Crowned Lemur
Active Member
Does anyone know if there are any long beaked echidnas in captivity?
Are there any Long Beaked Echidnas in Captivity?
- Thread starter Crowned Lemur
- Start date
Taronga Zoo, Australia has a Barton’s Long-beaked Echidna (Zaglossus bartoni). He was on display in the nocturnal house when I visited in December 2019 but has since been placed off display.
Strangely enough, a photo for a long beaked echidna is on Saint Louis Zoo's website Mammals On Our Web Site | Saint Louis Zoo
And is labeled Long-beaked Echidna if you tap on it. Interesting.
There's no way Saint Louis has one.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Do you know why this animal is currently off display ?
If I'm not mistaken this is the same individual that was once at the London zoo isn't it ?
Yes he came from London Zoo. Taronga is currently renovating their nocturnal house and it will be closed until about 2023. The future plans show no sign of a new long-beaked echidna exhibit so it seems likely he will remain off show for the remainder of his days.
Close enough to the native range I'm not too surprised.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that, he must be ancient now !
I know that visitors may be disappointed but I'm just glad that the old timer is still around whether on show or otherwise.
I was surprised nobody didn't brought up the possibility of Indonesian zoos having them before I brought up Batu.
Similarly I expect Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea should have them. They had Z. bartoni in 2018 at least, and given the animals live a long time they likely still do.
He must be at least fifty years old as he arrived at Dallas Zoo in 1971 and was sent to London Zoo in 1986.
Many years ago, I checked some longetivity records kept for mammals at London Zoo. The longest-lived individual was a long-beaked echidna that lived for 35 years, if I remember correctly.
London Zoo had some long-lived echidnas but the longest lived individual wasn't an echidna; both the Indian rhinoceros "Jim" and the hippopotamus "Guy Fawkes" lived longer than the thirty-five years you quote.
(“Jim” lived at London Zoo from 25 July 1864 until 12 December 1904 and “Guy Fawkes” was born at London Zoo 5 November 1872 and died 2 March 1908.)
Thanks, Tim
I remember the list of mammals being in the 2nd edition of the International Zoo Yearbook. I don't know how accurate the figures were, but the longest-lived mammal in the list was a long-beaked echidna, which surprised me
I remember the list of mammals being in the 2nd edition of the International Zoo Yearbook. I don't know how accurate the figures were, but the longest-lived mammal in the list was a long-beaked echidna, which surprised me
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
He has had a remarkably long life even considering how long lived echidnas can be , hope he lives many more years yet.
And don't forget the Asian elephant "Suffa Culli", who lived at the zoo between 17 May 1876 and 2 December 1917. I think she held the record of 'ZSL's longest-lived mammal' until the 1990s, when it was broken by Whipsnade's hippo pair (the famous "Henry" and "Belinda").
Thank you for reminding me; the elephant "Suffa Culli" had slipped my mind. I agree that "Henry" and "Belinda" are the ZSL's longest-lived mammals; I deliberately ignored them, though, as I was only referring to London Zoo.
Crowned Lemur
Active Member
All the other photos of animals are species in the zoo so that’s strange.