Insectivores in North American zoos

SusScrofa

SusScrofa

Well-Known Member
Is there any way to get a list of US/Canadian institutions holding "insectivora" and which species they hold? Insectivora referring to Eulipotyphla and Afrotheria

I've seen Lesser Hedgehog Tenrecs in San Diego Safari Park and Smithsonian, but that's about it. I've seen African Pygmy Hedgehogs in petting farms but never any actual zoos here, and no other species anywhere.
 
I think you meant something more specific than just Afrotheria? I imagine you've seen elephants, aardvarks :P

Most zoos have at least a hedgehog and/or tenrec as an ambassador. LHTs are even showing up in pet stores now, they're everywhere. I'm not sure if any other tenrec has been *confirmed*, I've seen GHT labelled before.

Other hedgehog species are also occasionally signed, usually at roadsides, but not confirmed. There's more likely to be other hedgehogs than other tenrecs, though.

Rock hyrax are plentiful and can be purchased on the pet market occasionally, and yellow-spotted are easy enough to find.

There's a few places left with black and rufous elephant shrew.

Other shrews, moles, etc are pretty much nonexistent in captivity here. Every now and then a native species will pop up at a nature center, but given their short life spans, by the time someone finds out about it there's a very short amount of time for people to get to the facility to visit (if it's even visible, given their preferred habitats).
 
There are Greater Hedgehog Tenrecs in the US pet trade, none left in AZA zoos afaik. Only one I saw at an AZA facility was at Smithsonian National Zoo in 2012.

The only other hedgehogs I know of in the US are Long-Eared and I believe @Giant Eland photographed a Southern African Hedgehog somewhere (Aquarium of the Pacific?).

~Thylo
 
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