garden was the Japanese area, in particular the Japanese Bird House. I'm really not sure why the main Bird House is closed but other bird houses and aviaries within the zoo remain open as usual. The Nocturnal House in the East Garden was also much better space-wise than the one in the West Garden (in the Small Mammal House).

The East Garden, despite having most of the big mammal species, doesn't take long to get through with the Bird House being closed. I spent I think three hours in the West Garden, and only one hour in the East Garden.



There are only two previous species lists on Zoochat for Ueno Zoo.

First is an old list from July 2013 by @Swedish Zoo Fan
Ueno Zoo - Species list (July 2013) [Ueno Zoo]

Secondly there is a more recent (April 2023) walk-through review by @akasha with photos, which is well worth checking out - both to see what the enclosures are like and to see the species changes in the last two years.
Ueno Zoo Review [Ueno Zoo]



Below is the full species list as seen on my visit. Note that the Bird House was closed, and I also appear to have missed the group of aviaries which included the toucans (on the map they are next to the Bird House and I thought they were part of it), so the bird list is incomplete.

I have noted which species were off-display on my visit, and those which were on display but which I did not see in their enclosures. Signage on some enclosures seemed ambiguous as to whether the animals were gone or just off-display (e.g. several signs said something along the lines of "for animal health reasons this exhibition has been cancelled").

I have also annotated the list for where the species are displayed if they are in any of the houses (i.e. Small Mammal House, Nocturnal House, Aye-Aye Forest, or Vivarium) or in the Childrens Zoo.


MAMMALS:

Short-beaked Echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus (Small Mammal House - not seen)

Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps (Small Mammal House - not seen)
Brush-tailed Bettong Bettongia penicillata (Small Mammal House)

Ring-tailed Lemur Lemur catta
Black and White Ruffed Lemur Varecia variegata
Black Lemur Eulemur macaco
Aye-Aye Daubentonia madagascariensis
Greater Slow Loris (labeled as Nycticebus coucang) (in the Nocturnal House in the East Garden)
Pigmy Slow Loris Nycticebus pygmaeus (Small Mammal House)
Lesser (Senegal) Bushbaby Galago senegalensis (Small Mammal House)
Demidoff's Bushbaby Galagoides demidoff (Small Mammal House)
Spectral Tarsier (signed as Tarsius tarsier) (Small Mammal House)
Cottontop Tamarin Saguinus oedipus (Small Mammal House)
Common Marmoset Callithrix jacchus (Small Mammal House)
Douroucouli (labeled as Northern Night Monkey Aotus trivirgatus) (Small Mammal House)
Black-handed Spider Monkey Ateles geoffroyi
White-faced Saki Pithecia pithecia (off display - they rotate with the spider monkeys)
Japanese Macaque Macaca fuscata (main colony on mountain off-display - subspecific-hybrid animals were on display in the row of monkey cages nearby)
Black and White Colobus Colobus guereza
De Brazza's Monkey Cercopithecus neglectus
White-handed Gibbon Hylobates lar
Western Lowland Gorilla Gorilla gorilla (not seen)

Common Tree Shrew (labeled as Tupaia glis but probably T. belangeri) (Small Mammal House)

Southern Three-banded Armadillo Tolypeutes matacus (Small Mammal House)
Six-banded Armadillo Euphractus sexcinctus (Small Mammal House - not seen)

Bonin Flying Fox Pteropus pselaphon (Small Mammal House)
Ryukyu Flying Fox Pteropus dasymallus inopinatus (Small Mammal House)
Leschenault's Rousette Rousettus leschenaultii (in the Nocturnal House in the East Garden)
Seba's Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata (Small Mammal House)

Sumatran Tiger Panthera tigris sumatrae
Pallas' Cat Otocolobus manul (Small Mammal House)
Giant Panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca (not seen - viewing required waiting in a long line)
Polar Bear Ursus maritimus
Hokkaido Brown Bear Ursus arctos lasiotis (off display)
Japanese Black Bear Ursus thibetanus japonicus (off display or no longer at zoo)
Red Panda Ailurus (fulgens) styani
Eurasian Otter Lutra lutra (not seen - enclosure looked unoccupied)
Masked Palm Civet Paguma larvata (in the Nocturnal House in the East Garden - not seen)
Meerkat Suricata suricatta (in an outside enclosure seen as you walk from the diurnal level down to the nocturnal level of the Small Mammal House)
Dwarf Mongoose Helogale parvula (Small Mammal House)
Striped Skunk Mephitis mephitis (Childrens Zoo - off display)
Kinkajou Potos flavus (Small Mammal House - not seen)

