If recently extinct species were brought back, which ones would fit zoos most?

[Fanfin anglerfish]

(Note: I don’t know where to put this because it’s a mix between fantasy and general zoo discussion)

I have been scrolling through lists of human made extinctions and I thought, what species that have recently gone extinct would be the best fit for zoos? Discuss about this. I don’t want discussion about dinosaurs or mammoths and smiledons.

 

[Pleistohorse]

Aurochs.

 

[Dassie rat]

Partula turgida. The last one died at London Zoo in 1994.

 

[Zoofan15]

The extinct subspecies of tiger (Caspian, Balinese and Javan) would be well suited to any zoo as their husbandry would be no different to the living subspecies of tiger; the same with the Quagga re. Plains zebra husbandry.

The Thylacine would be an exciting addition to any Australian precinct. It’s elusive nature doesn’t predispose it to a life in captivity, but captive born generations could potentially fare better than their historical counterparts - especially given the advances in husbandry over the last century.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Partula turgida. The last one died at London Zoo in 1994.

Similarly, Partula faba - the last of which died at Edinburgh Zoo in 2016, and a species I was fortunate enough to see in the years prior to its demise thanks to the fact Bristol Zoo had them on-display until around 2013.

 

[pendraig_milnerae]

Probably a few birds like the Dodo, Rodriguez Solitaire, Passenger Pigeon and maybe any of the Moa species, I’d imagine their welfare would be similar to that of their closest living relatives.

 

[Randomname0183]

Species like Caribbean Monk Seal, Japanese Sea Lion, tarpan, Glaucous Macaw, the Patrula Snails, Rabbs' fringe-limbed treefrog and maybe even great auks could do well in captivity.

 

[Aardwolf]

Considering how successful many zoos and breeders are with keeping extant ratites, I think that moas and elephant birds could have done well in zoos if they were still around.

And I second dodo. I think they would have been fun to have in walk-through aviaries, sort of like giant, flightless Nicobar pigeons.

 

[Fanfin anglerfish]

I think maybe Iiin-island cloudrunners? No one knows if they are extinct but they haven’t been spotted in a long time so they are classified using a different system called the “Lost species” . There is a high chance they are out there still but some zoos know about the care of cloudrunners.

 

[elefante]

What about ivory-billed and imperial woodpeckers? They would likely be similar to pileated woodpeckers. Not sure how common those are in captivity.

 

[Westcoastperson]

I have a strong feeling like SeaWorld, Georgia, and maybe even Shedd would successfully hold Stellers Sea Cow.

 

[Fanfin anglerfish]

I have a strong feeling like SeaWorld, Georgia, and maybe even Shedd would successfully hold Stellers Sea Cow.

Other than needing 2x space they would be easy to keep.

 

[Batto]

what species that have recently gone extinct would be the best fit for zoos?

What do you mean by "recently" - years, decades, centuries, millennia ago?

Discuss about this.

An imperative is never a good way to start a healthy discussion.

 

[Batto]

What about ivory-billed and imperial woodpeckers? They would likely be similar to pileated woodpeckers. Not sure how common those are in captivity.

Woodpeckers in general are not that common in zoos. I assume that fulfilling the dietary and foraging behavior of both extinct Campephilus species would be quite demanding.

I would suggest Palaeoloxodon falconeri, giving even smaller zoos the chance to keep elephants.
The two Mekosuchus species for zoos that want crocodiles but only build smaller ponds for them.
The Haast's eagle, to make birds of prey flightshows a bit more thrilling, especially for smaller children.
The elephant birds from Madagascar, to provide enough eggs for the zoo canteen.
The Chinese Gibbon populations that lived in snowy areas, therebye making it easier for Northern zoos to keep Gibbons outdoors.
Cylindraspis vosmaeri and Meiolania damelipi for the chelonian fans among zoo visitors.
Lophopsittacus mauritianus, Rhodonessa caryophyllacea and Heteralocha acutirostris for the birders. ^^
The Great Auk as an penguin alternative.
Ardea bennuides to further rebirth.
I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned the warrah...

 

[Westcoastperson]

especially for smaller children.

Better not let the Taung child go anywhere near that show then.

 

[Fanfin anglerfish]

Woodpeckers in general are not that common in zoos. I assume that fulfilling the dietary and foraging behavior of both extinct Campephilus species would be quite demanding.

I would suggest Palaeoloxodon falconeri, giving even smaller zoos the chance to keep elephants.
The two Mekosuchus species for zoos that want crocodiles but only build smaller ponds for them.
The Haast's eagle, to make birds of prey flightshows a bit more thrilling, especially for smaller children.
The elephant birds from Madagascar, to provide enough eggs for the zoo canteen.
The Chinese Gibbon populations that lived in snowy areas, therebye making it easier for Northern zoos to keep Gibbons outdoors.
Cylindraspis vosmaeri and Meiolania damelipi for the chelonian fans among zoo visitors.
Lophopsittacus mauritianus, Rhodonessa caryophyllacea and Heteralocha acutirostris for the birders. ^^
The Great Auk as an penguin alternative.
Ardea bennuides to further rebirth.
I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned the warrah...

I mean’t animals such as thylacines or sea-cows. The dwarf elephants, crocs, giant turtles I consider prehistoric.

 

[Fanfin anglerfish]

Nobody mentioned the madagascar tortoises. They only went extinct 3 century’s ago and would be similar to the Albardaba tortoises. Also the Warrah are now being considered as a introduced species and that they used to be humans on the falklands with their wolf companions until the humans went away and the europeans hunted the dogs that were left behind mistaken to be a wolf subspecies.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Also the Warrah are now being considered as a introduced species and that they used to be humans on the falklands with their wolf companions until the humans went away and the europeans hunted the dogs that were left behind mistaken to be a wolf subspecies.

And here we see a classic case of someone either inventing things off the top of their head, or adding two and two together and making five the Warrah were indeed close kin to an extinct species found on the South American mainland - Dusicyon avus - but diverged from said species around 16,000 years before the present, around 5,000 years before the first humans reached Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, the closest regions of South America to the Falklands.

As such they were *not* a domesticated form of D. avus - which itself was neither a wolf nor a dog, and went extinct on the mainland around the 1700s, although there are scattered reports which suggest it may have survived in remote regions of Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia until the late 19th century.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Cylindraspis vosmaeri and Meiolania damelipi for the chelonian fans among zoo visitors.

The dwarf elephants, crocs, giant turtles I consider prehistoric.

Nobody mentioned the madagascar tortoises. They only went extinct 3 century’s ago and would be similar to the Albardaba tortoises.

The Madagascar Giant Tortoise went extinct some millennia ago - you are thinking of the Mascarene Giant Tortoise species complex, which Batto cited and you dismissed as prehistoric

 

[Great Argus]

What about ivory-billed and imperial woodpeckers? They would likely be similar to pileated woodpeckers. Not sure how common those are in captivity.

Large woodpeckers are not common at all in zoos, they're very destructive to exhibits and furniture. I'm inclined to agree with @Batto that the Ivory-bill and Imperial probably are not good zoo choices.