Minnesota Zoo Former Species of the Minnesota Zoo

[UngulateNerd92]

You are correct, Gondwana, sorry. It was the Komodo, who apparently wasn't eating well prior to the... hmmm... snack. After that, it was fine.

I had a chance to look through the Star Tribune database and found a few dates -

The Red Pandas opened on the Northern Trail in 1982. Sadly, both died in the summer of 1985.

The Koalas were in 1989, on loan from the LA Zoo. That same year, the gavials and celebes macaques left when the Tropics Trail was closed to put in the Coral Reef tank (Star Tribune, Sept. 11, 1989).

The Fishing Cats and Mexican Wolf exhibits both opened in 1994, on the Tropics Trail and Northern Trail, respectively.

The Komodos opened in 1995, a gift from the government of Indonesia.

The Nilgiri Tahr were returned to India in 1997.

The loon you mentioned earlier was hatched in 1985.

Oh, and apparently, the zoo had Asiatic Lions (or so they thought) in 1986, but it was revealed through DNA testing that they were actually Asian-African hybrids and couldn't be bred.

Hope these help you with your list!!!

The Nilgiri tahr we're returned to India in 1997? I saw them in 2003. They were my favorite animals on my visit. Were some animals from the group returned, but not all? Also if/when they were sent back to India, where they released in the wild or send to an Indian zoo? If the latter, which zoo? I will say, I don't know of any captive Nilgiri tahr even in India currently.

 

[MNZoo Fanatic]

Not sure, the newspaper might not have been accurate. It was a line in the article about the Coral Reef tank going in, saying several were slated to be returned for breeding to India, but not where they were specifically going. I'll dig a bit deeper the next time I have time to sit down at the library with the Star Trib database, see if there is a follow up article. And you're right, I could have sworn I saw them later then 1997... before the Trancaspian Urials came.

 

[UngulateNerd92]

Not sure, the newspaper might not have been accurate. It was a line in the article about the Coral Reef tank going in, saying several were slated to be returned for breeding to India, but not where they were specifically going. I'll dig a bit deeper the next time I have time to sit down at the library with the Star Trib database, see if there is a follow up article. And you're right, I could have sworn I saw them later then 1997... before the Trancaspian Urials came.

Thank you, I appreciate it. I would love to learn more about this. As I said, I did see them on my first visit in 2003 and I really miss them!

 

[Dhole dude]

You are correct, Gondwana, sorry. It was the Komodo, who apparently wasn't eating well prior to the... hmmm... snack. After that, it was fine.

I had a chance to look through the Star Tribune database and found a few dates -

The Red Pandas opened on the Northern Trail in 1982. Sadly, both died in the summer of 1985.

The Koalas were in 1989, on loan from the LA Zoo. That same year, the gavials and celebes macaques left when the Tropics Trail was closed to put in the Coral Reef tank (Star Tribune, Sept. 11, 1989).

The Fishing Cats and Mexican Wolf exhibits both opened in 1994, on the Tropics Trail and Northern Trail, respectively.

The Komodos opened in 1995, a gift from the government of Indonesia.

The Nilgiri Tahr were returned to India in 1997.

The loon you mentioned earlier was hatched in 1985.

Oh, and apparently, the zoo had Asiatic Lions (or so they thought) in 1986, but it was revealed through DNA testing that they were actually Asian-African hybrids and couldn't be bred.

Hope these help you with your list!!!

Thanks for the extra information! some of this I was already aware of, like the Loon birth, opening of the Komodo Dragon Exhibit, The Asiatic Lions and the Koalas, but others I was not.