Animals Becoming Common In Zoos

arcticwolf

arcticwolf

Well-Known Member
Years ago, if you asked someone if they had ever seen a red river hog, they would probably say "what's that?" But now, red river hogs are extremely common in North American zoos. Now that red river hogs are common, another pig species is starting to be held in more zoos: the warty pig. So here's my question: what animals are starting to become more common in zoos, and why?

(If there has already been a thread about this, I'm really sorry...I just couldn't find anything on this specific topic)
 
Scimitar Oryx seem to be as well though it may just be because of the general hoofstock drawdown.

I remember as a kid seeing all Beisa/Gemsbok (couldn't tell the difference as a kid) now its all Scimitar. And that is within 20 years. The rarity level of the species has flipped.
 
tschandler71 said:
Scimitar Oryx seem to be as well though it may just be because of the general hoofstock drawdown.

I remember as a kid seeing all Beisa/Gemsbok (couldn't tell the difference as a kid) now its all Scimitar. And that is within 20 years. The rarity level of the species has flipped.
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That's interesting. I've never heard of scimitar horned oryxes being common in zoos. The toronto zoo recently phased out scimitar horned oryxes, and I haven't heard of other zoos acquiring them. You are right about there being less hoofstock species. I guess zoos want to keep only endangered species (like oryxes and warty pigs).
 
Not that they are particularly common its just some time ago they were practically non existent in the local zoos and Beisa/Gemsbok were common. Now you don't see any gemsbok but several places (including Birmingham next summer) have Scimitar.
 
Comparative trends

Interesting to compare the 'trends' here between the USA and European Zoos. S.H. Oryx were mentioned, they are extremely common in UK zoos and have been for many years- they have almost eclipsed any other Oryx species- on the other hand, Arabian Oryx, which previously had several UK holders, are now down to just one, and have almost disappeared. Gemsbok and Beisa Oryx have never been common/widespread in the UK, at least in recent years.

Pigs- the trend seems similar here in both US and Europe(UK at least). Red River Hogs have now appeared almost everywhere but are being superseded by the more endangered Visayan Warty Pigs, some zoos replacing the former with the latter, others keeping both. Warthogs have appeared increasingly also.

Another species definately on the increase in Europe is the Giant Otter.
 
Beside the Red River Hogs:

- Meerkats
- Tamarins, marmosets and other South American primates
- Cheetahs
- Snow leopards
- Asian Small Clawed Otter

(and - enough money and good connections to china provided - Giant Pandas;))


Losers beside the already mentioned Antilope/Gazelle species:
- Squirrels and other rodents
- Deers
- Small cats
- Civets
- West African Monkeys such as guegnons
- Langur species such as Douc Langur
- Bovid species such as Cape Buffaloes
- Birds of Paradies
- Small exotic birds
- collection of venomous snakes
- leopards Panthera pardus subspec. (at least in Switzerland)
- polar bears (at least in Switzerland and UK/GB)
- Masai giraffe (in Europe)
 
anidude said:
insectivores and lagomorphs arent that common in the uk other than the normal rabbit
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Lagomorphs aren't very common at all in Europe, as a matter of fact. I haven't a clue about private collections, but in terms of public collections there are no pikas whatsoever, and barring domestic rabbits the only other lagomorphs to be found in zoos are the occasional representative of various subspecies of the European Brown Hare.
 
Another species that is becoming increasingly common in North America (and I think Europe too) is the lemur. It seems like most zoos have to have them now. And it's not even just ring tails that are becoming common. More sifakas and aye ayes are starting to be found in North American zoos. They're still not extremely common, but their numbers are increasing.
 
Lemurs have always been common in zoos in some degree or another. 20 years ago it was the ring-tailed and brown lemurs; today its still the ring-tailed, but now ruffed lemurs as well. The big up and coming animals that will soon be very common are the penguins.
 
gerenuk said:
The big up and coming animals that will soon be very common are the penguins.
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Penguins are interesting because they've always been a staple exhibit of many older zoos but in recent years it's the public opinion towards them that has changed. I think it's fair to say that they've joined the likes of elephants, bears, big cats, and apes in terms of crowd pulling power (especially when a new exhibit is built).
 
gerenuk said:
They already are the most common antelope in US zoos today.
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Another parallel with the UK- Bongo is now represented in most larger UK collections too- probably a lot more plentiful now than previously 'common' antelope species such as Blackbuck, Nilgai, Eland etc which are only to be found in a few UK zoos nowadays.

