Animals You've Seen That Few Zoochatters Have Seen

I’ve once seen a Red-cockaded woodpecker in the wild at St. Andrew’s Bay State Wildlife Refuge in northern Florida. The birding trails that the park has to offer never disappoint in terms of the species present.
 
AndyJ08 said:
I’ve once seen a Red-cockaded woodpecker in the wild at St. Andrew’s Bay State Wildlife Refuge in northern Florida. The birding trails that the park has to offer never disappoint in terms of the species present.
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I’ve seen them in Texas
 
Rarly seen wild animals:

Red-billed Streamertail - Jamaica
Jamaican Mango - Jamaica
Vervain Humingbird - Jamaica
Jamaican Woodpeker - Jamaica
Jamaican Parakeet - Jamaica
Jamaican Owl - Jamaica
Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo- Jamaica
Jamaican Todi - Jamaica
Jamaican Oriole - Jamaica
Jamaican Potoo - Jamaica
Smooth-billed Ani - Jamaica
Logerhead Kingbird - Jamaica
Black-throated Blue Warbler - Jamaica
Canadian Pika - Grand Teton NP
Canadian Jay - Denali NP
Willow Ptarmigan - Denali NP
Barn Swallow - Yellowstone NP
Beaver (rare to see in the wild) - Yellowstone NP
Canadian Bighorn Sheep (rare to see in the wild) - Yellowstone NP
Eastern Towhee - Virginia
Yucatan Brown Jay - Mexico
Groove- billed Ani - Mexico
Yucatan Woodpeker - Mexico
Yucatan Blue Jay - Mexico
Great Kiskadee - Mexico
Antelope Jackrabbit - Arizona
Gila Woodpeker - Arizona
Mexican Jay - Arizona
Red-bellied Woodpeker, Pileated Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Norther Flicker - In backyard
Bare-eyed Pigeon - Aruba
Marsh Rabbit - Florida

Rarly seen in zoos:

Eastern Mole - Lakeside Nature Center
Antelope Jackrabbit - Arizona Sanora Desert Museum
Banded Palm Civet - Nashville, Memphis
Bioko Putty-nosed Monkey - Barcelona
Wood Bison - Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

This is about all of the unique species that I have seen.:)
 
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Chlidonias said:
There are some others on the list that aren't that rarely seen, but this one in particular is definitely not unusual. I'd wager that at least half of all Zoochatters would have seen this species.
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Agreed, they’re found across multiple continents so I’d wager at least 1/3 of the global population even may have seen it at some point, even if they didn’t realise or care.
 
most , if not all the woodpeckers are fairly common and probably seen by many zoochatters.
If you go to Yellowstone and don't see bighorn, you probably didn't try at all
 
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zoo_sipsik said:
Rarly seen wild animals:

Red-billed Streamertail - Jamaica
Jamaican Mango - Jamaica
Vervain Humingbird - Jamaica
Jamaican Woodpeker - Jamaica
Jamaican Parakeet - Jamaica
Jamaican Owl - Jamaica
Chestnut-bellied Cuckoo- Jamaica
Jamaican Todi - Jamaica
Jamaican Oriole - Jamaica
Jamaican Potoo - Jamaica
Smooth-billed Ani - Jamaica
Logerhead Kingbird - Jamaica
Black-throated Blue Warbler - Jamaica
Canadian Pika - Grand Teton NP
Canadian Jay - Denali NP
Willow Ptarmigan - Denali NP
Barn Swallow - Yellowstone NP
Beaver (rare to see in the wild) - Yellowstone NP
Canadian Bighorn Sheep (rare to see in the wild) - Yellowstone NP
Eastern Towhee - Virginia
Yucatan Brown Jay - Mexico
Groove- billed Ani - Mexico
Yucatan Woodpeker - Mexico
Yucatan Blue Jay - Mexico
Great Kiskadee - Mexico
Antelope Jackrabbit - Arizona
Gila Woodpeker - Arizona
Mexican Jay - Arizona
Red-bellied Woodpeker, Pileated Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Norther Flicker - In backyard
Bare-eyed Pigeon - Aruba
Marsh Rabbit - Florida

Rarly seen in zoos:

Eastern Mole - Lakeside Nature Center
Antelope Jackrabbit - Arizona Sanora Desert Museum
Banded Palm Civet - Nashville, Memphis
Bioko Putty-nosed Monkey - Barcelona
Wood Bison - Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

This is about all of the unique species that I have seen.:)
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Great Kiskadee is common as dirt in the Neotropics and even parts of the Nearctic.
 
