Hoatzins in zoos

[DavidBrown]

Hoatzins are very weird and spectacular birds that live in the Amazon region of South America. Based on a photo from Zooplantman, we know that there were some at the Bronx Zoo in 1993: http://www.zoochat.com/547/hoatzin-1993-a-140259/

Does anybody know anything about the history of hoatzins in zoos? Are there any in zoos still, maybe in their range states in South America?

Do they not do well in captivity because of their specialized diets? Where have they been kept other than the Bronx, and is this likely to be a species that zoos ever try to maintain again?

Does anybody have tales of seeing hoatzins in the wild?

 

[Stefka]

http://www.zoochat.com/2/hoatzin-captivity-140235/

(just to let you know, that it was discussed before.. lots of the questions remained unanswered, so I am glad that you´re bringing it up again )

 

[condor]

This one has always puzzled me. I don't think there are any in captivity in South America and there have been extremely few attempts of keeping them in western zoos. Bronx being the main exception.

In the wild, they aren't picky but eat a whole bunch of plants (50+ species, including many widespread ones) so that really shouldn't be a big problem -- if a zoo was willing to put in the effort. They aren't shy: Unlike in most folivorous monkeys, stress shouldn't be a big problem. They are poor fliers and don't move around much: Space shouldn't be a big problem. They're common in many places: You can see them close to many big towns like Puerto Maldonado and Leticia and even near a few large cities like Iquitos, Santarem and Manaus.

I find it hard to believe they should be very difficult to keep in captivity with the extensive knowledge available on them today. I suspect a more likely explanation is that their wow-factor just isn't big enough to normal zoo visitors for zoos to go through the hazzle of getting enough leaves to feed it. Average zoo visitors would probably rate commonly kept species like squirrel monkey or ocelot higher than hoatzin. Because of their diet they don't really fit in the typical zoo rainforest halls and since they're common in the wild there is no conservation argument for keeping them either.

At least that means they're very easy to see in the wild and most people that go on an Amazon jungle tour will see it. Especially if it includes a visit to an oxbow lake and the visitors remember to say to the guide that they'd like to see hoatzin. Otherwise guides on normal jungle tours have a tendency to only focus on things like monkeys and parrots.