Nanning Zoo, 12 January 2025
Including all species seen and signed.
Map of the zoo.
Nanning Zoo is a pretty good zoo, with the main notable exception of a block of awful tiny cages for bears, monkeys and gibbons. Otherwise most of it is okay to good. Unfortunately for my visit there were large chunks of the zoo blocked off for construction. On the map there are shaded areas where construction was taking place - at top-left and right down the left side - but there were a number of other areas around the zoo also blocked with construction fencing, including the entire elephant area. I will have to assume that I missed various animals, especially birds (it seemed like most of the larger aviaries were being built anew behind the fencing), and there is also an aquarium marked in the middle of the main construction zone
…………………………………………………………………
MAMMALS:
A very primate-heavy zoo. Lots of cages for Francois' and Indochinese Silvered Langurs, and for Buff-cheeked, Pileated and White-cheeked Gibbons. Lots of other species in smaller numbers, sometimes with just one or two animals left. There was a wide variety of primate cages. Most were concrete with mock-rock walls, glass fronts (mesh roofs and upper sections), branches and ropes inside, and which varied in size from quite large to not large at all. There was one group of cages which were quite small but well-planted. And then there was a shocking block of tiny wire cages for bears, monkeys and gibbons which should have been ripped out long ago.
Most of the Carnivores were otherwise adequately housed, although there were very few species on display. There were two bear pits which were substantially better than the tiny cages mentioned above.The big cats had reasonable-sized cages with glass fronts (very reflective, difficult for photos). Raccoons and Red Pandas had quite large open-topped enclosures with live trees (some of the Raccoons were asleep up in one of them).
Ungulate yards were basic and not particularly large. Interestingly there were no antelopes at all at the zoo - in fact the only hooved animals not in the farmyards were zebra, rhino, hippo, giraffe, a domestic yak, and a flock of Mouflon (the latter two were also in the farmyards). The elephants were blocked off with construction fencing but it looked like a good-sized enclosure for them.
There were three petting zoo / farmyard-type areas, one of which was locked up but had Mouflon, long-haired domestic sheep and pot-bellied pigs (as well as domestic birds and Emu); one of which was just a couple of small pens for pigs, rabbits and guinea pigs by the first reptile house; and the largest of which had various domestic and non-domestic animals (like Red Kangaroos and Capybara).
Red Kangaroo (in the main farmyard area)
Ring-tailed Lemur
Common Squirrel Monkey
Black-capped Capuchin
Black-handed Spider Monkey
Francois’ Langur (lots, in multiple cages all over the zoo)
Hybrid Francois' X White-headed Langur (wild-born hybrids: one unsigned animal, sharing a cage with the Indochinese Black Langur and three Francois' Langurs; and apparently the animals in a cage labelled as White-headed Langurs [I saw two] are also hybrids.)
