5 Must See Species Before You Die

I was lucky to have regularly seen the Tasmanian Devils at the Toronto Zoo, from the time I was a little girl in the 80s until they left (or phased out) sometime in the early 2000s. The Australasia pavilion's a lonelier place without them.
 
1. Ayeaye
2. Dibatag
3. Colugo
4. Tarsier
5. Pangolin

:p

Hix
 
Blackduiker

AnaheimZoo said:
I saw that one coming. :D

@KCZooFan: Hmmmm, Sasquatch... good luck with that... :P

My 5 are going to have to be:
Sichuan Takin
Saiga
Narwhal
Jentink's Duiker
Superb Bird-of-Paradise

That was incredibly tough; I think I might come back later to substitute a few. I remember the breathtaking display of the superb bird-of-paradise on Planet Earth, which made me think that I'd like to see all of the bird-of-paradise species in New Guinea one day! Jentink's duiker is such a beautiful animal, narwhals are extremely rare, and sichuan takins are one of my favorite animals. Saiga, they're, uh, not one of my favorites (but I think they crack my top 150 :)), but a rarity that hopefully will be in captivity again soon (along with more Jentink's duiker) depending on how my zoo comes along. :D
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Anaheim Zoo, true, I could take a trip to Atlanta to see the Whale Shark at the Georgia Aquarium, which I hope to do one day. But the Sichuan Takin on your list would be an even easier target to find, in any number of American Zoos. :rolleyes:
 
Species I would like to see in ZOOS or AQUARIAS:

1. Golden snub nosed monkey
2. Zebraduiker or Jentinks Duiker
3. Pangolin (any species)
4. Numbat
5. Great White Shark

Species I would like to see in the WILD:

1. Tiger
2. Mountain Gorilla
3. Leopard
4. Elephant Seal (any species)
5. Great White Shark (in the water, but from a safe cage of course:))
 
Blackduiker said:
Anaheim Zoo, true, I could take a trip to Atlanta to see the Whale Shark at the Georgia Aquarium, which I hope to do one day. But the Sichuan Takin on your list would be an even easier target to find, in any number of American Zoos. :rolleyes:
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Yes, that takin is only temporary. :D I'm sure it will be crossed off of my list by the end of the year, at least (sparring a very possible trip to San Diego). It's like ArizonaDocent said, these lists have to do a little bit with region, and although fairly common in American zoos, I have not been able to get very far from home to a zoo where Sichuan takins are kept. :rolleyes:
 
Terp924 said:
I saw Snowflake in 2001, he was magnificent and at the same time, a bit eerie. To this day I don't think I've sat and watched a single zoo animal as long as I watched him that day.

I didn't realize that Tasmanian devils were all but gone from zoos outside of Australia. They definitely had at least one in Toronto, and in Cincinnati in the not-too-distant past. Given that, I'm surprised it's not on more of these lists.
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Yep, the last Tasmanian devil in the US was born in 1997 at Cincy, and then went to Fort Wayne in 1999-2004.
 
Monk Seal either species
Orinoco Crocodile
Golden Lancehead
Leopard Seal
Elephabt Seal again either species
 
Looking through your lists, I realize how fortunate I've been to have seen a whole lot of the species listed here ! It also made me realize how many species have been in zoos briefly and disappeared again. The trend to keep "easy" species is both good and bad although - we don't have the trial and error losses anymore but we are also missing a bunch of species which could likely be kept successfully with just a bit more effort.

As for my list:

Whooping Crane
Mountain Gorilla
Lear's Macaw
Australian Sea lion
Wild Yak
 
zoogiraffe said:
Monk Seal either species
Orinoco Crocodile
Golden Lancehead
Leopard Seal
Elephabt Seal again either species
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I'm surprised you haven't seen Orinoco crocodile yet. Are they particularly rare in Europe? (I haven't seen one I will add, I just thought with the number of zoos you've visited you would have).
 
The ones marked (wild) means I have seen them in zoos but would still love to see them in their native habitat.

White-handed gibbon (wild)
Jaguar (wild)
Blue whale
Albatross
Blue bird of paradise (or any Bird of Paradise -- preferably in the wild)

Of course - next week I might very likely have a different list - except for the first 3.
 
Brum said:
Sea World San Antonio houses some [Hawaiian monk seals] but I have no idea if they're on show.
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As well as Hawaii's Waikiki Aquarium and Sea Life Park, and maybe some other places too.