Californian Sealion Zalophus californianus (either off display or no longer at zoo)
Kuril Seal Phoca vitulina stejnegeri

Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec Echinops telfairi (in the Aye-Aye house - not seen)

Aardvark Orycteropus afer (Small Mammal House)

Cape Rock Hyrax Procavia capensis (Small Mammal House - not seen)

Asian Elephant Elephas maximus

Black Rhinoceros Diceros bicornis
Brazilian Tapir Tapirus terrestris
domestic Horse (Childrens Zoo) [Noma Horse, Tokara Horse, and Yonaguni Horse]

Llama (Childrens Zoo)
Alpaca (Childrens Zoo)
domestic Goat (Childrens Zoo)
domestic Cow (Childrens Zoo) [Mishima Cattle]
domestic Pig (Childrens Zoo) [Agu Pig and Ayo Pig]
American Bison Bison bison
Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis
Common Hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius
Pigmy Hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis
Collared Peccary Pecari tajacu (occupying three enclosures joined into one, due to the departure of the Grey Kangaroos from the zoo)
Japanese Serow Capricornis crispus
Hokkaido Sika Deer Cervus nippon yesoensis

Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla (in the Nocturnal House in the East Garden)

domestic Rabbit (Childrens Zoo)

domestic Guinea Pig (Childrens Zoo)
domestic Chinchilla (Childrens Zoo)
Crested Porcupine Hystrix sp. (Childrens Zoo - off display; signed as H. cristata but based on photos of the animal it is either H. africaeaustralis or a hybrid)
Black-tailed Prairie Dog Cynomys ludovicianus
Japanese Squirrel Sciurus lis
Large Japanese Field Mouse Apodemus speciosus (Small Mammal House - not seen)
Small Japanese Field Mouse Apodemus argenteus (Small Mammal House)
Japanese Grass Vole Microtus montebelli (Small Mammal House)
House Mouse Mus musculus (Small Mammal House - not seen)
Harvest Mouse Micromys minutus (Small Mammal House)
African Pigmy Mouse Mus minutoides (Small Mammal House)
Cairo Spiny Mouse Acomys cahirinus (Small Mammal House)
African Forest Dormouse Graphiurus murinus (Small Mammal House)
Greater Egyptian Jerboa Jaculus orientalis (Small Mammal House - not seen)
Naked Mole Rat Heterocephalus glaber (Small Mammal House)
Common Degu Octoodon degus (Small Mammal House)


BIRDS:
Note that the Bird House was closed, and I also appear to have missed the group of aviaries which included the toucans (on the map they are next to the Bird House and I thought they were part of it), so the bird list is incomplete. However see post #18 of the thread where the Bird House species are listed.

Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae (Childrens Zoo)

African Penguin Spheniscus demersus

Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis

Swan Goose Anser cygnoides (off display except in late afternoon in the Pigmy Hippo house)
Cackling Goose Branta hutchinsii (off display except in late afternoon in the Pigmy Hippo house)
domestic Duck (Childrens Zoo)

Inca Tern Larosterna inca (Childrens Zoo)

Eurasian Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus (Childrens Zoo)

*Pelican was on the map (on Shinobazu Pond) but was not on display anywhere - I don't know if they are just off display due to Bird Flu or if they are no longer kept. Shinobazu Pond itself has little open water, although there is a wild Great Cormorant colony on the islands.

Shoebill Balaeniceps rex

Hamerkop Scopus umbretta

Caribbean Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber

Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus
Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita
Southern Bald Ibis Geronticus calvus

Oriental White Stork Ciconia boyciana (off display)

Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus
Black-necked Crane Grus nigricollis
Red-crowned Crane Grus japonensis (off display in the aviary in the West Zoo, but on display in two other aviaries in the East Zoo)

Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax (Childrens Zoo)
Japanese Night Heron Gorsachius goisagi (Childrens Zoo)

Secretary Bird Sagittarius serpentarius
Harris' Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus
Andean Condor Vultur gryphus
Steller's Sea Eagle Haliaeetus pelagicus
African White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus
Mountain Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus nipalensis

