If you had a zoo, what 5 species would yo definitely have?

[Westcoastperson]

Asiatic/Indian lions
Nubian Ibex
Dhole
Channel Island Fox
Scimitar Horned Oryx

 

[littleRedPanda]

Giant Panda
Snow Leopard
Smooth Coated Otter
Red Panda
Arctic Fox

I'd love to make a crèche for their offspring!

 

[GiratinaIsGod]

Capybara
Red-legged seriema
white-cheeked gibbon
Nēnē
Emperor tamarin

 

[junglejim]

Black Caiman
Asian Golden Cat
Palm banded Civet
Indian Ring necked Parrot
Perentie

 

[Bisonblake]

Baird's Tapir
White-cheeked gibbon
Amur leopard
Rhinoceros hornbill
Greater Kudu

 

[DaLilFishie]

Bowmouth Guitarfish
Giant Pacific Octopus
Ornate Cowfish
Spotted Ratfish
Salmon Snailfish

 

[pendraig_milnerae]

Malayan Tapir
Eastern Black Rhinoceros
Western Hermann’s Tortoise
White Stork
Grey Seal

 

[ralph]

Giant otter
Giant anteater
Bush dog
Babirussa
Southern cassowary

 

[Animallover360]

African Elephant
Masai Giraffe
Amur Tiger
Western Lowland Gorilla
Baird’s Tapir

 

[evilmonkey239]

Meerkat
Ring-tailed lemur
African bush or Asian elephant
Jaguar
African penguin

 

[The Cassowary]

Southern cassowary
Shoebill
Bearded vulture
Great hornbill
Great Argus pheasant

 

[Batto]

Meerkat
West African Pygmy Goat
Indian Peafowl
Llama
Guinea Pig

...

I just realized that now while actually having a zoo, I do not keep any of these species...and probably never will. #epicfail

 

[JurassicMax]

Potto
Kinkajou
Asian golden cat
Manatee (West African)
Aardwolf

(Only in the "perfect" world ofcourse...)

 

[TheChukaulorian]

Secretary bird
Pangolin
Okapi
Kea
Komodo dragon

 

[imaginarius]

If this is entirely an exercise in fantasy, then I would keep ‘unkeepable’ animals, oceanic fauna that currently cannot be kept and the public otherwise may never be able to see:

-blue whale
-sperm whale
-giant squid
-great white shark
-Greenland shark

The biggest creature to live or have ever lived, a true real-life kraken of the deep, and the oldest known living vertebrate.... it would be glorious

 

[Emanuel Theodorus]

1. Hippopotamus (ABSOLUTE MUST in my opinion)
2. African Elephant
3. Giraffe
4. Lion
5. White/Black Rhinoceros

Yeah, they're all basically African megafaunas, but who the hell cares. I like to be "boring"

 

[dinosauria]

My list for unrealistic creatures would just be imaginarius's list. It's hard to go wrong with those.

For realistic species, I'd go with
1. Oceanic manta ray
2. Ocean sunfish
3. Tiger shark
4. Round-eared elephant shrew
5. African elephant

The elephant shrew might seem like a weird outlier, but I personally find them adorable. This list is almost certainly going to change in the future as I keep remembering new animals that would probably be cooler than the ones above.

 

[Sphenisciologist]

For me I would definitely have
Walruses ( my favorite animal )
Honey Badgers (why not?)
Narwhals (because they are magical creatures of the sea)
Snow Leopards
and Finally............Dingoes.

Grey Crowned Cranes. They’re so graceful and beautiful.
A species of African gazelle, probably either the Gerenuk, Lesser Kudu or Soemmerring’s Gazelle. Gives a very historic feeling to zoos.
I would have to have Penguins. I’m not sure what type. I would also definitely have Rhinos of some kind and a species of cat, probably leopards.

 

[Batto]

Why & how do African antelopes automatically add a "very historic feeling" to zoos?

 

[animal_expert01]

My list for unrealistic creatures would just be imaginarius's list. It's hard to go wrong with those.

For realistic species, I'd go with
1. Oceanic manta ray
2. Ocean sunfish
3. Tiger shark
4. Round-eared elephant shrew
5. African elephant

The elephant shrew might seem like a weird outlier, but I personally find them adorable. This list is almost certainly going to change in the future as I keep remembering new animals that would probably be cooler than the ones above.

I don’t think any of those species could be considered a “realistic” species for a zoo to keep, all of which requiring specialist care and not being particularly present in captivity with perhaps the exception of the elephant.