Brum said:
I'm fairly certain nowhere has Mediteraneans though so my only hope is getting on a boat and cruising the Med and considering their rarity they could be quite tricky to spot! :(
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Nowhere has them on permanent display, but there are seals in rescue/rehabilitation centres. Considering their shyness and sensitivity to disturbance, seeking them out might not be the wisest option.
 
Zoogiraffe and Saro, I've actually seen a Hawaiian Monk Seal and a whooping crane in the wild. ;)
 
elefante said:
Zoogiraffe and Saro, I've actually seen a Hawaiian Monk Seal and a whooping crane in the wild. ;)
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I have seen monk seals at the sea life center (much bigger animals than I had expected !) and they also had albatrosses at the park, which would have made my list otherwise, but the Mediteranian monk seals are in a whole different ball park again. Regarding the Orinoco crocodile, I don't think there are any in Europe at this time.

I grew up near the bird park in Walsrode, which kept a huge variety of rare birds over the decades, which was very fortunate for me, but the whooping crane remains a dream for me !













i
 
devilfish said:
As well as Hawaii's Waikiki Aquarium and Sea Life Park, and maybe some other places too.



Nowhere has them on permanent display, but there are seals in rescue/rehabilitation centres. Considering their shyness and sensitivity to disturbance, seeking them out might not be the wisest option.
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I knew that there were other places with Hawaiians but couldn't recall where but I never knew any place held Mediteraneans, even on a temporary basis. As for seeing thhem in the wild, I know it'd be a fleeting glance from a distance but it would be worth it! :D
 
Brum said:
I knew that there were other places with Hawaiians but couldn't recall where but I never knew any place held Mediteraneans, even on a temporary basis. As for seeing thhem in the wild, I know it'd be a fleeting glance from a distance but it would be worth it! :D
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Actually, the seals I saw were asleep on the beach the entire time I was there. The Fish and Game just put caution tape around them so people wouldn't disturb them.
 
Chlidonias said:
I'm surprised you haven't seen Orinoco crocodile yet. Are they particularly rare in Europe? (I haven't seen one I will add, I just thought with the number of zoos you've visited you would have).
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No if you don't count the species that were split last year,I still haven't seen Gharial or Orinoco Crocs,but seeing as I'm visiting Praghe this year it will mean I get to see a Gharial there,as for Orinoco's their used to be one at Berlin,but I believe this animal turned out to be a hybrid,but I never saw it.Hopefully if everything goes to plan the Crocodile Zoo in Denmark should get Orinoco Crocs this year which will give them 23 species!
 
Hix said:
1. Ayeaye
2. Dibatag
3. Colugo
4. Tarsier
5. Pangolin

:p

Hix
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What a fantastic list of unusuals! 4 of my favorite unique mammals plus one of my favorite antelope to look for photos online for. There appears to be only one readily accessible photo online of a Dibatag in the wild.

I've been lucky enough to see Ayeaye, Tarsier and 2 species of Pangolin. All very memorable firsts. My first Ayeaye I actually got to go in the exhibit with at the London Zoo in 2009. I've seen them since at Berlin, Frankfurt, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Omaha, and Denver. The population has really expanded in the US, for a while they were only kept at San Fransisco and Duke's Lemur Center I believe.

Colugos are on my top 5, considering they make up the only order of mammals I haven't seen a representative of (before mammal orders got split even more). I'll have to wait for the Singapore Zoo where I can search for them wild.

I think my top 5 was:

1. Javan Rhino
2. Indri
3. Mountain Nyala
4. Numbat
5. Colugo
 
Mountain Nyala and Mountain Gorilla are my only two but in a similar vein I want to see the recognition by biological community of a few "realistic" cryptids. By that I don't mean nessie or bigfoot, but like the Eastern Cougar and that iffy situation. I don't believe every time one is seen its simply an escaped pet. More along the lines of animals that we know exist but in areas where they aren't expected.
 
How did I miss this list? I was fortunate enough to see the tarsier kept briefly in Bristol in 1987 (don't know which species), and to see Sumatran Rhino at Port Lympne.

In terms of what is LIKELY to be in a European collection in my lifetime, or is already there, Proboscis Monkey stands out - maybe Crested Ibis, if recurring rumours from Walsrode have any pinch of truth. And Iberian Lynx will hopefully spread, given time.

In North America, I've never yet seen California Condor, Whooping Crane or Red Wolf.

This has already taken me over five, and I haven't gone to Asia for snub-nosed monkeys or hoolock gibbons, or Australia for Platypus or Numbat.Or started having implausible dreams about Mountain Nyala, Guigna, Chinese Desert or Bay Cats, let alone Javan Rhino or any big cetacean.

But I can dream...:p
 
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