Off-show animals

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epickoala123

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
One of the most annoying zoo memories for me was finding out that Edinburgh's margays were of show the Day AFTER I visited.

So what animals are off-show at your local zoo?
what rarities are off-show in zoos around the world?
If you could get a Zoo to Put a currently off-show animal on-show?
And which zoo has the most appealing list of off-show animals?

BTW: Collections closed to the public don't count

My answers
My zoo I visit the most (lake district wildlife park) Has very poor coverage and the only animal I can confirm to being off-show is Ankole cattle.
The local big zoo (Edinburgh) has Yucatan Margay off show, along with an array of reptiles, and perhaps long-nosed potoroo.

One of the big rarities I know of off-show is the Long-beaked echidna at Moscow.

I would like Edinburgh to put the Margays on-show (I know I've mentioned them already).

I believe London, Moscow, Cincinnati, And San diego have a decent off-show list
 
Walsrode and Plzen both have off-show collections that could fill a small new zoo.
 
I'm not too sure of many species that my zoos keep off-show but I do know a few.

I know Bronx keeps a nice list of endangered turtles/tortoises off-show like Forston's Tortoise, Golden Coin Turtle, Roti Island Snake-Necked Turtle, and Yellow-Headed Box Turtle. I also know they have North Island Brown Kiwis off-show but they're soon to go on-show! Since there are new species in most of the indoor exhibits every time I visit I'd say Bronx has quite a large collection of species that rotate on and off show. This is particularly true when it comes to their bird collection.

All I know for Beardsley is that they have a Bobcat off-show. They have a small exhibit open sometimes that displays many of their off-show education species so I've seen most of what is off-show there.

I know Cincinnati has some nice off-show species like Yucatan Margay (they may actually have gone to a feline breeding center), Northern Red-Sided Opossum, possibly the last Rizo Island Skink in captivity (though it may have passed), and possibly Blue-Throated Macaws (it's unclear whether they left the collection or are off-show for breeding).

I'm sure both Bronx and Cincinnati keep many off-show species but it's unknown to me as to what they have.

I also know that the San Diego Zoo keeps Tree Pangolins off-show.

~Thylo:cool:
 
ThylacineAlive said:
But the Eurasian Lynx is displayed outside of Night Hunters. And, according to the zoo's website, the two armadillos are on-show, aren't they? And the Black-Casqued Wattled Hornbill is also now on-show as are the American Burrying Beetle.

The zoo has Chinese Giant Salamanders!

~Thylo:cool:
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Even though they are the same species the zoo had and labelled both Eurasian and Siberian lynxes. The Eurasians were part of the Cat House. Only the three-banded armadillo is on display now (rarely). Yes the hornbill is on display but the beetles are not.
 
I have no idea, which species are off exhibit. I don’t know how I would even find that out. Last time I went I saw all exhibits full of animals. How do you find out, which animals are off display? Is there a website that shows this information or something?
 
ostrich said:
I have no idea, which species are off exhibit. I don’t know how I would even find that out. Last time I went I saw all exhibits full of animals. How do you find out, which animals are off display? Is there a website that shows this information or something?
Click to expand...

Since I am a frequent visitor to my zoo (Cincinnati), I can always tell what species are taken off display. It also helps since the zoo changes something nearly every month.

Zoos around the world have Outreach Programs where keepers take smaller animals around the zoo to educate guests. I used a website called Global Species, although two years outdated, it still helped a lot for my list. The website shows nearly every single species a zoo has but I make sure that the zoo still has the species though.
 
ostrich said:
Anybody have an idea when ISIS will be back up?
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Global Species is comprised of the old May 2011 ISIS data.

Global Species

I've just found out over time by talking to other members, noticing what's no longer on-exhibit, and reading articles/watch videos which sometimes talk about off-show species.

~Thylo:cool:
 
The zoo i visit most- Whipsnade must hold about half its bird species 'offshow' in its Bird Garden which has been closed to the public for several years.
 