Ayes Ayes and Sifakas are still rare here, but as in the States, are on the increase. Ruffed Lemurs are almost everywhere nowadays. 'Walk-in' Lemur displays with Ringtailed and Ruffed Lemurs are a feature in many zoos here now.

Nowadays virtually every zoo/wildlife park in the UK over a certain size also has White rhinos- either a small breeding group or bachelor males.

Apart from actual animal species, many extra activities have appeared in recent years such as public 'feeding platforms' for Giraffe, and other interactive/closer contact activities. There there's the VIP tours, keeper for a day and late evenings and overnight stays in lodges in zoos, all of which generate extra revenue.

As Pat said above, Penguins have always been a familiar feature in nearly all Zoos, but the public perception of them seems to have changed recently- media exposure at work again? - which in turn has caused the Zoos to feature them more prominently in new displays plus incorporating new activities such as feeding and more visitor interaction with them.
 
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I'm not convinced about penguins becoming much more common: they are expensive to keep and to feed. On the other hand, in the UK at least, they may replace pinnipeds which are disappearing for husbandry and welfare reasons.
I would add fruit bats and aardvarks to species which are gradually being seen more frequently.

Alan
 
gentle lemur said:
On the other hand, in the UK at least, they may replace pinnipeds which are disappearing for husbandry and welfare reasons.
I would add fruit bats and aardvarks to species which are gradually being seen more frequently.
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Pinnipeds are definately on the wane. Penguins (and Giant Otters) could become the 'new pinnipeds' perhaps?

Agree that Fruit Bats and Aardvarks are on the increase- anything scary(to visitors and children) or bizarre in appearance seems to be one of the newer requirement trends.
 
I agree about the aardvarks. When I was a kid, I thought there were no aardvarks in zoos (I'm sure there were some I just never knew what zoos they were at). Now I can name a number of zoos with them.

Penguins have always been fairly common in zoos, but thanks to the media and less zoos exhibiting large marine mammals (dolphins & seals), penguins have become a superstar species. It seems that African and Humboldt penguins are the most common species in zoos, but there are still quite a few zoos with sub-antarctic penguins.

Another species that is replacing large marine mammals are otters. They are just as active and people think they're cute. I haven't heard of giant otters becoming more common, so I guess that's only happening in Europe. They do seem like a perfect species for zoos. They live in South American rainforests (a region that many zoos focus on), they are large, and they are active. In North America the most common species are North American river otters and small clawed otters.
 
arcticwolf said:
I haven't heard of giant otters becoming more common, so I guess that's only happening in Europe. They do seem like a perfect species for zoos. They live in South American rainforests (a region that many zoos focus on), they are large, and they are active.
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Their size and activity make them an impressive display, almost on a par with Pinnipeds, but not requiring the same degree/expense of water filtration etc.. And they do make a better display than the smaller Otter species too. Also they seem to breed quite well and can be kept in larger Family groups, while fresh pairs are frequently being made up for new holders it seems.
 
From what I have seen of lemurs it would appear there are more in world zoos and collections of one sort or another than there could be in Madagascar. The same with short clawed otters, they seam to be everywhere too.

Can I ask, why are the dear and hoofed stock declining? is it space or quarantine controls or the dreaded public perception? I can see why penguins are on the up, the cartoons films etc that make them out to be an anthropomorphic dream. The fact is they do smell a bit iffy to me. Of course the likes of Edinburgh zoo in Scotland have had a penguin parade for years or they did when I went quite regularly in the 90's
 
dean said:
Can I ask, why are the dear and hoofed stock declining? is it space or quarantine controls or the dreaded public perception?
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I think it is some of both, but the public 'appeal' factor may be predominant. Ungulates don't really have it in the way some other species do- a single ungulate species exhibited can pretty much cover the same as a wider range of species could achieve in that respect.
 
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