Last of their kind in a zoo

[Crowthorne]

I visited a couple of times in the summer and Autumn of 2019, roughly around the time when I joined this site.... and I saw both Malayan tapir, bearded pigs and muntjac using those enclosures.

I can say with 100% certainty that I didn't see any red river hogs or babirusa in those enclosures during those visits.

Without derailing too much further, I visited in early December 2019 and the former Bearded Pig enclosure was undergoing redevelopment ready for the Red River Hogs, which had arrived by March 2020 when I saw them in my last visit before Covid lockdown. The Bearded Pigs were PTS in November 2019 I believe. The Babirusa arrived in summer 2020, post March-lockdown.

 

[RatioTile]

Japan:

Atagawa Tropical and Alligator Garden has an Amazonian manatee in his fifties.

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium has a rescued pygmy killer whale, the only one in captivity outside of temporary rescues.

KawaZoo has several Goliath frogs, which don’t appear to be in any public institutions in the US or Europe at the moment.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

This is getting very off topic now but just going to answer this quickly - it's not absurd at all. Red river hogs fit with the theme of Gorilla Kingdom (just over the way from said enclosure) a lot more than any Asian pig species would. In addition to this, right after London received Whipsnade's herd of red river hogs a group of four (that's how many a friend counted at least) Visayan warty pigs moved to Whipsnade. I would actually argue that London going for babirusa, a species that is less threatened than warty pigs but is in far greater need of more holders in Europe, is a better move. It also now means that ZSL as a whole have one of the most comprehensive collections of wild pigs in Europe - with red river hogs, warthogs and babirusa at London Zoo, and wild boar and Visayan warty pigs at Whipsnade...that means the only wild pig species kept in Europe that they're missing is bearded pig.

No, don't worry, not off topic and still interesting to discuss.

Yes, I do see what you mean regarding the red river hogs but then again there are Sulawesi crested macaques kept in an enclosure actually within the gorilla kingdom if I remember correctly which are not exactly well suited to being there.

I totally agree with you about the babirusa though and I'm very impressed that they have got into keeping these again and in fact I feel quite enthusiastic about the revival of keeping this species by many zoos in Europe.

Without derailing too much further, I visited in early December 2019 and the former Bearded Pig enclosure was undergoing redevelopment ready for the Red River Hogs, which had arrived by March 2020 when I saw them in my last visit before Covid lockdown. The Bearded Pigs were PTS in November 2019 I believe. The Babirusa arrived in summer 2020, post March-lockdown.

Thanks for your comment @Crowthorne !

I think I saw them in both early November and through October when I visited the zoo a couple of times and if I remember it was a pair of the animals.

At the time it didn't even cross my mind but I do feel quite priviledged to have seen them now in retrospect considering how rare they are in captivity.

I missed the babirusa though as I was already back in Brazil by early December.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I also once saw a large group of Doucs in the Dusit Zoo in Thailand- despite very basic housing they looked bursting with health, noticeably more so than the European ones I'd seen previously- I suspect climate/diet are still important factors to success.

Yes, I think that the key to keeping Doucs successfully in captivity is definitely related to their diets and overall nutrition.

'Ben' was named after the American actor/comedian Ben Lyon, who with his partner BeBe Daniels moved to London and had a successful UK Radio show in the 1950's 'Life with the Lyons'. So Ben's (the rhino) original partner was 'Bebe' (ZSL having something of a tradition of naming certain animals after well-known media personalities- remember Esther( after Rantzen) and Parky(after Parkison) the Black rhinos. After Bebe (also a Northern White presumably) died the replacement female was this Southern White, 'Mashobeni.' Tim May might remember what happened to her, as to whether she died at London or Whipsnade.

For most of its time the Sobell cage most visible in the background was the Mandrill enclosure. And the other thing is the porta-cabin-type gift shop.

Ah I see, I'll see if I can find some old footage of Ben at the zoo on youtube, he certainly sounds like an animal that was very popular.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Rosamond Gifford Zoo has the last White-winged Vampire Bat (at least outside the Neotropics). I would assume it is a remnant of the group imported by Cornell in the 90s to study vampire bat behavior.

Thanks for your comment @birdsandbats !

That is an interesting one, I think I read about this individual on the forum before, it had quite an interesting name if I remember correctly and I think it had been either wild caught or captive bred in Trinidad.

 

[birdsandbats]

Thanks for your comment @birdsandbats !

That is an interesting one, I think I read about this individual on the forum before, it had quite an interesting name if I remember correctly and I think it had been either wild caught or captive bred in Trinidad.

The Cornell animals came from Trinidad. The species isn't more common in captivity because it requires live food, whereas Common Vampire Bats can just be given a tray of blood.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

The Cornell animals came from Trinidad. The species isn't more common in captivity because it requires live food, whereas Common Vampire Bats can just be given a tray of blood.

I wonder whether it will be kept by zoos in the future the live food difficulty certainly seems like it could disuade zoos from keeping it again.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

@Pertinax @Tim May I'm sure this video has been shared many times here on zoochat but here is a British pathe film clip of a visit by a Royal to the zoo in the early 1960's which at 1:50 min features the rhinos one of which I presume must be Ben.

Another interesting thing about the video is that the famous Desmond Morris (who I believe was then the curator) is the one giving the tour of the zoo.

