Incorrect zoo signage

birdsandbats

birdsandbats

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
This thread is for noting incorrect zoo signage you have seen, whether it be a funny mistake or something more serious:

At Animal Haven Zoo, these is an enclosure for African Crested Porcupine. On the sign, the common name listed is simply Porcupine, but the scientific name is Erethizon dorsatum. The picture shown is a Prehensile-Tailed Porcupine.

At World Aquarium, the signage is garbage. The scientific names listed are often incorrect, made up, misspelled, or not listed.

At NEW Zoo, there used to be sign calling a Red Panda a Red Ruffed Lemur.

At Menominee Park Zoo, the White-Nosed Coatis are signed as Nasua nasua, and a range map showing the range of Mountain Goat is used on the Domestic Goat sign.

At lots of zoos (at least in Wisconsin and Michigan) Arctic Foxes and Wolves are often called "Artic Foxes" and "Artic Wolves".

At DeYoung Family Zoo, they are Crested Celebis, not Crested Celebes.
 
Here are two to get the ball rolling.

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The hippo sign just seems like a brain fart, especially since the smaller picture shows an actual pygmy hippo, though admittedly they should have fixed it before putting it up on the fence. But I gotta admit, the "lemur monkeys" sign irrationally annoys me. What zoo is that from? Must be a zoo that doesn't care too much about geographical theming, or maybe it's the rare and elusive Madagascar black swan. :P
 
Hvedekorn said:
The hippo sign just seems like a brain fart, especially since the smaller picture shows an actual pygmy hippo, though admittedly they should have fixed it before putting it up on the fence. But I gotta admit, the "lemur monkeys" sign irrationally annoys me. What zoo is that from? Must be a zoo that doesn't care too much about geographical theming, or maybe it's the rare and elusive Madagascar black swan. :p
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South Lakes Wild Animal Park.

Example of signage - ZooChat
 
What hacks me off the most.
No signage to say when an exhibit is unoccupied.
I'm not talking about when large animals are indoors (though a little tech in that regard would be
a swell idea for everyone's fantasy zoos). Its mostly annoying for reptiles and amphibians.
Like any zoo nerd I consider myself an expert at finding them ….IF they are there.
But there are times when they just are not there. 5 -10 -20 minutes wasted.
 
Ned said:
That's shocking.
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It definitely is... both the signage and that ghastly prison of a crappy barren cage.

I mean, with better accommodation and furnishing that cage might be okay for say, rodents like mice or rats or for small birds, but it definitely could never be suitable for marmosets as anything other than a holding cage.

I presume this is from one of those roadside craphole places?
 
The English signage at the Barcelona Zoo had a few grammar and spelling errors here and there. (and no, I'm not mistaking British English for incorrect English, I swear!)
 
birdsandbats said:
At Menominee Park Zoo, the White-Nosed Coatis are signed as Nasua nasua.
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That's a fairly common signage mistake so I gather.

Daktari JG said:
What hacks me off the most.
No signage to say when an exhibit is unoccupied.
I'm not talking about when large animals are indoors (though a little tech in that regard would be
a swell idea for everyone's fantasy zoos). Its mostly annoying for reptiles and amphibians.
Like any zoo nerd I consider myself an expert at finding them ….IF they are there.
But there are times when they just are not there. 5 -10 -20 minutes wasted.
Click to expand...

I so agree...
 
The Turtle Back Zoo in New Jersey still has North American River Otters labeled as "Lutra canadensis"
 
Two that I saw at Safari Niagara a couple of weeks ago.

The sign for the tigers said that they were Amur, but the scientific name was P. t. tigris, which is actually the Bengal tiger's scientific name.

And, for another one that may be the biggest facepalm I've ever done in my life, the sign for bobcat also had an incorrect scientific name. Actual scientific name: Lynx rufus. What was it on the sign? Ara ararauna. Yes, that's right, they put the scientific name of the blue-and-yellow macaw on a sign for a bobcat enclosure.
 
TheGerenuk said:
And, for another one that may be the biggest facepalm I've ever done in my life, the sign for bobcat also had an incorrect scientific name. Actual scientific name: Lynx rufus. What was it on the sign? Ara ararauna. Yes, that's right, they put the scientific name of the blue-and-yellow macaw on a sign for a bobcat enclosure.
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Copy-paste mistakes happen in main zoos as well, as Lisbon proves:
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Brights Zoo has golden-headed lion tamarin. Their signage has a picture of their individual, but it’s labeled as and has info for golden lion tamarin.

That zoo also mentions in their signage for their Bactrian camels that they're critically endangered - this seems to be a very common misunderstanding that could be avoided altogether if the wild Bactrian had a different common name.

The now-closed Waccatee zoo attributed their peccaries to South Africa, and the still-open Santa's Land conversely believes their servals are from South America.

birdsandbats said:
At Animal Haven Zoo, these is an enclosure for African Crested Porcupine. On the sign, the common name listed is simply Porcupine, but the scientific name is Erethizon dorsatum. The picture shown is a Prehensile-Tailed Porcupine.
Click to expand...
This is some genuinely impressive base-covering that amazingly still doesn’t actually get it right.
 
Oh boy, do I have a few mismatched taxon names that I've seen, many from just this year alone. Do note that I am ignoring instances of species being signed with outdated taxon names as those aren't technically "incorrect".

The Greensboro Science has/had a few species signed with the completely wrong latin name (and in one instance, the wrong animal is pictured altogether). It actually got bad enough that I went on a heated rant in the GSC news thread.
  • Earlier this year, the Laughing Kookaburras were signed with Bycanistes bucinator, which belongs to the Trumpeter Hornbill. Particularly egregious as it was correct previously before they updated the signage. Might be a copy/paste error as the actual hornbills were exhibited close by. @OkapiFan has advised that it's now fixed.
  • Their Black-and-Gold Howler Monkeys (Alouatta caraya) were signed as Alouatta nigerrima, a species not found in captivity in North America. Also egregious as it was correct before they updated the signage. Not sure if this one was fixed.
  • They have a school of what look like Redhook Myleus (Myloplus rubripinnis) in their Amazon Rising exhibit, signed as Threadfin Geophagus (Geophagus heckelii). This one is probably the worst of the lot as the two fishes don't even belong to the same order. This signage was removed recently even though the fish are still present.
Some others I noticed from just this year.
  • At the Smithsonian National Zoo, their Green-winged Teals (Anas carolinensis) somehow ended up with the scientific name of the American Black Duck (Anas rubripes). This error is repeated twice. Also, their Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) is signed with the scientific name of the Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola). Both are likely copy/paste errors.
  • At Staten Island Zoo, their Flame Angelfish (Centropyge loricula) somehow ended up with the scientific name Amphiprion clarkii, which belongs to the Clark's Anenomefish (they have both species, so likely a copy/paste error).
  • Lehigh Valley Zoo has what is definitely a Red Fox with a silver color morph, but signed as Grey Fox (complete with that species' scientific name).
  • Adventure Aquarium may have possibly confused the Common Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) with the Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus). The latter are present, but not signed anywhere. The former were never seen.
MurphyFox said:
The Turtle Back Zoo in New Jersey still has North American River Otters labeled as "Lutra canadensis"
Click to expand...

I know this post is over 4 years old, but they did correct it to Lontra canadensis. However, I should also mention that Lutra canadensis is a synonym for the North American River Otter. A case of a zoo using outdated taxon names rather than a true error.
 
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