Indochinese Black Langur (one animal)
Indochinese Silvered Langur (T. germaini) (lots, in multiple cages all over the zoo)
*Douc Langur (two cages, but did not see - signed as P. naemeus but previous photos from the zoo are Black-shanked Doucs P. nigripes so it is probably a case of an outdated scientific name on the signage)
L'Hoest's Monkey (one animal)
White-nosed Guenon (i.e. Putty-nosed Guenon C. nictitans) (just two animals I think)
De Brazza’s Monkey (several cages)
Patas Monkey (one animal seen)
Black Mangabey (breeding group)
Assamese Macaque (in the tiny cages)
Crab-eating Macaque (in the tiny cages)
Stump-tailed Macaque (in the tiny cages)
Northern Pig-tailed Macaque (in the tiny cages)
Hamadryas Baboon
Mandrill (multiple cages)
Buff-cheeked Gibbon (lots, in multiple cages all over the zoo)
Northern White-cheeked Gibbon (lots, in multiple cages all over the zoo)
Pileated Gibbon (lots, in multiple cages all over the zoo)
Chimpanzee (I only saw one, but there may have been more)
Siberian Tiger
White Tiger
African Lion
White Lion
Brown Bear (one animal in a bear pit)
Asiatic Black Bear (two animals in a bear pit, and then multiple in the tiny cages)
*Binturong (signed but unseen in one of the tiny cages)
Red Panda
Common Raccoon
*Seal / Dolphin (unseen - probably only visible during shows - there was promotional signage for both dolphins and seals [i.e. sealions or fur seals] but I don't know if they are both present, nor which species although I think the photos were of Bottlenose Dolphins)
*Asian Elephant (did not see - enclosure blocked off)
Debao Pony (in the main farmyard area)
Horse (in the main farmyard area)
Plains Zebra
White Rhinoceros
Domestic Pig, including Pot-bellied Pigs (in the farmyard areas)
Common Hippopotamus
Giraffe
Alpaca (in the main farmyard area)
Llama (perhaps present in the main farmyard)
Bactrian Camel (in the main farmyard area)
Domestic Goats (in the main farmyard area)
Domestic Sheep (including interesting long-haired ones) (in the farmyard areas)
Mouflon (in one of the farmyard area, but also a huge flock in their own yard in the ungulates section)
Domestic Yak (a dwarf one in the main farmyard area, and a regular-sized one in a pen at the ungulate yards)
Domestic Water Buffalo (in the main farmyard area)
Sika (in the main farmyard area)
Red Deer (xanthopygus ?) (in the main farmyard area)
Chinese Crested Porcupine
Capybara (in the main farmyard area)
Domestic Guinea Pig (in the farmyard areas)
Domestic Rabbit (in the farmyard area)
BIRDS:
The birds at the zoo are mostly housed on the left side of the zoo, but also I think there must be many off-display at the moment because there were a lot of large aviaries being constructed (or re-constructed, as the case may be).
There is a very large lake for waterfowl (pelicans, swans, geese and ducks) which as well as signage for the zoo birds also has extensive signage for wild birds which can be seen around the lake.
The parrots are (apart for a few elsewhere) all housed in one area beside the lake, in quite large glass-fronted aviaries. The macaws are all wing-clipped on branches however.
Down the west side of the zoo (on the other side of the lake from the parrot area) are the largest aviaries, for the hornbills and wading birds, but this is also where much of the construction fencing is so there are only a few occupied aviaries here currently.
Some domestic birds (ducks, guineafowl, peafowl) are kept in a couple of farmyard kids' areas, and there are also a few small aviaries by the Chimpanzee enclosure.
Emu (in one of the farmyard areas)
Black Swan
Whooper Swan
Tundra Swan
Domestic Chinese (Swan) Goose
Bar-headed Goose
Ruddy Shelduck
*Mandarin Duck (did not see)
Domestic Ducks (in the farmyard areas)
Caribbean Flamingo
Red-crowned Crane
Great White Pelican
Pink-backed Pelican (I only saw one of each pelican)
Scarlet Ibis
White-eared Night Heron (the aviary was covered over in shade-cloth but I could see one bird perched near the top)
Indian Peafowl
Domestic Guineafowl
Blue and Yellow Macaw
Green-winged Macaw
Orange-winged Amazon
Sun Conure
Green-cheeked Conure (mutations)
Quaker (Monk) Parakeet
African Grey Parrot
Peach-faced Lovebird (lutino mutation)
Alexandrine
Derbyan Parakeet
Red-breasted (Moustached) Parakeet
Slaty-headed Parakeet
Eclectus
Budgerigar
Cockatiel
Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Blue-eyed Cockatoo
Ducorp's Cockatoo
Palm Cockatoo
Black-capped Lory
*Coconut Lorikeet (signed on the unoccupied mixed-parrot aviary inside the reptile house but I did not see any, whereas all the other species signed on that aviary were also present in the main parrot aviaries by the lake)
Spot-necked Dove
Domestic white doves
Great Indian Hornbill
Wreathed Hornbill
White-thighed Hornbill (Bycanistes albotibialis) (unsigned)
Java Sparrow
REPTILES:
There were two reptile houses at the zoo, although there were mostly the same species signed in both of them. I saw most of the snakes and lizards, but not many of the turtles (I don't know if they are all actually there or not). The tanks were okay - they were reasonably large and clean. Some of the snake tanks in the second reptile house were much smaller than in the first one. The species list is probably missing a few species because there was a walk-through parrot aviary in the first reptile house which had more tanks on the far wall (inside the aviary), but the aviary itself was locked so I couldn't get close enough to read the signs.
