16.08 Buin Zoo
163. South American Gray Fox
164. Humboldt's Hog-nosed skunk
165. Chilean short-eared owl
166. Magellanic horned owl
167. South American fur seal
168. South American sea lion
169. Common king snake
170. Yellow anaconda
16.08 Buin Zoo
163. South American Gray Fox
164. Humboldt's Hog-nosed skunk
165. Chilean short-eared owl
166. Magellanic horned owl
167. South American fur seal
168. South American sea lion
169. Common king snake
170. Yellow anaconda
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (Colorado Springs, CO) - 31 August 2025: Carnivora: 152. Grey wolf (Canis lupus)
153. North American river otter (Lontra canadensis)
154. Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
Strigiformes: 155. Western screech-owl (Megascops kennicottii)
I have just gotten back from my Tennessee road trip and visited 6 facilities; Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies, Zoo Knoxville, Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga Zoo, Nashville Zoo, and Memphis Zoo.
I gained a total of 62 new eligible species over the course of my trip, most of which are, unsurprisingly, snakes. The zoos all had a really good helping of snake species, a few of which I have actually never seen before. Ripley's and Chattanooga provided some sharks, and Memphis and Nashville both also gave me a good helping of mammalian carnivores, finally landing me some civets/genets other than the omnipresent Binturong. Thanks to Chattanooga and Nashville, I now have all 5 species of big cat under my belt (although Memphis would have been happy to fill that up had I not gotten them all beforehand).
I was able to observe almost everything that was signed and eligible that I didn't already have, but I did have a few misses; Madagascar Ground Boas from Knoxville, as well as the Ringtail and Mexican Burrowing Python from Memphis. The Ringtail in particular stung hard because I held out for it at the end of the day only to walk away empty-handed.
Current Total - 172
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (01/04/2025) - 8 (Total 8)
Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum)
Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus)
Northern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)
Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius)
South American Milksnake (Lampropeltis micropholis)
Sorry for having waited this long to join. While I don't think I'll be taking the lead out from anyone, I understand if it is too late to enter. In the off chance that it is not, I'll start with:
I just got back from a day trip which included a visit to Reptile Lagoon, an indoor reptile zoo located at the South of the Border complex just off of I-95, and walked away with a healthy dose of crocodile and snake species, including several that were lifetime firsts for me. They had 13 species of crocodylian, 5 of which I haven't seen yet this year, and one of which is a lifer for me. Of the 46 species of snakes they had, 25 were new for this year, and 17 of those were lifetime firsts for me. I saw everything that they had on exhibit; there was one species off-exhibit but, thankfully, it was something I have already seen multiple times this year alone (the Eastern Diamondback).
Current Total - 172
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (01/04/2025) - 8 (Total 8)
Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum)
Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus)
Northern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)
Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius)
South American Milksnake (Lampropeltis micropholis)