Famous no-shows.

ralph

ralph

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
When visiting a zoo, there's always a couple of species that will not show themselves.
Usually you are just having some bad luck. You might have more luck next time.
But when visiting a zoo multiple times and all of those times a certain species does not show itself, it might becomes a bit frustrating (especially when it's a rare species).

So.. do you have any examples of animals you NEVER of VERY RARELY see in a certain zoo even though you visit said zoo regularly? Have you visited a certain enclosure dozens of times without ever seeing the inhabitant(s)?

I would like to nominate...
The Rock Squirrels in Burgers' Zoo, Arnhem (The Netherlands).
I visit this zoo about twice a year. Yet, in all of my visits of the last 10 years or so, I've seen it exactly 1 time.

I'm curious to find out if there's any more examples out there...
 
My no show animal was the hairy-eared dwarf lemur at Zoo Vincennes, Paris. I went to see the exhibit several times on a few visits to the zoo, but never saw the lemur.
 
My nomination is the Giant Anteater because of when I ever go to a zoo that has them I can never see them at all.It was only this year when I finally saw one.
 
Blue-legged mantellas are showy at Shaldon. The best UK zoo for giant anteater is Cotswold Wildlife Park, though the Chester female is now getting very active.

My problem species is blue duiker, only seen them once and that was not a great view, but at least I saw the species.
 
The Blackpool Giant Anteaters are quite active as they are more active after 10:00 AM and make for good viewing.
 
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ralph said:
The Rock Squirrels in Burgers' Zoo, Arnhem (The Netherlands).
I visit this zoo about twice a year. Yet, in all of my visits of the last 10 years or so, I've seen it exactly 1 time.
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Funny, I see them almost every time.

The pallas cat at Blijdorp (never seen) and the Montserrat orioles in Burgers' Bush (seen once) are no-shows for me.
 
Spanish Wolf at Howletts & Port Lympne. Never seen them (properly) at either despite many visits. But then finally saw them recently at Blackpool Zoo with no problem at all...

Beavers anywhere...
 
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Anteaters: Never really have problems with them. Saw them in Amsterdam, Overloon, Kerkrade, Mechelen, Köln, Duisburg, Dortmund, Berlin, Budapest, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Lisbon and a few others. Can't remember seeing them in London, so the MIGHT have been a no-show there...

Beavers I see a lot of times, but rarely awake. I think that happened like 3 times.

The Pallas' cat in Rotterdam I think I've seen about 50 percent of all visits over the last 10 years. Usually at the end of the day I find them to be the most active.

Blue duiker: Almost always see them in Burgers' Zoo. Saw them again yesterday! Also saw them during my only visit to Fuengirola in 2006, and also in Krefeld (where it's not kept anymore).

Mantella's: Besides the golden mantella, which is never a problem, I agree the other species are usually difficult to spot.

It's funny how it differs per person. So the rock squirrels might just be me then!
 
Just a tip:

When you see a keeper working in one of nearby exhibits, hang around and keep returning to the exhibit every few minutes. The animal usually shows up expecting to be fed. Or at least ask the keeper when animals are fed. By default, soon after zoo opening is the expected time.

For birds in large communal aviaries/halls, locate bird feeders and hang around them for 20-30 minutes. Even better, when you see a keeper cleaning a bowl of food or carrying a new bowl of food. Much more productive than searching in the aviary - especially that these aviaries usually have labels remaining with species not on exhibits and other unlabelled species.

This would avoid many disappointments for zoo lovers. :)

My biggest no-show was tuatara in Chester - completely invisible in its heavily planted exhibit.
 
Ruddy-breasted seedeater at Bronx is perhaps the most annoying for me. Four visits, each with a good amount of time spent in that exhibit, but no luck!

Before this, it was pudú. They were no-shows in about six zoos before I finally saw one.
 
-The Kiwis in almost every zoo (outside of their native range) that has this species.
-Kaka in Stuttgart (saw them just once from about 20+ visits)
-Goliath frogs in Berlin in the past (never seen)
-many nocturnal mammals
-Great White Sharks (they were always released to the wild or dead right before I had a chance to see them e.g. in Monterrey)

as well as hundreds of species from which I have only seen a snout, a tail or the back but never good enough for taking a picture...:):(
 
Bush Dogs at Twycross. Northern Luzon Cloudrats at London, saw them maybe once every 5 visits or so. Owstons Palm Civets at Shaldon (pure bad luck timing wise). Most places with squirrels or Pudu, I don't seem to have much luck with them.
 
I don't know if that's similar for everyone but Tuatara and Cururo at Zoo Berlin. I think I've seen the tuataras one time in 4 visits (IIRC) and I don't remember seeing cururo nor did I see them this time.
 
Crowthorne said:
Bush Dogs at Twycross. Northern Luzon Cloudrats at London, saw them maybe once every 5 visits or so. Owstons Palm Civets at Shaldon (pure bad luck timing wise). Most places with squirrels or Pudu, I don't seem to have much luck with them.
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I must agree with the civets, although they could still be seen sleeping in their quarters.
 
ThomasNotTom said:
I must agree with the civets, although they could still be seen sleeping in their quarters.
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On my visit the female had recently had surgery, so both animals had access to an off-show nesting box for some privacy. Got to see the Margays though :)
 
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