Ural Owl Strix uralensis
Snowy Owl Bubo scandiacus
Japanese Scops Owl Otus semitorques

Australian Brush Turkey Alectura lathami

domestic Chicken (Children`s Zoo - off display)
Green Peafowl Pavo muticus (off display)
Japanese Green Pheasant Phasianus versicolor
Edward's Pheasant Lophura edwardsi
Lady Amherst's Pheasant Chrysolophus amherstiae
Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus
Temminck's Tragopan Tragopan temminckii
Palawan Peacock-Pheasant Polyplectron napoleonis
Svalbad Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta hyperborea (by the Polar Bear enclosure)
Japanese Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta japonica (in the Japanese Bird House)
Chinese Bamboo Partridge Bambusicola thoracicus

Triton Cockatoo Cacatua galerita triton (off display - exhibit is directly outside the Bird House)

Japanese Wood Pigeon Columba janthina
Red-headed Wood Pigeon Columba janthina nitens (a subspecies from the Ogasawara Islands)
Eurasian Collared Dove Streptoelia decaocto
Oriental Turtle Dove Streptoelia orientalis

Ruddy Kingfisher Halcyon coromanda

Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius
Pale Thrush Turdus pallidus
Brown-headed Thrush Turdus chrysolaus
Japanese Thrush Turdus cardis
Coal Tit Periparus ater
Varied Tit Sittiparus varius
Siberian Rubythroat Calliope calliope (not seen)
Japanese Bush Warbler Horornis diphone
Japanese White-eye Zosterops japonicus
Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis (not seen)
Eurasian Siskin Spinus spinus
Brambling Fringilla montifringilla
Meadow Bunting Emberiza cioides
Masked Bunting Emberiza personata
Japanese Yellow Bunting Emberiza sulphurata
White-cheeked Starling Spodiopsar cineraceus
Azure-winged Magpie Cyanopica cyanus
Lidth's Jay Garrulus lidthi


REPTILES:

Saltwater Crocodile Crocodylus porosus (in the Vivarium)
West African Dwarf Crocodile Osteolaemus tetraspis (in the Vivarium)
False Gharial Tomistoma schlegelii (in the Vivarium)

False Map Turtle Graptemys pseudogeographica (in the Vivarium)
Red-eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans (in the Childrens Zoo and in the Vivarium)
Japanese Pond Turtle Mauremys japonica (in the Childrens Zoo and in the Vivarium)
Reeves' Turtle Mauremys reevesii (in the Childrens Zoo and in the Vivarium)
West African Mud Turtle Pelusios castaneus (in the Vivarium)
Sri Lankan Black Turtle Melanochelys trijuga thermalis (in the Vivarium)
Annam Leaf Turtle Mauremys annamensis (in the Vivarium)
North Australian Snake-necked Turtle Chelodina oblonga (in the Vivarium)
Chinese Softshell Turtle Pelodiscus sinensis (in the Childrens Zoo and in the Vivarium)
Fly River (Pig-nosed) Turtle Carettochelys insculpta (in the Vivarium)
Radiated Tortoise Astrochelys radiata (in mixed enclosure with Ring-tailed Lemur)
Red-footed Tortoise Chelonoidis carbonaria (in the Vivarium)
Galapagos Tortoise Geochelone nigra (in the Vivarium)

Ball Python Python regius (in the Vivarium)
Burmese Python Python bivittatus (in the Vivarium)
Emerald Tree Boa Corallus caninus (in the Vivarium)
California Kingsnake Lampropeltis getula (in the Vivarium)
Western Hog-nosed Snake Heterodon nasicus (in the Vivarium)
Mamushi Gloydius blomhoffii (in the Vivarium)
Japanese Four-lined Snake Elaphe quadrivirgata (in the Vivarium)
Burrowing Rat Snake (Japanese Forest Rat Snake) Euprepiophis conspicillata (in the Vivarium)
Japanese Rat Snake Elaphe climacophora (in the Childrens Zoo and in the Vivarium)

