Is this animal represented in captivity?

Javan Rhino

Javan Rhino

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Hey all, a little topic that people can use to find out if a certain species is represented in captivity, and if so where, ISIS numbers for zoos etc.

So, I know the Javan Rhinoceros is not represented anywhere in captivity (though I've read somewhere that there were 23 specimens in zoos in the C19th, including London). This number could be more, since a lack of knowledge about the various species at the time meant that they were occasionally exhibited as Indian Rhinos. Other than that, I do not know.

Anyway, I've thought of a few that I would like to know. Since I'm from the UK, could your answers be yes or no for Worldwide/Europe/Britain, with a little extra detail. Anyway, here is the list:

Spix's Macaw (I think there are a few at Loro Parque, but other than that I don't know)
Kakapo
West African Giraffe

Also, could somebody find ISIS records for the Sumatran Rhino population in captivity and maybe a brief history of the last 20-30 years for them. A lot to ask I know, but just curious :) Thanks for your time :)
 
Javan Rhino said:
could somebody find ISIS records for the Sumatran Rhino population in captivity and maybe a brief history of the last 20-30 years for them. A lot to ask I know, but just curious :) Thanks for your time :)
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Sumatran rhino studbook is online somewhere(try the Rhino Resource Centre website first). It lists the existing animals and probably also the later ones that died at the Sungai Dusun reserve, but maybe not the ones that died in America.

Spix Macaw- 'official' list of those in captivity is on the Al Wabra Preservation Society website, as they hold the largest number. (There may or may not be some other birds still not publicised.)

Kakapo- none currently(?) in captivity, though Auckland Zoo have held the occassional handraised one for a time.
 
I thought Al Wabra was the only place that had Spix's Macaw outside of Brazil, guess I was wrong.
Also doesn't one of the bird sanctuaries in New Zealand have kakapo?
 
Ahhh cool, thanks :). It is a shame there are no regular Kakapos since they are such a wonderful-looking bird. Yet, I can imagine that it is like the Javan Rhino with them (Since there are so few, it would do more damage taking animals out of the wild numbers to breed in captivity).

A couple more (sorry for being a pain, I thought of them at the last second): Red Wolf, Thorny Devil and Frilled Lizard.

Again, thanks for your time :). Also, if anybody else has any others then discuss them here :).
 
There's a couple of zoo's in France that keep West African (or Kordofan) giraffe. It's through these groups that the UK representive of the species was obtained by South Lakes in April 2010. His name is Dayo and he's currently with there bachelour herd.
 
Frilled Lizard are in the UK, and ISIS shows 199 world wide at the moment.

Marwel (as Kiang posted), Drayton Manor, West Midlands, Chessington.
 
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I know there are several zoos in North America that have Red Wolves, don't know about the others.

Have there been any zoos outside of Asia that have kept Hoolock Gibbons recently? It appears the only ones in captivity now are in Asia...
 
bongorob said:
Unless they raise the frill, which is unlikey, they're just like most other lizards.
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Awwwww :(. It's like seeing cobras without their hoods raised (you know its a good thing because they're not threatening you, but you can't help feel a little disappointed)

I was lucky enough to see a peacock with its feathers fanned out at Blair Drummond a few weeks ago. My memory card couldn't take much more after ;p
 
Thorny Devils are held at a couple of places in Alice Springs, Central Australia, where their diet of the specific ants they feed on can be supplied. There are individuals occassionally kept elsewhere in Australia (by Museums and reptile specialists) but not usually for very long.

Frilled lizards are kept at most places in Australia but, as Bongorob mentioned, they generally look like any other lizard.

:p

Hix
 
Hix said:
Thorny Devils are held at a couple of places in Alice Springs, Central Australia, where their diet of the specific ants they feed on can be supplied. There are individuals occassionally kept elsewhere in Australia (by Museums and reptile specialists) but not usually for very long.

Frilled lizards are kept at most places in Australia but, as Bongorob mentioned, they generally look like any other lizard.