 

[Pertinax]

Her replacement, the southern white rhino "Mashobeni", was sent to Glasgow Zoo in 1986 shortly after "Ben" was sent to Dvur Kralove. She died in Glasgiw in 1995.

I saw a single White rhino in Glasgow Zoo on my only visit, not long before it closed. I think that was probably her though I did not realise that at the time.

 

[Pertinax]

@Pertinax @Tim May I'm sure this video has been shared many times here on zoochat but here is a British pathe film clip of a visit by a Royal to the zoo in the early 1960's which at 1:50 min features the rhinos one of which I presume must be Ben.

Another interesting thing about the video is that the famous Desmond Morris (who I believe was then the curator) is the one giving the tour of the zoo.

I do like the old Pathe news films of the zoo(s). In this one the royal is Prince Philip( now nearly 100 years old..) and the smaller man between him and Desmond Morris is probably Solly Zuckerman, the zoos' president( I believe that was his title). The black rhino was a female- I think that was 'Lorna' (again, Tim May might verify). This paddock was later converted to house the Giant Pandas AnAn and Chi-chi and now again, the Lion enclosure.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I do like the old Pathe news films of the zoo(s). In this one the royal is Prince Philip( now nearly 100 years old..) and the smaller man between him and Desmond Morris is probably Solly Zuckerman, the zoos' president( I believe that was his title). The black rhino was a female- I think that was 'Lorna' (again, Tim May might verify). This paddock was later converted to house the Giant Pandas AnAn and Chi-chi and now again, the Lion enclosure.

They are great aren't they ?

I didn't know that Zuckerman was in this too, not a big fan of him or his legacy to be honest.

Demond Morris on the other hand I am a big fan of and he is also almost a century old now.

 

[Pertinax]

They are great aren't they ?

I didn't know that Zuckerman was in this too, not a big fan of him or his legacy to be honest.

Demond Morris on the other hand I am a big fan of and he is also almost a century old now.

I have no personal knowledge of Zuckerman but he did seem very unpopular in some circles.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I have no personal knowledge of Zuckerman but he did seem very unpopular in some circles.

Nor I , only what I've read regarding his views of conservation of which he was very outspoken and were quite frankly ridiculous.

 

[Tim May]

I'm sure this video has been shared many times here on zoochat but here is a British pathe film clip of a visit by a Royal to the zoo in the early 1960's which at 1:50 min features the rhinos one of which I presume must be Ben.

Many thanks for posting this great film.

The black rhino was a female- I think that was 'Lorna' (again, Tim May might verify). This paddock was later converted to house the Giant Pandas AnAn and Chi-chi and now again, the Lion enclosure.

Yes the black rhino was "Lorna"; the only black rhino at London Zoo at this time. (I remember her best from the old Antelope House but she was moved to the old Deer & Cattle sheds about the time the other inhabitants of the old Antelope House were moved to the newly opened Cotton Terraces.)

 

[Dhole dude]

Some other ones with mentioning

.”Benjamin” the last thylacine in the world, who died in 1936 at the now-close beaumaris zoo in Hobart (Tasmania).

.The last Javan rhino in captivity (dont know its name) that died at Adelaide zoo in 1907 (they were also crept. In a atonal park in Vietnam, but I don’t think national parks hound count)

.The last quagga in the world died at ARTIS royal zoo in 1883.

.Zoo Plzen presumably has the last group of Panay cloudrunners in the
world

.I believe that Gladys porter zoo is the last zoo outside of Africa to keep harnessed bushbuck (there mat e a zoo in Thailand, but they may no longer keep the species, and I don’t know the name of it)

Last in the United States:
.Bronx zoo has the last ring-tailed vonstras in the United States
.Capital of Texas zoo has the last fanaloka and possibly the last asiatic palm civet in the United States
.Sea world San Diego has the only emperor penguins, Guadalupe fur seals in the United States
.Carson springs wildlife is the only place in the United States with rusty spotted cats

 

[Andrew Swales]

Some other ones with mentioning
.”Benjamin” the last thylacine in the world, who died in 1936 at the now-closed Hogart zoo in Tasmania.

Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart.

 

[Dhole dude]

Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart.

thanks for the correction. I edited the post.

 

[Chlidonias]

I believe that Gladys porter zoo is the last zoo outside of Africa to keep harnessed bushbuck (there mat e a zoo in Thailand, but they may no longer keep the species, and I don’t know the name of it)

That must be the Chiang Mai Zoo, but I don't know if they have them now.

The only information I can find is this 2013 news article where two animals were being sent from Uganda: Uganda donates zebras, bushbucks to Thailand

 

[Dhole dude]

That must be the Chiang Mai Zoo, but I don't know if they have them now.

The only information I can find is this 2013 news article where two animals were being sent from Uganda: Uganda donates zebras, bushbucks to Thailand

Good to know the name of this zoo. Are there any zoochaters who have either been to this zoo recently, or live there, that know the status of Chiang Mai’s busbucks?

 

[Chlidonias]

Good to know the name of this zoo. Are there any zoochaters who have either been to this zoo recently, or live there, that know the status of Chiang Mai’s busbucks?

They didn't have any (at least on-display) when I was there in 2014.