General Zoo Misconceptions

wensleydale said:
This is likely to get me punched someday, but I am in the habit of correcting people when they make mistakes like that. Should I keep doing it?
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I see nothing wrong with correcting them. Though if they look like they won't care or possibly will be annoyed, don't waste your breath.

~Thylo:cool:
 
ThylacineAlive said:
One thing regarding Alces alces is that I believe there is some evidence suggesting that the North American and Eurasian populations represent two species. If this is the case, Moose is probably an appropriate way to refer to the North American species.

When it comes to Ursus arctos, I believe most Americans refer to all the bears as Grizzly Bear, whether or not the animal in question is actually a member of that subspecies. This is likely due to the fact that almost all captive specimens as well as most of the animals shown in nature documentaries are actually U. a. horriblis and called Grizzly Bears so the public applies this to all bears. Even at Bronx, where the signage lists only one bear as a Grizzly and the other three as Brown Bears (they're actually U. a. sitkensis), the visitors usually just call them all Grizzlies.

~Thylo:cool:
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Excellent summary on the Grizzly bear issue. It took me years to figure out the difference between a proper brown bear and a grizzly bear and I still get mixed up and need reminders from time to time. Bear taxonomy can be very difficult to explain.
 
General Zoo Misconceptions

I thought all North American Brown Bears were Grizzlies?
 
FBBird said:
I thought all North American Brown Bears were Grizzlies?
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Nope. Going off of Wikipedia's list, we've got the Alaskan Brown Bear (U. a. alascensis) from coastal Alaska, the Extinct California Brown Bear (U. a. californicus) from the California region of the U.S., the *Peninsular Brown Bear (U. a. gyas) from the Alaskan Peninsula, the Grizzly Bear (U. a. horriblis) from Alaska to Canada to the Northwestern U.S., the Kodiak Bear (U. a. middendorffi) from a few of the Alaskan islands, the Extinct Mexican Brown Bear (U. a. nelsoni) from Northern Mexico and the Southwestern U.S., the Sitka Brown Bear (U. a. sitkensis) from the ABC Islands of Alaska, the **Stikine Brown Bear (U. a. stikeenensis) from the Stikine River area, and the Extinct Ungava Brown Bear (U. a. ugavaesis) from the Ungava Peninsula.

*U. a. gyas is considered by some biologists to be the same as U. a. middendorffi.

**U. a. stikeenensis is considered by some biologists to be the same as U. a. horriblis.

As far as captive animals go, for the most part they're all U. a. horriblis, there are probably a few U. a. middendorffi spread about, and I know Bronx has three U. a. sitkensis. I know there are a few U. a. middendorffi spread about in Europe as well.

~Thylo:cool:
 
One thing regarding Alces alces is that I believe there is some evidence suggesting that the North American and Eurasian populations represent two species.
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Just for the record, the populations from Siberian and nearby are part of the North American group rather than the one from remaining Eurasia. A similar pattern can be seen in some other species groups, e.g. brown bears and red deer/elk.
 
ThylacineAlive said:
Nope. Going off of Wikipedia's list, we've got the Alaskan Brown Bear (U. a. alascensis) from coastal Alaska, the Extinct California Brown Bear (U. a. californicus) from the California region of the U.S., the *Peninsular Brown Bear (U. a. gyas) from the Alaskan Peninsula, the Grizzly Bear (U. a. horriblis) from Alaska to Canada to the Northwestern U.S., the Kodiak Bear (U. a. middendorffi) from a few of the Alaskan islands, the Extinct Mexican Brown Bear (U. a. nelsoni) from Northern Mexico and the Southwestern U.S., the Sitka Brown Bear (U. a. sitkensis) from the ABC Islands of Alaska, the **Stikine Brown Bear (U. a. stikeenensis) from the Stikine River area, and the Extinct Ungava Brown Bear (U. a. ugavaesis) from the Ungava Peninsula.

*U. a. gyas is considered by some biologists to be the same as U. a. middendorffi.