Japanese Gecko Gekko japonicus (in the Childrens Zoo [not seen] and in the Vivarium)
Tokay Gecko Gekko gecko (in the Vivarium)
Leopard Gecko Eublepharis macularius (in the Vivarium)
Scheltopusik Pseudopus apodus (in the Vivarium)
Eastern Blue-tongue Skink Tiliqua scincoides (in the Vivarium)
Eastern Japanese Five-lined Skink Plestiodon finitimus (in the Vivarium)
Japanese Grass Lizard Takydromus tachydromoides (in the Vivarium)
Miyako Grass Lizard Takydromus toyamai (in the Vivarium)
Green Grass Lizard Takydromus smaragdinus (in the Vivarium)
Green Iguana Iguana iguana (in the Vivarium)
Caiman Lizard Dracaena guianensis (in the Vivarium)
Veiled Chameleon Chamaeleo calyptratus (in the Vivarium)
Chinese Crocodile Lizard Shinisaurus crocodilus (in the Vivarium)
Tropical Girdled Lizard Cordylus tropidosternum (in the Vivarium)
Gila Monster Heloderma suspectum (in the Vivarium)
Yellow-headed Monitor (Quince Monitor) Varanus melinus (in the Vivarium)


AMPHIBIANS:

Japanese Toad Bufo japonicus (in the Childrens Zoo and in the Vivarium)
Wrinkled Frog Glandirana reliquia (in the Vivarium)
Montane Brown Frog Rana ornativentris (in the Vivarium - not seen)
Kajika Frog Buergeria buergeri (in the Vivarium)
Japanese Tree Frog Dryophytes japonica (in the Vivarium)
Tokyo Daruma Pond Frog Pelophylax porosus porosus (in the Vivarium)
Green Tree Frog Litoria caerulea (in the Vivarium)
American Bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus (in the Vivarium)
Yellow-headed Poison-Arrow Frog Dendrobates leucomelas (in the Vivarium)
Blue Poison-Arrow Frog Dendrobates tinctorius (in the Vivarium)
African Clawed Frog Xenopus laevis (in the Vivarium)
African Bullfrog Pyxicephalus adspersus (in the Vivarium)

Greater Siren Siren lacertina (in the Vivarium)
Spanish Ribbed Newt Pleurodeles waltl (in the Vivarium)
Japanese Fire-bellied Newt Cynops pyrrhogaster (in the Vivarium)
Anderson's Crocodile Newt Echinotriton andersoni (in the Vivarium)
Tokyo Salamander Hynobius tokyoensis (in the Vivarium - not seen)
Japanese Black Salamander Hynobius nigrescens (in the Vivarium)
Japanese Clawed Salamander Onychodactylus japonicus (in the Vivarium)
Japanese Giant Salamander Andrias japonicus (in the Vivarium)


FISH:

Australian Lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri (in the Vivarium)
Asian Arowana Scleropages formosus (in the Vivarium)
Swamp Eel Monopterus albus (Childrens Zoo)
Topmouth Gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva (Childrens Zoo)
*unlabeled gobies in with Reeves' Turtle (Childrens Zoo)
Checquered Rainbowfish Melanotaenia splendida inornata (in the Vivarium)


INVERTEBRATES:

Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkii [a North American species invasive in Japan] (Childrens Zoo)
Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle (larvae) Trypoxylus dichotomus septentrionalis (Childrens Zoo - not seen)
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Gromphadorhina portentosa (in the Aye-Aye House)
Ogasawara Land Snail Mandarina hirasei (in the Vivarium)
 
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In this post I will list the species held in the various houses in the zoo - i.e. the Small Mammal House, Nocturnal House (East Garden), Aye-Aye Forest, Vivarium, and Japanese Bird House - as well as those in the Childrens Zoo.


SMALL MAMMAL HOUSE:

Located in the West Garden. Almost all enclosures in this house were too small for their inhabitants, in some cases abhorrently so. The tarsier in a tiny box was particularly distressing, although the angle of its leg suggests it may not be able to move well. It also wasn't pleasant seeing marmosets and tamarins in poorly-lit indoor boxes. A number of animals were stereotyping.

There were several unoccupied (covered) mouse-size tanks on the diurnal level, and two unoccupied enclosures in the nocturnal level (one of which, in the centre of the passageway, was probably for flying squirrel).

Species are listed in the rough order they are seen as you move through the house.