Chester and Jersey seems to keep their Ploughshare tortoises behind the scenes for safety reasons.
 
I'll elaborate a bit more on Beardsley. Right behind the Cotswold Sheep yard, there are 4 off-show exhibits. The first one is for a 20 year old Dexter Cow female named Katie. She can't be in the main Dexter Cow exhibit with fellow female cow, Lucy, because she has arthritis and can't navigate the terrain in the main exhibit.
The other 3 habitats are for a Bobcat, Broad-Winged Hawk, and an exhibit shared by a Red-Tailed Hawk and Harris' Hawk. They are all cages (the Bobcat cage provides some decent vertical height), but the animals are part of the Education Department and are taken out to act as ambassadors.
 
ZSL London have a large collection of animals off-show including their aye-ayes! :(
Likewise Chester keep their narrow-striped mongoose off show, along with most of their bird collection...;)
As far as I'm aware Belfast have black-footed cats off-show, or at least they did have? :confused:
Two species in the UK that are "technically" off display but still semi visible are brown hyaena at Port Lympne and yellow-throated martens at Twycross.
Hamerton have a few species currently not visible but from some accounts all you need is tiptoes and a decent camera.
And finally here's the big one:- The RSCC in Kent where EVERYTHING is off-show and most of the species are mouth-wateringly unusual! :p
 
ostrich said:
I have no idea, which species are off exhibit. I don’t know how I would even find that out. Last time I went I saw all exhibits full of animals. How do you find out, which animals are off display? Is there a website that shows this information or something?
Click to expand...

It could be down to contacts, knowledge, or for Europe, some animals are listed as off-show(hinter den kulissmen)
 
Brum said:
ZSL London have a large collection of animals off-show including their aye-ayes! :(
.........

As far as I'm aware Belfast have black-footed cats off-show, or at least they did have? :confused:
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The best thing London keep offshow isn't even the aye-ayes, which are visible elsewhere - it's the Panay Cloudrats.

Belfast sent the last of their black-footed cats to RSCC in 2010, which after various births and deaths sent the last of *their* black-footed cats to Port Lympne in early 2012. PL is now the last place in Europe to hold the species, with nowhere holding them offshow or in private hands as far as I know.
 
TeaLovingDave said:
The best thing London keep offshow isn't even the aye-ayes, which are visible elsewhere - it's the Panay Cloudrats.

Belfast sent the last of their black-footed cats to RSCC in 2010, which after various births and deaths sent the last of *their* black-footed cats to Port Lympne in early 2012. PL is now the last place in Europe to hold the species, with nowhere holding them offshow or in private hands as far as I know.
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Personally I'd take an aye-aye over a cloud rat any day but that's just down to my personal taste! :p
That's quite worrying about the black-footed cats, I didn't realise they were down to one collection. :(
 
Moscow has a great off-show collection
Many reptiles, long-billed crow, silver dik-dik, and long-beaked echidna
 
Brum said:
Likewise Chester keep their narrow-striped mongoose off show, along with most of their bird collection...;)
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The mongoose are not the only mammal that Chester keeps off-show at they also have Red Natal Duiker,Pied Tamarin and Black Lion Tamarin.

As for the birds,Chester does have alot off-show but apart from the Parrots,most are extra pairs of species on-show in the zoo or birds waiting to be found homes at other collections!
 
zoogiraffe said:
The mongoose are not the only mammal that Chester keeps off-show at they also have Red Natal Duiker,Pied Tamarin and Black Lion Tamarin.

As for the birds,Chester does have alot off-show but apart from the Parrots,most are extra pairs of species on-show in the zoo or birds waiting to be found homes at other collections!
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I totally forgot about the duiker, I now recall the complaints on here about it not going on show.:o I didn't realise the tamarins were off-show, I was sure I'd seen both in Miniature Monkeys on my previous 2 visits? :confused: I admit that I haven't been since 2010/11 though.
The birds comment was based on what I've seen posted on here, never paid that much to birds in zoos if I'm honest.
 
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