Other than the two reptile houses there was also an area of large outdoor pools for (lots of!) unlabelled crocodiles which I think must be been Siamese Crocodiles; and a tank for Green Sea Turtles near the dolphin stadium.
*Chinese Alligator (did not see)
Siamese Crocodile (I think)
Green Sea Turtle
Red-eared Slider
*White-lipped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon leucosternum) (did not see)
*Red-cheeked Mud Turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides cruentatum) (did not see)
*Giant Musk Turtle (Staurotypus salvinii) (did not see)
*Reeves' Turtle (did not see)
*Yellow Mud Turtle (Mauremys mutica) (did not see)
Keeled Box Turtle (Cuora mouhotii)
*Yellow-margined Box Turtle (Cuora flavomarginata) (did not see)
*Stripe-necked Leaf Turtle (Cyclemys tcheponensis) (did not see)
Stripe-necked Turtle Ocadia sinensis)
Yellow-headed Temple Turtle (unsigned)
Elongated Tortoise
Radiated Tortoise
*Leopard Tortoise (did not see)
African Spurred Tortoise
Aldabra Tortoise
*Galapagos Tortoise (did not see - tank covered up)
Black and White Tegu
Common Iguana
Asian Water Monitor
Bengal Monitor
Burmese Python (Python molurus bivittatus) (called the Burman Two-striped Python here)
Ball Python
Colombian Red-tailed Boa (Boa constrictor imperator)
Rainbow Boa
Brook's Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula floridana)
Corn Snake
Beauty Snake (Elaphe taeniura)
King Rat Snake (Elaphe carinata)
Oriental Rat Snake (Ptyas muscosus)
Chinese Cobra (Naja atra)
*Yellow-spotted Keelback (Xenochrophis flavipunctatus) (did not see)
AMPHIBIANS:
The first three species below were all signed in the first reptile house but not seen there (their tanks had turtles in them instead). All five species were signed in the second reptile house, but I saw only two of the species (the Indian Bullfrog and American Bullfrog).
Indian Bullfrog Hoplobatrachus tigerinus
American Bullfrog Rana catesbiana
*Asian Black-spined Toad Duttaphrynus melanosticta (did not see)
*White's Tree Frog Litoria caerulea (did not see)
*Malaysian Narrow-mouthed Toad Kaloula pulchra (did not see)
FISH:
There was a combined reptile house and aquarium near the zoo entrance which held most of the fish on display. There were two corridors, one for freshwater and one for marine, which were both lit with blue light making them almost impossible to take photos worth anything. The tanks all had signage but not for most of the fish in the tanks, so the following list is not complete. The marine tanks were mostly empty and dirty, with the only fish present being Tomato Clownfish (albeit labelled as A. ocellaris).
A second aquarium is labelled on the map in the middle of one of the construction areas.
There were also a few different Koi ponds around the zoo.
Alligator Gar
Clown Knifefish
Koi Carp
Goldfish
Blue Gourami
Oscar
Severum
Plecostomus (Hypostomus sp)
Tomato Clownfish
INVERTEBRATES:
The marine tanks in the aquarium were all labelled for different species of anemones, which were all present (or at least, species which looked like the photos on the signs):
Cibrinopsis crassa
Heteractis magnifica
Stichodactyla mertensii
Including all species seen and signed.