Top floor (diurnal):
Cottontop Tamarin Saguinus oedipus
Common Tree Shrew (labeled as Tupaia glis but probably T. belangeri)
Large Japanese Field Mouse Apodemus speciosus (not seen)
Small Japanese Field Mouse Apodemus argenteus
Japanese Grass Vole Microtus montebelli
House Mouse Mus musculus (not seen)
Common Marmoset Callithrix jacchus
Pallas' Cat Otocolobus manul (in multiple enclosures)
African Pigmy Mouse Mus minutoides
Cairo Spiny Mouse Acomys cahirinus
Naked Mole Rat Heterocephalus glaber
Dwarf Mongoose Helogale parvula
Cape Rock Hyrax Procavia capensis (not seen)
*Several covered-up "mouse-size" tanks in this area
Common Degu Octoodon degus
Southern Three-banded Armadillo Tolypeutes matacus
Bonin Flying Fox Pteropus pselaphon
Ryukyu Flying Fox Pteropus dasymallus inopinatus

Meerkat Suricata suricatta (in a small outside enclosure seen as you walk from the diurnal level down to the nocturnal level)

Lower Floor (nocturnal):
Harvest Mouse Micromys minutus
Kinkajou Potos flavus (not seen)
Douroucouli (labeled as Northern Night Monkey Aotus trivirgatus)
*Empty enclosure in centre of room, I think for flying squirrel
Pallas' Cat Otocolobus manul
Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps (not seen)
Short-beaked Echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus (not seen)
Six-banded Armadillo Euphractus sexcinctus (not seen)
Aardvark Orycteropus afer (two enclosures)
Brush-tailed Bettong Bettongia penicillata
Seba's Short-tailed Bat Carollia perspicillata
Greater Egyptian Jerboa Jaculus orientalis (not seen)
Lesser (Senegal) Bushbaby Galago senegalensis
African Forest Dormouse Graphiurus murinus
*Empty tank
Pigmy Slow Loris Nycticebus pygmaeus
Demidoff's Bushbaby Galagoides demidoff
Spectral Tarsier (labeled as Tarsius tarsier)

......................................................................

SECOND NOCTURNAL HOUSE:

Located in the East Garden. There are only five enclosures in this house, and they are larger than most of those in the Small Mammal House.

Greater Slow Loris (labeled as Nycticebus coucang) (in two enclosures)
Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla
Masked Palm Civet Paguma larvata (not seen)
Leschenault's Rousette Rousettus leschenaultii

......................................................................

AYE-AYE FOREST:

Located in the West Garden. A nocturnal house with five occupied enclosures for Aye-Ayes (and two unoccupied), as well as two small tanks for Lesser Hedgehog Tenrecs, and a tank for Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. The Aye-Aye enclosures were all too small, although some were smaller than others, and most of the animals were stereotyping badly - one in particular was repeatedly performing a looping jump from ground to branch.

Aye-Aye Daubentonia madagascariensis
Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec Echinops telfairi (not seen)
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Gromphadorhina portentosa

......................................................................

VIVARIUM:

Located in the West Garden. A large building, part of which is a planted greenhouse with glass-fronted enclosures, which is nicely done. There are additional rooms with the more traditional style of individual tanks in the wall, and these were all nicely-landscaped and looked good. Only some tanks appeared to be too small, or "should be larger".

Species are listed in roughly the order they would be seen if going around the house in a clockwise fashion.

There is a species list from August 2019 by @aardvark250 which is worth looking at to see the changes in species: Ueno Zoo vivarium species list (August 2019) [Ueno Zoo]


