Is it common for a captive animal to spend its entire life in one zoo?

[elefante]

Out of curiosity, how common is it that a captive animal would spend its entire life in one zoo? I know with breeding programs and species survival plans it's pretty common for animals to be moved between zoos, so it makes me wonder how many animals are born and die in the same zoo.

 

[Coelacanth18]

It can depend on the species. In general, you are correct that it is very common for animals to move around. The longer-lived the animal is, the more likely it is to be moved at some point. Therefore, many short-lived rodents, amphibians, inverts, etc are probably born and then die in the same enclosure. On the other hand, the vast majority of large mammals like apes, elephants, bears, and cats will move between multiple zoos during their lifetime.

 

[Zia]

I would think the sex of the animal would come into it too - for example young male elephants being moved on while young females are more likely to be retained as part of a family group.

 

[Pertinax]

Age is another factor. Older animals of past breeding age are less likely to leave the collection they are in. And if they arrived before breeding programmes were ever started they may well have stayed in the same one zoo all their lives. I'm thinking things like elderly Elephants here. Some ' zoo favourite' animals come into this category also.