**U. a. stikeenensis is considered by some biologists to be the same as U. a. horriblis.

As far as captive animals go, for the most part they're all U. a. horriblis, there are probably a few U. a. middendorffi spread about, and I know Bronx has three U. a. sitkensis. I know there are a few U. a. middendorffi spread about in Europe as well.

~Thylo:cool:
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There can't possibly be that many species of different brown bears in America, can there be? That's crazy.

I know the California and Mexican species are sometimes referred to as grizzlies.
 
JVM said:
There can't possibly be that many species of different brown bears in America, can there be? That's crazy.

I know the California and Mexican species are sometimes referred to as grizzlies.
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I wouldn't be surprised if all were valid apart from U. a. stikeenensis.

I believe they've been called "California Grizzly" and "Mexican Grizzly" as different common names but have always been considered separate ssp.

Perhaps we should move this topic to The Taxonomy Thread to see what others think?

~Thylo:cool:
 
All is not lost, there was a small child, barely big enough to see into the enclosure at Twycross being told that these are chimps and also apes like the orangutans are apes.
 
Elk=Big Deer
Barracuda=Shark
Okapi=Zebra Horse
Tapir=Mini Elephant
Legless Lizard=Snake
Nautilus=Octopus
Opossum=Monkey
Capybara=Baby Bear
Snake=ANACONDA!
Manatee=Seal
Quail=Chicken
Emu=Ostrich
Ostrich=Emu
Rhea=Ostrich
Rhea=Emu
Bat=Owl
Ocelot=Baby Cheetah
Dwarf Camain=Baby Crocodile
Juvinile Red Coris=NEMO
Multiple Species of Jack and Trevally=Tuna
Alligator=Crocodile
Crocodile=Alligator
Cougar=Lion
Bobcat=Kitty
Shrew=Mouse or Rat
Hedgehog=Baby Porcupine
Stork=Pelican
Bonnethead Shark=Baby Hammerhead Shark
Catshark=Baby Shark
Red Ruffed Lemur=Orangutan
 
At a Guinea Pig: "Oh honey look at the rabbit." Alternatively: "Look at the hamster." Also "Look at the gerbil."

City slickers. As a cavy person I alternate between being amused and being annoyed with this type of person.

I almost forgot "No honey these aren't guinea pigs they are cavies." Even though the sign says they're one and the same. Can't they read?
 
Every primate is a monkey.

Not zoos, but a LOT of people, before noticing the collar and leash, mistake my dog for a coyote or a fox. Oy.
 
Someone at Detroit Zoo called an axolotl an eel.
Others-
Tortoise=Turtle
Parma wallaby=armadillo? :eek:
Squirrel=Australian squirrel
It was at the outdoor koala exhibit at Cleveland OH and a gray squirrel was in the exhibit. I almost said, "No, that is a gray squirrel. Squirrels aren't found in Australia, but possums are. They fit the niche of..."
Echidna=porcupine
Potto=monkey
Komodo dragon=dinosaur (it was a grown man)
Colobus monkey=chimpanzee
Meerkat=muskrat
Large-spotted genet=cat
The echidnas at Cols get called all sorts of crap- porcupines, hedgehogs, warthogs (yes!) and polar bears, but someone had a stuffed polar bear so they could have noticed that. Chimpanzee=monkey is another one that happens a lot at Detroit.
Sea lions=sea otters/seals
Andean condor=chicken
Rhino=hippo
Okapi=giraffe
 
I was visiting the Oakland Zoo over the weekend, and a family unit stopped by the coati exhibit. The kid asked "Is that an aardvark or an anteater?". Rather than actually finding out, dad suggested it was an anteater and they moved on.

Signs are there for a reason!
 
Malay Tapir = hippo, elephant, aardvark, anteater, sloth.
 
I recently went to Adventure Aquarium, and a little kid at the Watchman Goby tank asked his parents "Is that an eel or a sea snake?", they said "Eel", and this all happened right after one of the staff said "The Watchman Gobies are not eels or snakes, they are fish"
 
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