How do you think extinct animals would have done in zoos?

Grant Rhino said:
Curious question regarding evolution though: what would be the ethics of keeping early hominoids in zoos? When did our ancestors become too human to keep in zoos?
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Ha ha, I've wondered the same thing. At the very least, I don't think modern zoos would go for anything that can truly speak, communicate with humans without much difficulty, though I imagine we would draw the line a little earlier. While we're at it, I wonder if environmental protection laws would be different for them?

Grant Rhino said:
Actually wasn't there some ancient type of pygmy hippo from Cyprus or Malta or one of the islands in the Med? They might be nice in zoos.
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The modern pygmy hippo seems to do well in zoos, I'm sure the Mediterranean species would have done fine.

Speaking of hippos, I bet the European hippo would, at least, be common in European zoos.
 
I would want to see the various species of raptorian dinosaurs in captivity the most.There could be interactions with smaller members such as Velociraptor or the hatchlings of all species and similar to how modern zoos offer big cat feeding experiences they could offer the same with raptors.

Depending on the size of the species and how many members are being housed,the enclosure could be tailored to the species.Velociraptor would need sand dunes and forest as there is evidence that raptors may have climbed trees to either escape the heat or launch a surprise attack on their prey,Utahraptor would need open plains with bushes and over hanging rocks and Austroraptor would need an environment similar to the Argentinian badlands plus rivers or lakes because it frequently preyed on fish.

Feeding would depend on the species as well.Velociraptor could be fed on frozen rats,chicks and maybe calf or pig carcasses as could Utahraptor and Austroraptor which would also supplement its diet with fish which could be placed live in the enclosure to encourage the animals to exhibit hunting behaviour.

I used Velociraptor,Utahraptor and Austroraptor as examples just because of what needs come to mind at the time.Care of raptorian may slightly vary between the species.
 
Komodo99 said:
I would want to see the various species of raptorian dinosaurs in captivity the most.There could be interactions with smaller members such as Velociraptor or the hatchlings of all species and similar to how modern zoos offer big cat feeding experiences they could offer the same with raptors.

Depending on the size of the species and how many members are being housed,the enclosure could be tailored to the species.Velociraptor would need sand dunes and forest as there is evidence that raptors may have climbed trees to either escape the heat or launch a surprise attack on their prey,Utahraptor would need open plains with bushes and over hanging rocks and Austroraptor would need an environment similar to the Argentinian badlands plus rivers or lakes because it frequently preyed on fish.

Feeding would depend on the species as well.Velociraptor could be fed on frozen rats,chicks and maybe calf or pig carcasses as could Utahraptor and Austroraptor which would also supplement its diet with fish which could be placed live in the enclosure to encourage the animals to exhibit hunting behaviour.

I used Velociraptor,Utahraptor and Austroraptor as examples just because of what needs come to mind at the time.Care of raptorian may slightly vary between the species.
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If those raptors were still around, they'd totally be popular in zoos. There's a lot of variety, they look interesting, they were probably active animals, and they're intelligent, so with proper exhibits and enrichment they'd be very interesting for guests to watch. If temperament is suitable, they could be trained for shows or used in interaction programs. (not likely for the larger species)
 
TheMightyOrca said:
If those raptors were still around, they'd totally be popular in zoos. There's a lot of variety, they look interesting, they were probably active animals, and they're intelligent, so with proper exhibits and enrichment they'd be very interesting for guests to watch. If temperament is suitable, they could be trained for shows or used in interaction programs. (not likely for the larger species)
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I would love to see a raptor interaction show and if the colour of the feathers could be determined they could stand out easily to the visitors.They may even be able to change the colour of the feathers.I wonder what kind of enrichment could be provided for raptors.
 
Komodo99 said:
I would love to see a raptor interaction show and if the colour of the feathers could be determined they could stand out easily to the visitors.They may even be able to change the colour of the feathers.I wonder what kind of enrichment could be provided for raptors.
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Seeing them forage would be cool. I bet they could do strategy, puzzle solving stuff like crows.

The Utahraptors in Zoo Tycoon 2 can use the painting easel, I always loved that, ha ha.
 
TheMightyOrca said:
Seeing them forage would be cool. I bet they could do strategy, puzzle solving stuff like crows.

The Utahraptors in Zoo Tycoon 2 can use the painting easel, I always loved that, ha ha.
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It would be interesting to see these animals put their intelligence to the test with these various activities and visitors would love it as well.

In terms of tyrannosaurs in captivity i think that Yutyrannus may be a suitable candidate as it did not grow that large,can be easily managed even in a large pack and the hatchlings or juveniles could be used in the interaction programs.
 