Map of the zoo.
Nanning Zoo is a pretty good zoo, with the main notable exception of a block of awful tiny cages for bears, monkeys and gibbons. Otherwise most of it is okay to good. Unfortunately for my visit there were large chunks of the zoo blocked off for construction. On the map there are shaded areas where construction was taking place - at top-left and right down the left side - but there were a number of other areas around the zoo also blocked with construction fencing, including the entire elephant area. I will have to assume that I missed various animals, especially birds (it seemed like most of the larger aviaries were being built anew behind the fencing), and there is also an aquarium marked in the middle of the main construction zone
…………………………………………………………………
MAMMALS:
A very primate-heavy zoo. Lots of cages for Francois' and Indochinese Silvered Langurs, and for Buff-cheeked, Pileated and White-cheeked Gibbons. Lots of other species in smaller numbers, sometimes with just one or two animals left. There was a wide variety of primate cages. Most were concrete with mock-rock walls, glass fronts (mesh roofs and upper sections), branches and ropes inside, and which varied in size from quite large to not large at all. There was one group of cages which were quite small but well-planted. And then there was a shocking block of tiny wire cages for bears, monkeys and gibbons which should have been ripped out long ago.
Most of the Carnivores were otherwise adequately housed, although there were very few species on display. There were two bear pits which were substantially better than the tiny cages mentioned above.The big cats had reasonable-sized cages with glass fronts (very reflective, difficult for photos). Raccoons and Red Pandas had quite large open-topped enclosures with live trees (some of the Raccoons were asleep up in one of them).
Ungulate yards were basic and not particularly large. Interestingly there were no antelopes at all at the zoo - in fact the only hooved animals not in the farmyards were zebra, rhino, hippo, giraffe, a domestic yak, and a flock of Mouflon (the latter two were also in the farmyards). The elephants were blocked off with construction fencing but it looked like a good-sized enclosure for them.
There were three petting zoo / farmyard-type areas, one of which was locked up but had Mouflon, long-haired domestic sheep and pot-bellied pigs (as well as domestic birds and Emu); one of which was just a couple of small pens for pigs, rabbits and guinea pigs by the first reptile house; and the largest of which had various domestic and non-domestic animals (like Red Kangaroos and Capybara).
Red Kangaroo (in the main farmyard area)
Ring-tailed Lemur
Common Squirrel Monkey
Black-capped Capuchin
Black-handed Spider Monkey
Francois’ Langur (lots, in multiple cages all over the zoo)
Hybrid Francois' X White-headed Langur (wild-born hybrids: one unsigned animal, sharing a cage with the Indochinese Black Langur and three Francois' Langurs; and apparently the animals in a cage labelled as White-headed Langurs [I saw two] are also hybrids.)
