Strangest Animals In Aquariums

BeardsleyZooFan

BeardsleyZooFan

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
It seems that aquariums are starting to not just exhibit marine life, but animals that have no connection with water whatsoever. Examples include the following;
Virginia Aquarium Komodo Dragons: http://www.zoochat.com/1050/restless-planet-komodo-dragon-exhibit-285008/
Virginia Aquarium Algerian Hedgehogs: http://www.zoochat.com/1050/restless-planet-algerian-hedgehog-exhibit-285013/
Maritime Aquarium Meerkats: http://www.zoochat.com/1649/africa-deserts-sea-meerkat-exhibit-288062/
South Carolina Aquarium Lemurs: http://www.zoochat.com/988/madagascar-journey-ring-tailed-lemur-exhibit-284692/
Aquarium of the Pacific Lorikeets: http://www.zoochat.com/540/lorikeet-forest-280491/
So, my question is, what are the strangest animals you've seen in an aquarium? The only one on my list that I've seen are the meerkats, but I've also seen Budgerigars, Cockatiels, and Eastern Rosellas at Mystic Aquarium.
 
Basically, anything at the Dallas World Aquarium falls into this category.
 
I have to agree with jbnbsn99: Dallas World Aquarium has one of the most eclectic collections I have ever seen. 2 and 3 toed sloths, vampire bats, Amazon manatees, water opossum, giant otters, little blue penguins... crazy stuff!
 
filipinos said:
Do they really have all those species? I´m sure they don´t have Amazon Manatees...
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You're right, they are West Indian but it is a (mainly) South American themed institution so easy mistake to make.
 
The Lakes aquarium in the UK has harvest mice, marmosets and "polecats".



Credits go to Maguari for all photo's.
 
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Actually, this isn't something "new". In the former Berlin Aquarium Unter den Linden (running from 1869 to 1910) vistors could see not only fishes and invertebrates but also mammals like beaver, monkeys, apes (Chimpanzees, Gibbons, Orang-Utans and Gorillas) and Birds like Parrots.
 
Aquariums display creatures that live in the water - either freshwater or marine. Aquatic animals.

I don't see whats so strange (or "crazy") about aquariums having manatees, otters, penguins or water opossums. Or beavers. Sydney Aquarium has platypus.

Hippos are a bit odd, as they spend a lot of their time out of the water and should have a reasonable amount of land space to walk and graze (and sleep).

:p

Hix
 
My bad... the "Antillean" threw me.
Here is from their website:Antillean manatee, Trichechus manatus manatus
Distant relatives of elephants and hyraxes, West Indian manatees occur in two subspecies. The Antillean manatee of Central and South America, and various Caribbean islands, is almost identical to the Florida manatee (T. manatus laterostris), being slightly smaller with a narrower skull. While several US collections maintain Florida manatees, the only Antillean manateees in the US are "Manati" and "Ayurami" who came to the DWA through the courtesy of Venezuela, in 1999, after accidental netting by fishermen.
 
chrisbarela said:
I have to agree with jbnbsn99: Dallas World Aquarium has one of the most eclectic collections I have ever seen. 2 and 3 toed sloths, vampire bats, Amazon manatees, water opossum, giant otters, little blue penguins... crazy stuff!
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The manatees, water opossums, giant otters and penguins don't strike me as odd. However DWA does exhibit lots of tropical birds (toucans, tanagers, birds of prey, etc.), Jaguars, bats, monkeys, hyraxes, tree kangaroos, etc.
 
why should public aquariums restrict themselves to aquatic animals? Zoos don't restrict themselves to terrestrial animals. I do realise of course the origins of both words, but I don't see any issue if an aquarium displays non-aquatic life. I especially don't think having rainforest displays is "odd" or "crazy". I don't expect many people think aquariums keeping tarantulas or geckos is weird, so why not other terrestrial species?

Hippos I do think is a bit off though, simply because it seems wrong keeping such big animals in indoor exhibits.
 
Some aquariums emphasize that "water is the most important resource." I wouldn't consider such terrestrial animals strange at all. The National Aquarium opened Animal Planet Australia: Wild Extremes to show that despite such arid and fiery conditions in the Northern Territory, animals and plants have adapted to such conditions. On the opposite end, the Aquarium's Upland Tropical Rainforest exhibit showcases animals and plants which have adapted to high amounts of water and humidity.
 
Hix said:
I don't see whats so strange (or "crazy") about aquariums having manatees, otters, penguins or water opossums. Or beavers. Sydney Aquarium has platypus.

Hippos are a bit odd, as they spend a lot of their time out of the water and should have a reasonable amount of land space to walk and graze (and sleep).

