Rarest animals seen in a zoo or aquarium

Yep, saw him at Zealandia last night. Will post some photos when I get home in a day or two.

:p :p :p

Hix
 
lucky Hix. Did you fly over specifically for that? I'm back in Chch of course when I really should be in Wellington (never where the kakapo are when I need to be!). I do think you're stretching the definition of zoo though just for the bragging rights!!! I take it you saw the takahe as well whilst there?
 
Yep - flew over specifically for Sirocco. All my friends think I'm completely mad - apparently flying to New Zealand to watch two teams chase a ball around a field is an acceptable waste of money, but go there just for a parrot?

I went back yesterday morning and saw the Takahe, and several other wild birds (plus the Tuataras and wetas and geckos). Also saw Takahe at Mt Bruce (popped up there on Saturday, but missed the white kiwi - he's only on display on Sundays. However, I did see one of the keepers handfeeding a couple of kiwi chicks.

Photos of Sirocco are in the Zealandia gallery - a little 'noisy' as the lighting was very poor and I had to use an ISO of 12800. Other photos and reviews will go up in the coming week(s).

And Sirocco is on display until the end of October.

:p

Hix
 
those are fantastic photos for low-light conditions. I wish I had your camera!! Unfortunately I won't be back in Wellington before Sirocco is gone and I have (almost literally) no money to get up there right now anyway.
 
Looking at those photos makes me green with envy.... the exact same shade of green as a Kakapo!
 
Mountain Gorilla(Cologne) or Sumatran Rhino(Port Lympne).

I can't resist adding that I've seen a Kakapo too- though it wasn't in a Zoo- but I got to hold it :cool:(they have a nasty bite too).
 
Pertinax said:
I can't resist adding that I've seen a Kakapo too- though it wasn't in a Zoo- but I got to hold it :cool:(they have a nasty bite too).
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Can do a lot of damage to the skin of your neck if they like you, too ;)
 
So I would like to add my list:

Hirola - Dvur Kralove
Jimela - Dvur Kralove
Lelwel Hartebeest - Dvur Kralove
Kaama Hartebeest - Hannover, Dvur Kralove
Four-horned antelope - Berlin Zoo
Bawean Deer - Poznan Zoo
Saiga - Köln Zoo
Marco Polo sheep - Tierpark Berlin
Golden takin - Liberec Zoo, Tierpark Berlin
Mountain reedbuck - Dvur Kralove, Tierpark Berlin
Slender-horned gazelle - Dvur Kralove
Barbary deer - Tierpark Berlin
Northern white rhino - Dvur Kralove
Bearded pig - Berlin Zoo, München Zoo
Mountain anoa - Berlin Zoo, Krefeld Zoo
Javan leopard - both Berlin's Zoos
Aardwolf - Tierpark Berlin
African palm civet - Poznan Zoo
Masked palm civet - Dortmund Zoo
Sea otter - Rotterdam Zoo, Antwerpen Zoo
Giant Panda - Berlin Zoo, Vienna Zoo
Amazon river dolphin - Duisburg Zoo
Pacific walrus - Harderwijk
Douc - Köln Zoo
Proboscis monkey - Apenheul
Eastern lowland gorilla - Antwerpen Zoo
Broad-nosed gentle lemur - Köln Zoo
Crowned sifaka - Mulhouse Zoo, Apenheul
Aye-aye - Berlin Zoo, Frankfurt Zoo
Goodman's mouse lemur - Plzen Zoo
Uta Hick's bearded saki - Mulhouse Zoo
Red howler monkey - Köln Zoo
Red-bellied guenon - Mulhouse Zoo
Silvery gibbon - München Zoo
Panay bushy-tailed cloud rat - Plzen Zoo
Lesser bamboo rat - Plzen Zoo
Silvery mol-rat - Plzen Zoo
Checkered elephant shrew - Praha Zoo
Streaked tenrec - Plzen Zoo
Four-eyed opossum - Plzen Zoo
Brown dorcopsis - Praha Zoo
Dusky pademelon - Plzen Zoo
Chinese pangolin - Leipzig Zoo
 
Pertinax said:
Mountain Gorilla(Cologne) or Sumatran Rhino(Port Lympne).

I can't resist adding that I've seen a Kakapo too- though it wasn't in a Zoo- but I got to hold it :cool:(they have a nasty bite too).
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i'm literally crying with envy right now ;)
 
Until 1997, London Zoo had the only captive Nduk or Usambara eagle owl (Bubo vosseleri) in the world. I only found this out from the list of rare animals in the International Zoo Yearbook. The owl was on the North Bank near the Snowdon Aviary and attracted little or no interest, although I did take a few people to see it. Its label didn't indicate its uniqueness and I don't remember any concern shown about its demise. A great shame.

Zootierliste lists three zoos having kept the species, but none currently. Nor are any listed in Isis.
 