I can imagine Quaggas would be like zebras and be put in mixed African savannas.

North America sections would skyrocket in popularity with the inclusion of ice age creatures like mammoths, smilodon, dire wolves, short-faced bears and a lot more.

Thylacines and moas would most likely only be given out as diplomatic gifts like tassie devils and kiwis.

Dodos would be perfect for walk-though aviaries, I imagine it'd be like keeping crowned pigeons today.

I'll think of more later, but I have no idea why I didn't find this thread until now!
 
Passenger pigeons bred in captivity. If they had been kept in big aviaries, they should have bred well enough to have not become extinct
 
@Pandamich Quaggas ARE /WERE zebras - a subspecies of the Plains Zebra, to be precise. Several authors described their behavior as more "docile" than that of other subspecies.
The majority of extant Australian and NZ species has not automatically achieved a "diplomatic gift" status.

Given the robust beaks of dodos, I doubt that they would be all too "perfect" for walkthrough aviaries, especially in regard to intrusive visitors' hands...
 
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Pandamich said:
North America sections would skyrocket in popularity with the inclusion of ice age creatures like mammoths, smilodon, dire wolves, short-faced bears and a lot more.
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Thing is, if they were still around we'd doubtless take many of these for granted - given the fact that New World endemic canids (barring two notable exceptions) tend to be restricted to collections IN the New World, I suspect the Dire Wolf for instance wouldn't be seen as particularly noteworthy.
 
Batto said:
The majority of extant Australian and NZ species has not automatically achieved a "diplomatic gift" status.
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Thinking about it, I can understand Moas. They could easily be like ostriches, but Thylacines I assume would have a similar program to the Tasmanian Devil.
 
Pandamich said:
Thinking about it, I can understand Moas. They could easily be like ostriches, but Thylacines I assume would have a similar program to the Tasmanian Devil.
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Fat chance with NZ's exports laws of that happening, also I don't really like this scenario because how are we saying these species even come back? Like, are we proposing a hold-over population? or cloning?
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Thing is, if they were still around we'd doubtless take many of these for granted - given the fact that New World endemic canids (barring two notable exceptions) tend to be restricted to collections IN the New World, I suspect the Dire Wolf for instance wouldn't be seen as particularly noteworthy.
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Somewhat disagree. As they were (recently found to be) not such close relatives of the gray wolf but instead more closely related to South American canids, I think that would surely cause them to be seen as more noteworthy, especially seeing as they’d be the world’s largest canid and a social pack-living species.
 
evilmonkey239 said:
Somewhat disagree. As they were (recently found to be) not such close relatives of the gray wolf but instead more closely related to South American canids, I think that would surely cause them to be seen as more noteworthy, especially seeing as they’d be the world’s largest canid and a social pack-living species.
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Firstly, although they have been found to be nowhere near as closely related to Canis lupus as previously believed, they are still classified within the Canina sub-tribe rather than the South American Cerdocyonina sub-tribe, being basal to extant genera; as such they were still closer kin to Grey Wolf than they were the South American canids.

Secondly, if they were still around we would have caught on a lot sooner that they weren't congeneric with Grey Wolf, and they would have been viewed as just another New World canid - and as I already noted, barring the two exceptions zoological collections outside the New World have little to no interest in keeping them.

Thirdly, the Dire Wolf was actually about the same size as the largest and most northerly populations of Canis lupus occidentalis - so it wouldn't have been deemed highly noteworthy on those grounds either.
 
I wonder whether the Great Auk would have been a popular alternative to penguins (after all, being the original "Penguin") or whether its husbandry would have faced similar difficulties (like the affinity to certain diseases) as the current keeping of alcids in captivity.
 
Finding this thread, I wonder how, if dinosaurs were brought back (via time travel most likely), what would be the size limitation for zoos? 25-30 feet?
 
Anything too big [particularly if they were carnivorous] would likely have a monstrous food bill that most zoos could not afford
 
Batto said:
I wonder whether the Great Auk would have been a popular alternative to penguins (after all, being the original "Penguin") or whether its husbandry would have faced similar difficulties (like the affinity to certain diseases) as the current keeping of alcids in captivity.
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Imagine a zoo with Tyranossaurus rex, Giganotosaurus, Spinosaurus, Velociraptor, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Iguanadon, Brontosaurus, Pteranodons, Carbonemys, Ichtyosaurus, Megalodon, Mosasaurus.

A zoo where we are prey, or let us say flies in comparison to most of the dinosaurs. They are going to need lots of vegetation and meat. I think even elephants and rhinos will become their food then. And their cages will need to be built out of very strong materials and constructions.
 
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