Indochinese Black Langur (one animal)
Indochinese Silvered Langur (T. germaini) (lots, in multiple cages all over the zoo)
*Douc Langur (two cages, but did not see - signed as P. naemeus but previous photos from the zoo are Black-shanked Doucs P. nigripes so it is probably a case of an outdated scientific name on the signage)
L'Hoest's Monkey (one animal)
White-nosed Guenon (i.e. Putty-nosed Guenon C. nictitans) (just two animals I think)
De Brazza’s Monkey (several cages)
Patas Monkey (one animal seen)
Black Mangabey (breeding group)
Assamese Macaque (in the tiny cages)
Crab-eating Macaque (in the tiny cages)
Stump-tailed Macaque (in the tiny cages)
Northern Pig-tailed Macaque (in the tiny cages)
Hamadryas Baboon
Mandrill (multiple cages)
Buff-cheeked Gibbon (lots, in multiple cages all over the zoo)
Northern White-cheeked Gibbon (lots, in multiple cages all over the zoo)
Pileated Gibbon (lots, in multiple cages all over the zoo)
Chimpanzee (I only saw one, but there may have been more)
Siberian Tiger
White Tiger
African Lion
White Lion
Brown Bear (one animal in a bear pit)
Asiatic Black Bear (two animals in a bear pit, and then multiple in the tiny cages)
*Binturong (signed but unseen in one of the tiny cages)
Red Panda
Common Raccoon
*Seal / Dolphin (unseen - probably only visible during shows - there was promotional signage for both dolphins and seals [i.e. sealions or fur seals] but I don't know if they are both present, nor which species although I think the photos were of Bottlenose Dolphins)
*Asian Elephant (did not see - enclosure blocked off)
Debao Pony (in the main farmyard area)
Horse (in the main farmyard area)
Plains Zebra
White Rhinoceros
Domestic Pig, including Pot-bellied Pigs (in the farmyard areas)
Common Hippopotamus
Giraffe
Alpaca (in the main farmyard area)
Llama (perhaps present in the main farmyard)
Bactrian Camel (in the main farmyard area)
Domestic Goats (in the main farmyard area)
Domestic Sheep (including interesting long-haired ones) (in the farmyard areas)
Mouflon (in one of the farmyard area, but also a huge flock in their own yard in the ungulates section)
Domestic Yak (a dwarf one in the main farmyard area, and a regular-sized one in a pen at the ungulate yards)
Domestic Water Buffalo (in the main farmyard area)
Sika (in the main farmyard area)
Red Deer (xanthopygus ?) (in the main farmyard area)
Chinese Crested Porcupine
Capybara (in the main farmyard area)
Domestic Guinea Pig (in the farmyard areas)
Domestic Rabbit (in the farmyard area)
BIRDS:
The birds at the zoo are mostly housed on the left side of the zoo, but also I think there must be many off-display at the moment because there were a lot of large aviaries being constructed (or re-constructed, as the case may be).
There is a very large lake for waterfowl (pelicans, swans, geese and ducks) which as well as signage for the zoo birds also has extensive signage for wild birds which can be seen around the lake.
The parrots are (apart for a few elsewhere) all housed in one area beside the lake, in quite large glass-fronted aviaries. The macaws are all wing-clipped on branches however.
Down the west side of the zoo (on the other side of the lake from the parrot area) are the largest aviaries, for the hornbills and wading birds, but this is also where much of the construction fencing is so there are only a few occupied aviaries here currently.
Some domestic birds (ducks, guineafowl, peafowl) are kept in a couple of farmyard kids' areas, and there are also a few small aviaries by the Chimpanzee enclosure.
Emu (in one of the farmyard areas)
Black Swan
Whooper Swan
Tundra Swan
Domestic Chinese (Swan) Goose
Bar-headed Goose
Ruddy Shelduck
*Mandarin Duck (did not see)
Domestic Ducks (in the farmyard areas)
Caribbean Flamingo
Red-crowned Crane
Great White Pelican
Pink-backed Pelican (I only saw one of each pelican)
Scarlet Ibis
White-eared Night Heron (the aviary was covered over in shade-cloth but I could see one bird perched near the top)
Indian Peafowl
Domestic Guineafowl
Blue and Yellow Macaw
Green-winged Macaw
Orange-winged Amazon
Sun Conure
Green-cheeked Conure (mutations)
Quaker (Monk) Parakeet
African Grey Parrot
Peach-faced Lovebird (lutino mutation)
Alexandrine
Derbyan Parakeet
Red-breasted (Moustached) Parakeet
Slaty-headed Parakeet
Eclectus
Budgerigar
Cockatiel
Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Blue-eyed Cockatoo
Ducorp's Cockatoo
Palm Cockatoo
Black-capped Lory
*Coconut Lorikeet (signed on the unoccupied mixed-parrot aviary inside the reptile house but I did not see any, whereas all the other species signed on that aviary were also present in the main parrot aviaries by the lake)
Spot-necked Dove
Domestic white doves
Great Indian Hornbill
Wreathed Hornbill
White-thighed Hornbill (Bycanistes albotibialis) (unsigned)
Java Sparrow
REPTILES:
There were two reptile houses at the zoo, although there were mostly the same species signed in both of them. I saw most of the snakes and lizards, but not many of the turtles (I don't know if they are all actually there or not). The tanks were okay - they were reasonably large and clean. Some of the snake tanks in the second reptile house were much smaller than in the first one. The species list is probably missing a few species because there was a walk-through parrot aviary in the first reptile house which had more tanks on the far wall (inside the aviary), but the aviary itself was locked so I couldn't get close enough to read the signs.