This is getting extremely granular, but I imagine some of the more recent taxonomic divisions among shark and ray species have led to some new rarities on my list haha. Like for example, I have seen Pacific whitespotted rays (Aetobatus laticeps) that I was able to verify (to the best of my ability) to be collected from the Sea of Cortez. They thus are indisputably that species as that population was one of those initially described as A. laticeps in the genetic study that broke up the "spotted eagle ray" into three species. That might be rather unusual as the vast majority of "spotted eagle rays" in aquaria are either actual Aetobatus narinari collected from the Gulf of Mexico/Bahamas/other Atlantic sites, or are ocellated eagle rays (Aetobatus ocellatus) collected from Australia/the greater Indo-West Pacific. Also, I've run across a Pacific nurse shark (Ginglymostoma unami), similarly recently separated from its parent species the classic (now Atlantic) nurse shark. Both of them I saw at the Gran Acuario Mazatlán, which of course is fitting as both species are iconic residents of the Sea of Cortez. Yes, I'm a huge taxonomy nerd, why do you ask? :p

In more classic extreme rarities, I caught the great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) at Monterey Bay Aquarium on two different visits. "Into the Deep" also features a plethora of never-before-exhibited or even undescribed species. My favorite were the giant deep-sea isopods (Bathynomus giganteus) and elephant fish (Callorinchus milii).
 
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Local_Shark said:
This is getting extremely granular, but I imagine some of the more recent taxonomic divisions among shark and ray species have led to some new rarities on my list haha. Like for example, I have seen Pacific whitespotted rays (Aetobatus laticeps) that I was able to verify (to the best of my ability) to be collected from the Sea of Cortez. They thus are indisputably that species as that population was one of those initially described as A. laticeps in the genetic study that broke up the "spotted eagle ray" into three species. That might be rather unusual as the vast majority of "spotted eagle rays" in aquaria are either actual Aetobatus narinari collected from the Gulf of Mexico/Bahamas/other Atlantic sites, or are ocellated eagle rays (Aetobatus ocellatus) collected from Australia/the greater Indo-West Pacific. Also, I've run across a Pacific nurse shark (Ginglymostoma unami), similarly recently separated from its parent species the classic (now Atlantic) nurse shark. Both of them I saw at the Gran Acuario Mazatlán, which of course is fitting as both species are iconic residents of the Sea of Cortez. Yes, I'm a huge taxonomy nerd, why do you ask? :p

In more classic extreme rarities, I caught the great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) at Monterey Bay Aquarium on two different visits. "Into the Deep" also features a plethora of never-before-exhibited or even undescribed species. My favorite were the giant deep-sea isopods (Bathynomus giganteus) and elephant fish (Callorinchus milii).
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I'm pleased to meet another fan of the taxonomy of cartilaginous fishes. Personally, I have photographed up to 79 shark species and over 80 (I need to properly recount those) ray species in aquariums worldwide. The 'seen list' of sharks would also surpass 80, but I only consider my list valid when a picture is provided. Both of the species you mentioned I have not yet encountered, so you placed this Mexican aquarium on the map for me. I requested that they be added to Zootierliste so others would be aware of this as well. As a European, Aetobatus narinari is also lacking on my list. The population in European and Asian aquariums all belong to A. ocellatus and unfortunately so did the specimens I saw in Florida. One day!
 