:p

Hix
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Neither do I. Otters and penguins can be found at most aquariums and manatees are aquatic mammals, I don't see people thinking it's strange when seals or dolphins are in an aquarium. Water Possums don't seem strange either.
I also agree with Chlidonias, if zoo exhibit aquatic life along with terrestrial life then why can't aquariums do the same. Most aquariums have small reptiles and people don't find it strange so why is it wierd when the animals are just larger?
I don't see what's wrong with hippos in an aquarium. If it's Nile Hippos in an indoor aquarium then it's just a matter of space and not because the animals don't belong. If it's outdoors then I don't have a problem with it. I wouldn't have a problem with Pygmy Hippos in either an outdoor or indoor exhibit in an aquarium either.
Personally, I think aquariums are better when they exhibit large terrestrial life. While some people love the marine stuff, much of the public wants to see more than just small fish they've never heard of.

Isn't that River Safari place that's opening in Singapore suppose to have monkies, antelope, and a bunch of other non-aquatic stuff like Giant Pandas and Japanese Raccoon Dogs?
 
@Chlidonias and ThylacineAlive: Although I am agree that Animals in Aquarias (and even Marine Parks) should not be restricted to aquatic animals only, I still can find a difference in the term (and so the expectations of the common visitors): The term "zoo" means "animal" in ancient greek so it includs ALL(!) kind of animals, while "aquarium" comes from the latin word for "water", so it is thought originally for keeping aquatic animals only.

@ThylacineAlive: River Safari in Singapore is - afaik - built (or will be built) to show animals living in AND ALONG the Rivers of the World. So in this case, only Giant Pandas and the Red Pandas seems to be a little strange (or at least not typical dwellers for this habitat).
Also, I have never heard that RS will show any kind of antelope species. Where do you got this info?
 
Well, that's quite common. I think that when you have a place that is both an aquarium and a terrarium, they prefer to call themselves "aquarium" because it's a more well-known word and more "folksy", hence it will attract more visitors. And MANY aquaria also have a terrarium department. Skansen Akvariet in Sweden is really much more of a terrarium/tropical zoo (does have a fair-sized collection of smaller fish, though), and I have learned of Zoochat that Dallas World Aquarium has one of the better collections of non-aquatic animals in the US, and Krakow Aquarium seems similar to Skansen Akvariet with more reptiles and amphibians than fish.

Just like many zoos (especially small and old city zoos like Antwerp, Artis, Frankfurt and London for some reason) have a fairly-sized aquarium.

Oh, and the strangest one I've heard about recently is that the Aqua Freshwater Aquarium in Denmark recently opened an outdoor forest exhibit with three wild boars. Of course, boars can swim, but it is generally a quite terrestrial animal. Then again, that place does have an indoor aquarium with Danish freshwater fish, invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians as well as an outdoor park with Danish waterfowl, storks and semi-aquatic mammals. Maybe they just expanded the concept to include Danish mammals in general.
 
zoomaniac said:
@Chlidonias and ThylacineAlive: Although I am agree that Animals in Aquarias (and even Marine Parks) should not be restricted to aquatic animals only, I still can find a difference in the term (and so the expectations of the common visitors): The term "zoo" means "animal" in ancient greek so it includs ALL(!) kind of animals, while "aquarium" comes from the latin word for "water", so it is thought originally for keeping aquatic animals only.

@ThylacineAlive: River Safari in Singapore is - afaik - built (or will be built) to show animals living in AND ALONG the Rivers of the World. So in this case, only Giant Pandas and the Red Pandas seems to be a little strange (or at least not typical dwellers for this habitat).
Also, I have never heard that RS will show any kind of antelope species. Where do you got this info?
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River Safari Gallery
None of my information I don't think I got from you. According to this, the place will hold Giant Pandas, Maned Wolves, Jaguar (which I guess could pass), Squirrel Monkeys, spider monkeys, macaws, marmosets, Giant Anteater (which do swim), Guanaco, and I know they're getting Japanese Raccoon Dogs and really none of these animals of river species.
 
@ThylacineAlive: Hope I understand all you wrote the right way (sorry, English is not my native language):

If you (still) mean, that this animals do not fit to the theme of the park, then maybe you skipped the word "along" in my last post:

So Jaguars, Squirrel Monkeys (see: [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel_monkey]Squirrel monkey - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] ), Spider Monkeys, Macaws, Marmosets and even Giant Anteater can be found on the riverbanks of the Amazon River and its tributary streams.

But I agree that beside the Pandas (which I admit already) the Guanacos and Maned Wolves are not really dwellers of this habitat (at least not from the River Amazon). For the Japanese Raccoon Dogs, I am not sure. But according to their diet ([ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon_dog]Raccoon dog - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]) they live along (Asian) rivers too.
 
The majority of vertebrates on this planet live with a water source somewhere near them so pretty much all animals could go in this place. Do they plan Tigers?
 
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