Japanese Giant Salamander Andrias japonicus
Tokyo Daruma Pond Frog Pelophylax porosus porosus
Japanese Fire-bellied Newt Cynops pyrrhogaster
Tokay Gecko Gekko gecko
Green Tree Frog Litoria caerulea
Green Iguana Iguana iguana
Veiled Chameleon Chamaeleo calyptratus
False Map Turtle Graptemys pseudogeographica
Ball Python Python regius
Saltwater Crocodile Crocodylus porosus
Checquered Rainbowfish Melanotaenia splendida inornata (in the crocodile pool)
Australian Lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri
West African Mud Turtle Pelusios castaneus
Caiman Lizard Dracaena guianensis
Fly River (Pig-nosed) Turtle Carettochelys insculpta
Chinese Crocodile Lizard Shinisaurus crocodilus
Asian Arowana Scleropages formosus
North Australian Snake-necked Turtle Chelodina oblonga
West African Dwarf Crocodile Osteolaemus tetraspis
Yellow-headed Poison-Arrow Frog Dendrobates leucomelas
African Clawed Frog Xenopus laevis
Yellow-headed Monitor (Quince Monitor) Varanus melinus
African Bullfrog Pyxicephalus adspersus
Blue Poison-Arrow Frog Dendrobates tinctorius
Spanish Ribbed Newt Pleurodeles waltl
Greater Siren Siren lacertina
False Gharial Tomistoma schlegelii
Sri Lankan Black Turtle Melanochelys trijuga thermalis
Annam Leaf Turtle Mauremys annamensis
Galapagos Tortoise Geochelone nigra
Emerald Tree Boa Corallus caninus
Leopard Gecko Eublepharis macularius
Tropical Girdled Lizard Cordylus tropidosternum
Gila Monster Heloderma suspectum
Burmese Python Python bivittatus
California Kingsnake Lampropeltis getula
Western Hog-nosed Snake Heterodon nasicus
Scheltopusik Pseudopus apodus
Eastern Blue-tongue Skink Tiliqua scincoides
Green Iguana Iguana iguana
Red-footed Tortoise Chelonoidis carbonaria
Asian Arowana Scleropages formosus
Tokyo Salamander Hynobius tokyoensis (not seen)
Japanese Black Salamander Hynobius nigrescens
Japanese Clawed Salamander Onychodactylus japonicus
Japanese Fire-bellied Newt Cynops pyrrhogaster
Wrinkled Frog Glandirana reliquia
Montane Brown Frog Rana ornativentris (not seen)
Kajika Frog Buergeria buergeri
Tokyo Daruma Pond Frog Pelophylax porosus porosus
Japanese Toad Bufo japonicus formosus
Japanese Tree Frog Dryophytes japonica
Mamushi Gloydius blomhoffii
Japanese Four-lined Snake Elaphe quadrivirgata
Burrowing Rat Snake (Japanese Forest Rat Snake) Euprepiophis conspicillata
Japanese Rat Snake Elaphe climacophora
Eastern Japanese Five-lined Skink Plestiodon finitimus
Japanese Gecko Gekko japonicus
Japanese Grass Lizard Takydromus tachydromoides
American Bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus
Chinese Softshell Turtle Pelodiscus sinensis
Red-eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans
Japanese Pond Turtle Mauremys japonica
Reeves' Turtle Mauremys reevesii
Ogasawara Land Snail Mandarina hirasei
Anderson's Crocodile Newt Echinotriton andersoni
Miyako Grass Lizard Takydromus toyamai
Green Grass Lizard Takydromus smaragdinus

......................................................................

JAPANESE BIRD HOUSE:

Located in the East Garden.

There are four glass-fronted enclosures in here:

1) Little Grebe, Ruddy Kingfisher, Japanese Thrush
2) Rock Ptarmigan
3) Coal Tit, Varied Tit, Siberian Rubythroat (not seen), Japanese Bush Warbler, Japanese White-eye, Eurasian Skylark (not seen), Eurasian Siskin, Brambling, Meadow Bunting, Masked Bunting, Japanese Yellow Bunting
4) Lidth's Jay (connected to outside aviaries - there is also an aviary for Lidth's Jays as you enter the Japanese Bird House on the other side)


Nearby are some enclosures for native Japanese mammals (Japanese Serow, Hokkaido Sika Deer, and Japanese Squirrel) and a pair of aviaries with the following birds:

Chinese Bamboo Partridge, Japanese Wood Pigeon, Blue Rock Thrush, Pale Thrush, Brown-headed Thrush, White-cheeked Starling, Azure-winged Magpie

......................................................................

CHILDRENS ZOO:

Located in the West Garden. There is a display room here which includes tanks of ectotherms; and there is a petting area (guinea pigs etc), a farmyard with Japanese domestic breeds, and a few random enclosures and aviaries for other animals.