Sicarius said:
I'm pleased to meet another fan of the taxonomy of cartilaginous fishes. Personally, I have photographed up to 79 shark species and over 80 (I need to properly recount those) ray species in aquariums worldwide. The 'seen list' of sharks would also surpass 80, but I only consider my list valid when a picture is provided. Both of the species you mentioned I have not yet encountered, so you placed this Mexican aquarium on the map for me. I requested that they be added to Zootierliste so others would be aware of this as well. As a European, Aetobatus narinari is also lacking on my list. The population in European and Asian aquariums all belong to A. ocellatus and unfortunately so did the specimens I saw in Florida. One day!
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It’s great to meet you too, and those are both very impressive tallies! I’m not exactly sure where I’m at in terms of individual species but I believe I’m pretty well over 40 of each. I’ll get back to you on that at some point when I can go over my logs.

Also you should 100% visit the Gran Acuario Mazatlán! It’s a popular cruise destination so it’s a pretty built up city with plenty of hotels and multiple ways of access by international flight or by ship. And the aquarium is legitimately beautiful, and one of the most modern institutions around as it was completed in 2023. I enjoyed my time there immensely.
 
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Sicarius said:
Personally, I have photographed up to 79 shark species and over 80 ray species
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Okay, having gone through my logs, I’m at 49 shark species and 61 ray species when you consider both aquarium and wild species (I’ve seen 1 shark species and 2 ray species only in the wild). This assumes that I’ve actually counted everything right but I’m pretty sure I have. Definitely gotta pump up my numbers to get where you are! :D
 
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Hipporex said:
As the title suggest, what animals have you seen that you think few people on this on website have scene?

As for myself...
Two animals I've seen that I'm pretty sure only a handful of Zoochatters have seen:
  1. Flapjack octopus (Opisthoteuthis sp.) (Monterey Bay Aquarium - no longer on display)
  2. Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) (Monterey Bay Aquarium - no longer on display)
Animals I've seen that I think not many Zoochatters have seen (but probably more than "a handful"):
  1. Bald uakari (Cacajao calvus) (L.A. zoo)
  2. Bornean pygmy elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) (Oregon Zoo)
  3. Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) (SeaWorld San Diego)
  4. Giant garter snake (Thamnophis gigas) (Sacramento zoo)
  5. Hawaiian hawk (Buteo solitarius) (Honolulu zoo)
  6. Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) (Waikiki aquarium)
  7. Island fox (Urocyon littoralis) (Santa Barbra zoo)
  8. San Francisco garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia) (Sacramento reptile show - no longer on display)
I probably could add a couple more species but I don't feel like taking forever to write this list

(Also sorry if this thread already exists)
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A couple I have seen...one at two different zoos:
1). Sumatran Rhino, Harapan at Los Angeles Zoo and Cincinnati Zoo.
2). Tuatara at the Toledo Zoo.
3). Salt Water Crocodile at the Toledo Zoo.
 
PaulaKoala said:
A couple I have seen...one at two different zoos:
1). Sumatran Rhino, Harapan at Los Angeles Zoo and Cincinnati Zoo.
2). Tuatara at the Toledo Zoo.
3). Salt Water Crocodile at the Toledo Zoo.
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Many if not most Zoochatters have encountered at least one of these species. Saltwater crocs are decently common in captivity, especially down under. Although there are no Sumatran rhino in public collections anymore, many Zoochatters have encountered this species much like you at places like Cincinnati. Tuatara are around too, especially in collections throughout New Zealand.
 
PaulaKoala said:
A couple I have seen...one at two different zoos:
1). Sumatran Rhino, Harapan at Los Angeles Zoo and Cincinnati Zoo.
2). Tuatara at the Toledo Zoo.
3). Salt Water Crocodile at the Toledo Zoo.
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Prochilodus246 said:
Many if not most Zoochatters have encountered at least one of these species. Saltwater crocs are decently common in captivity, especially down under. Although there are no Sumatran rhino in public collections anymore, many Zoochatters have encountered this species much like you at places like Cincinnati. Tuatara are around too, especially in collections throughout New Zealand.
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I feel like Tuatara would be the "most seen" out of those three, simply because they are kept at zoos like Chester and Berlin so a majority of European Zoochatters have probably seen them.
 
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