Other than the two reptile houses there was also an area of large outdoor pools for (lots of!) unlabelled crocodiles which I think must be been Siamese Crocodiles; and a tank for Green Sea Turtles near the dolphin stadium.
*Chinese Alligator (did not see)
Siamese Crocodile (I think)
Green Sea Turtle
Red-eared Slider
*White-lipped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon leucosternum) (did not see)
*Red-cheeked Mud Turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides cruentatum) (did not see)
*Giant Musk Turtle (Staurotypus salvinii) (did not see)
*Reeves' Turtle (did not see)
*Yellow Mud Turtle (Mauremys mutica) (did not see)
Keeled Box Turtle (Cuora mouhotii)
*Yellow-margined Box Turtle (Cuora flavomarginata) (did not see)
*Stripe-necked Leaf Turtle (Cyclemys tcheponensis) (did not see)
Stripe-necked Turtle Ocadia sinensis)
Yellow-headed Temple Turtle (unsigned)
Elongated Tortoise
Radiated Tortoise
*Leopard Tortoise (did not see)
African Spurred Tortoise
Aldabra Tortoise
*Galapagos Tortoise (did not see - tank covered up)
Black and White Tegu
Common Iguana
Asian Water Monitor
Bengal Monitor
Burmese Python (Python molurus bivittatus) (called the Burman Two-striped Python here)
Ball Python
Colombian Red-tailed Boa (Boa constrictor imperator)
Rainbow Boa
Brook's Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula floridana)
Corn Snake
Beauty Snake (Elaphe taeniura)
King Rat Snake (Elaphe carinata)
Oriental Rat Snake (Ptyas muscosus)
Chinese Cobra (Naja atra)
*Yellow-spotted Keelback (Xenochrophis flavipunctatus) (did not see)
AMPHIBIANS:
The first three species below were all signed in the first reptile house but not seen there (their tanks had turtles in them instead). All five species were signed in the second reptile house, but I saw only two of the species (the Indian Bullfrog and American Bullfrog).
Indian Bullfrog Hoplobatrachus tigerinus
American Bullfrog Rana catesbiana
*Asian Black-spined Toad Duttaphrynus melanosticta (did not see)
*White's Tree Frog Litoria caerulea (did not see)
*Malaysian Narrow-mouthed Toad Kaloula pulchra (did not see)
FISH:
There was a combined reptile house and aquarium near the zoo entrance which held most of the fish on display. There were two corridors, one for freshwater and one for marine, which were both lit with blue light making them almost impossible to take photos worth anything. The tanks all had signage but not for most of the fish in the tanks, so the following list is not complete. The marine tanks were mostly empty and dirty, with the only fish present being Tomato Clownfish (albeit labelled as A. ocellaris).
A second aquarium is labelled on the map in the middle of one of the construction areas.
There were also a few different Koi ponds around the zoo.
Alligator Gar
Clown Knifefish
Koi Carp
Goldfish
Blue Gourami
Oscar
Severum
Plecostomus (Hypostomus sp)
Tomato Clownfish
INVERTEBRATES:
The marine tanks in the aquarium were all labelled for different species of anemones, which were all present (or at least, species which looked like the photos on the signs):
Cibrinopsis crassa
Heteractis magnifica
Stichodactyla mertensii
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