:p

Hix
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Ahhh right, I forgot about the thorny devil's picky food choice in those certain ants. I suppose that would make them very difficult/expensive, if not impossible, to keep outside of Australia.
 
Very difficult, yes.

:p

Hix
 
siamang27 said:
I thought Al Wabra was the only place that had Spix's Macaw outside of Brazil, guess I was wrong.
Also doesn't one of the bird sanctuaries in New Zealand have kakapo?
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Loro Parc(Tenerife) and a 'private' organisation in Berlin are both holders of Spix, and both have bred them(Loro Parc have bred several over a period of many years keeping them). The father of the one bred at Berlin was also loaned by Loro Parc.

Kakapo. I think the odd one was kept in the past in captivity(Mt Bruce?) but I don't think there are any now. 'Chlidonias' will know....
 
Pertinax said:
Kakapo. I think the odd one was kept in the past in captivity(Mt Bruce?) but I don't think there are any now. 'Chlidonias' will know....
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indeed I do know :D

there were five kept at Mt. Bruce in 1961 as an attempted breeding group, but all proved to be males which made things a little difficult. Only one survived for more than a few months (thread here: http://www.zoochat.com/17/national-wildlife-centre-mt-bruce-13759/)

the only other kakapo on display in a zoo in recent times is Sirocco who was on show at Auckland Zoo for a week and a half in September 2009 (thread here: http://www.zoochat.com/17/kakapo-auckland-zoo-119111/). Sirocco has also several times (2006, 2008 and 2009) been on display in an enclosure for about a month each of those years on Ulva Island, an open sanctuary off Stewart Island. Auckland Zoo hand-reared some kakapo chicks in the late 1990s (including Sirocco) but they were never on display to the public. Today kakapo chicks are hand-reared at other non-zoo locations, and are sometimes shown to the public for a day or two before being flown to Codfish Island (or other islands) for release.

Kakapo have been kept in at least one foreign zoo in the late-19th / early-20th centuries - London Zoo had six kakapo during the period between 1870 and 1875, and then a seventh which survived from 1911 to 1915.
 
Fanalouc, a relation of the fosa, i heard a rumour that there may be one in a private collection in the USA, does anyone have any info on this?
 
Chlidonias said:
indeed I do know :D

there were five kept at Mt. Bruce in 1961 as an attempted breeding group, but all proved to be males which made things a little difficult. Only one survived for more than a few months (thread here: http://www.zoochat.com/17/national-wildlife-centre-mt-bruce-13759/)

the only other kakapo on display in a zoo in recent times is Sirocco who was on show at Auckland Zoo for a week and a half in September 2009 (thread here: http://www.zoochat.com/17/kakapo-auckland-zoo-119111/). Sirocco has also several times (2006, 2008 and 2009) been on display in an enclosure for about a month each of those years on Ulva Island, an open sanctuary off Stewart Island. Auckland Zoo hand-reared some kakapo chicks in the late 1990s (including Sirocco) but they were never on display to the public. Today kakapo chicks are hand-reared at other non-zoo locations, and are sometimes shown to the public for a day or two before being flown to Codfish Island (or other islands) for release.

Kakapo have been kept in at least one foreign zoo in the late-19th / early-20th centuries - London Zoo had six kakapo during the period between 1870 and 1875, and then a seventh which survived from 1911 to 1915.
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Ahh very interesting. It is a shame that there are none now, but I think its like the situation with the Javan Rhino. Since there are so few, taking any out of the wild would severely damage numbers, more than breeding in captivity would increase them. Are there any pics in the London Zoo gallery of the Kakapo? If anybody sees any could they post a link?
 
It is very rare that I see any sea/coast-birds in captivity (discounting penguins), and wondered if there were any species represented, if so which?

Ones I would like to know most:

Atlantic Puffin (I think I saw a puffin species (I think) at Loro Parque, but that was a long time ago)
Gannet
Blue-Footed Booby
Frigatebird
Flightless Cormorant
Razorbills

Any help on these would be appreciated.
 
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