Caribbean species in North America

elefante

elefante

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Are there many reptiles, birds, or mammals native to Caribbean islands exhibited in the USA? I know Cuban crocodiles, scarlet ibis, and American flamingos are in some places, but what about species like Cuban Amazon parrots, coquis, or other more unique fauna? It seems like an overlooked area close to home, so to speak.
 
The Stone Zoo in MA has a Caribbean section with these species (although some of these species are not 100% geographically accurate):
  • Blue-yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna)
  • Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao)
  • Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber)
  • American Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber)
  • Jamaican Iguana (Cyclura collei)
  • Bush Dog (Speothos venaticus)
They also have Barrow's Goldeneye in this area, but that species breaks the geographic theme so badly that I almost didn't even mention them.
 
Knight Anole, Puerto Rican Boa, and the St. Vincent Amazon. Haven't seen Rhinoceros Iguana mentioned yet either.

Plenty of species resident but not endemic to the Caribbean - White-cheeked Pintail, Bananaquit, Burrowing Owl, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, etc.
 
Are any hutias left in the AZA? I know there's still several holders in Europe. Also, the Caribbean islands are still part of North America, so everything local kept in zoos in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, etc. count. In terms of fish, Caribbean reef tanks are pretty common in US public aquariums, with New England Aquarium and National Aquarium in Baltimore having epic multi-story tanks as centerpieces.
 
RatioTile said:
Are any hutias left in the AZA? I know there's still several holders in Europe. Also, the Caribbean islands are still part of North America, so everything local kept in zoos in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, etc. count. In terms of fish, Caribbean reef tanks are pretty common in US public aquariums, with New England Aquarium and National Aquarium in Baltimore having epic multi-story tanks as centerpieces.
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Yes, but this is in the United States forum and the OP specifically asked about the US. Technically parts of the Caribbean are in the US (Florida Keys, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands) but there's no zoos there except for a butterfly house on Key West.
 
birdsandbats said:
Yes, but this is in the United States forum and the OP specifically asked about the US. Technically parts of the Caribbean are in the US (Florida Keys, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands) but there's no zoos there except for a butterfly house on Key West.
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I know Puerto Rico is closing down its last zoo, but in the Virgin Islands there's Coral World Ocean Park.
https://coralworldvi.com/
 
Aruba Island rattlesnake, Puerto Rican crested toad, Bahama teal, crested quail-dove, purple gallinule, rose-breasted grosbeak, Virgin Islands boa, double-striped thick-knee, black-bellied whistling duck, Jamaican fruit bat, ruddy quail-dove
 
Lots more than I thought. What about other parrot species besides Puerto Rican parrots in Lincoln Park?
 
The Brevard Zoo has a Carribean trail with a two species:

Yellow-naped amazon

Grand Cayman Blue Iguana
 
birdsandbats said:
Yes, but this is in the United States forum and the OP specifically asked about the US. Technically parts of the Caribbean are in the US (Florida Keys, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands) but there's no zoos there except for a butterfly house on Key West.
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There's at least 14 places with animals in the Keys, but the closest to a mixed species zoo is the Monroe County Sheriff's Office Animal Farm with foxes, lemurs, etc.
 
ZooTampa held a fair amount of Cuban Amazon's until very recently (like within the last few weeks), but they were returned to a private breeder.

Iguanaland (Punta Gorda) holds quite a few endemic Caribbean reptiles.

FWIW, Key West is generally included in the United States forums as it is solidly a part of the State of Florida and not a territory far removed from the mainland USA. That said, if we want to count the species there as "Caribbean" that may make sense. If so, ZooTampa also used to hold Key Deer, but that was a while back.

Personally I think that a solid Caribbean area in a zoo would be fantastic, if designed well enough it could rival the new Galapagos area at Houston but with less stand in species.

It looks like Stone Zoo and Brevard Zoo have areas dedicated to Caribbean species, are there any other zoos with dedicated space?
 
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