Striped Skunk Mephitis mephitis (off display)
domestic Horse [Noma Horse, Tokara Horse and Yonaguni Horse]
Llama
Alpaca
domestic Goat
domestic Cow [Mishima Cattle]
domestic Pig [Agu Pig and Ayo Pig]
domestic Rabbit
domestic Guinea Pig
domestic Chinchilla
Crested Porcupine Hystrix sp. (off display; signed as H. cristata but based on photos of the animal it is either H. africaeaustralis or a hybrid)

Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae
domestic Duck
Inca Tern Larosterna inca
Eurasian Pied Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
Japanese Night Heron Gorsachius goisagi
domestic Chicken (off display)

Red-eared Slider Trachemys scripta elegans
Japanese Pond Turtle Mauremys japonica
Chinese Softshell Turtle Pelodiscus sinensis
Reeves' Turtle Mauremys reevesii
Japanese Rat Snake Elaphe climacophora
Japanese Gecko Gekko japonicus (not seen)

Japanese Toad Bufo japonicus

Swamp Eel Monopterus albus
Topmouth Gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva
*unlabeled gobies in with the Reeves' Turtle

Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus clarkii
Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle (larvae) Trypoxylus dichotomus septentrionalis (not seen)
 
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Ueno Zoo (Tokyo, Japan): (28 February 2025)
Svalbad Rock Ptarmigan Lagopus muta hyperborea (in two enclosures, one by the Polar Bear and one in the Japanese Bird House)
The ptarmigans in the Japanese Bird House are the Japanese subspecies I believe, L. m. japonica.
 
I have visited Ueno Zoo many times, but I can't see giant panda.To be honest, it's troublesome to stand in line
Agreed. I didn't bother to see the pandas on my most recent visit, as the lines were too long and I wasn't really interested in seeing them. I'd already seen them on a very brief visit in 2019.
 
Ueno Zoo (Tokyo, Japan): (28 February 2025)
Giant Panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca (not seen - viewing required waiting in a long line)
I visited Ueno Zoo 40 years ago. On that visit I remember just walking up to the giant panda exhibit and there they were - no queues.

I was not overimpressed with the zoo on my visit, seems it may not have improved much since. Mind you I have seen a lot worse in Japan (all 30 to 40 years ago, though).
 
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Approximately how long is the panda wait on any given weekend? I know it will vary of course, but there’s a huge difference between a 15 minute wait and a 2 hour one. I’ve seen pandas plenty of times in Atlanta, so they aren’t a must-see for me, but if the wait is relatively short I’d probably like to do it.
 
Approximately how long is the panda wait on any given weekend? I know it will vary of course, but there’s a huge difference between a 15 minute wait and a 2 hour one. I’ve seen pandas plenty of times in Atlanta, so they aren’t a must-see for me, but if the wait is relatively short I’d probably like to do it.
This isn't directly answering the question because I don't know how long a wait would be, but on any weekend the line would be very long. If you "have" to see them I'd get there when the zoo opens and head directly there. If you don't really care, then you can see the enclosure from the outside, where the red panda is on the map (pictured at the top of this thread).

The entry for the giant panda area, where the people line up, is at the bottom of the panda area on the map, and the exit is at the top. You don't need to enter the giant panda area itself to see the red pandas and pheasants (you just come in between the kangaroos and Small Mammal House), and you can see through the fence into the giant panda enclosure from there. However you can't see the indoor houses which is where the pandas are most likely to be.

You also can't see down into the giant panda area from the bridge because it is sided with high fencing to prevent that.
 
I was not overimpressed with the zoo on my visit, seems it may not have improved much since. Mind you I have seen a lot worse in Japan (all 30 to 40 years ago, though).
I don't think too much has changed... Ueno has a very solid collection of species, but the zoo itself and the exhibits for the animals leave much to be desired.
 
Note that the Bird House was closed, and I also appear to have missed the group of aviaries which included the toucans (on the map they are next to the Bird House and I thought they were part of it), so the bird list is incomplete.
The bird house was open on my visit (March 30 2025) so I can provide a species list for that date.

Outdoor aviaries adjacent to bird house:
Toco Toucan
White-bellied Go-away-bird
Crowned Hornbill
White-headed Buffalo Weaver

Bird House:
Great Slaty Woodpecker
Blacksmith Plover
Elegant Crested Tinamou
Crowned Hornbill
Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling
Golden-breasted Starling
Egyptian Plover
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Northern Red-shouldered Macaw
Southern Tamandua
Crested Partridge
Fischer's Lovebird
White-headed Buffalo Weaver (signed, not seen)
Double-barred Finch (signed, not seen)
Japanese Quail (domestic)
Ruddy Kingfisher (ssp. bangsi, the one in the Japanese birds area is ssp. major)
Common Kingfisher (ssp. bengalensis)
Indian Scops-Owl
Northern Boobook (ssp. japonica)
 
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