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Let's see..
Tasmanian Wombat (Rio Grande Zoo) I've heard they have 3 wombats.
White-necked raven (Rio Grande Zoo)
Borneo Pygmy elephant (Oregon Zoo) As far as I know the only pygmy in North America
Waldrapp Ibis (San Fransisco Zoo)
Pacific Walrus (Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium)
Steller's Sea Lion (Oregon Zoo)
Blue-faced honeyeater (Pueblo Zoo)
Eurasian Black Vulture (Pueblo Zoo)
Lesser Yellow-faced vulture (Hogle Zoo) Bird show is the only place I've seen the vulture
African Sriped Weasel (Hogle Zoo)
Azure-winged magpie (Tautphaus Park Zoo)
Green Wood Hoopoe (Tautphaus Park Zoo) This zoo has a number of birds that are pretty unique

This is just based on the zoos I've been to. Haven't been to many compared to others here.
 
DeydraOZ said:
Let's see..
Tasmanian Wombat (Rio Grande Zoo) I've heard they have 3 wombats.
White-necked raven (Rio Grande Zoo)
Borneo Pygmy elephant (Oregon Zoo) As far as I know the only pygmy in North America
Waldrapp Ibis (San Fransisco Zoo)
Pacific Walrus (Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium)
Steller's Sea Lion (Oregon Zoo)
Blue-faced honeyeater (Pueblo Zoo)
Eurasian Black Vulture (Pueblo Zoo)
Lesser Yellow-faced vulture (Hogle Zoo) Bird show is the only place I've seen the vulture
African Sriped Weasel (Hogle Zoo)
Azure-winged magpie (Tautphaus Park Zoo)
Green Wood Hoopoe (Tautphaus Park Zoo) This zoo has a number of birds that are pretty unique

This is just based on the zoos I've been to. Haven't been to many compared to others here.
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How recent was the lesser yellow-headed vulture in a show at Hogle?

Other rare birds at Tautphaus Park (as of last summer): Chaco chachalaca and crested francolin
 
Ituri said:
How recent was the lesser yellow-headed vulture in a show at Hogle?

Other rare birds at Tautphaus Park (as of last summer): Chaco chachalaca and crested francolin
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Tracy aviary also has a pair of Chaco chachalaca.
Tautphaus Park has a lot of birds I've never seen before.
I saw the vulture this summer during the bird show so it was pretty recent. Oh they also have a white-necked raven too. And a Steller's sea eagle who will be going up to Seattle soon for breeding. I don't do a lot of zoo traveling during the summer so it's rare for me to catch bird-shows.
 
Pertinax said:
Your time will come... I'm sure opportunities will arrive in your lifetime to see these or other marvellous species too.;)
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In the wild, it certainly is easiest for the average person to see a Mountain Gorilla.

In captivity, despite their population numbers being the lowest of the three, I somehow suspect the chances of seeing a Kakapo are better than seeing a Sumatran Rhino or a Mountain Gorilla - the captive breeding programme for the Rhino is dead in the water, so once the Cincinnati individuals die that probably will be your lot, and there is no chance at all of Mountain Gorillas becoming an established zoo animal. Conversely, although there is still a long way to go, the rate of improvement in Kakapo populations has been such that it wouldn't surprise me if in a decade or so individuals who aren't viable for breeding from might enter a similar role to Sirocco.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
In the wild, it certainly is easiest for the average person to see a Mountain Gorilla.

In captivity, despite their population numbers being the lowest of the three, I somehow suspect the chances of seeing a Kakapo are better than seeing a Sumatran Rhino or a Mountain Gorilla - the captive breeding programme for the Rhino is dead in the water, so once the Cincinnati individuals die that probably will be your lot, and there is no chance at all of Mountain Gorillas becoming an established zoo animal. Conversely, although there is still a long way to go, the rate of improvement in Kakapo populations has been such that it wouldn't surprise me if in a decade or so individuals who aren't viable for breeding from might enter a similar role to Sirocco.
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What are captive Sumatran rhino populations like in Indonesia - I've seen pictures on here of the species living in rescue centres over there, is there a chance that an animal can be shipped over from one of these places to Cincinnati to reboot the breeding programme?
 
Javan Rhino said:
What are captive Sumatran rhino populations like in Indonesia - I've seen pictures on here of the species living in rescue centres over there, is there a chance that an animal can be shipped over from one of these places to Cincinnati to reboot the breeding programme?
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I doubt it, considering that one of the Cincinnati rhinos was moved to Indonesia to bolster their breeding programme. I suspect there are only about 9 or 10 captive rhino in Indonesia, so they wouldn't have any to spare, and even though understanding has improved, the failure of the last western breeding programme and the resulting loss of wild diversity has doubtless made zoos extremely wary of another attempt.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
I doubt it, considering that one of the Cincinnati rhinos was moved to Indonesia to bolster their breeding programme. I suspect there are only about 9 or 10 captive rhino in Indonesia, so they wouldn't have any to spare, and even though understanding has improved, the failure of the last western breeding programme and the resulting loss of wild diversity has doubtless made zoos extremely wary of another attempt.
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That's true - the breeding programme isn't in a good place at the moment. We can only cling to the hope that something will come along at some point, but it doesn't look likely :(
 
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