List of AZA-Locked Species

Iguana_Cabana

Iguana_Cabana

Well-Known Member
Hi y'all!

I was wondering if any of you people could help me make a list of captive animals are only held in exclusively AZA facilities and not ZAA/unaccredited/private colletions.

As far as I know the following species may be AZA-locked:

-Most Great Apes
-Most Penguins and Seabirds
-Subspecific Tigers and Leopards
-Jaguars
-Most Iguanas from Brachylophus or Cyclura
-African Wild Dogs
-Most AU/NZ endemics (Koala, Tasmanian Devil, Tawny Frogmouth, Tuatara, etc.)

That is all I can name off the top of my head. Feel free to change my mind and/or add more!
 
Iguana_Cabana said:
Hi y'all!

I was wondering if any of you people could help me make a list of captive animals are only held in exclusively AZA facilities and not ZAA/unaccredited/private colletions.

As far as I know the following species may be AZA-locked:

-Most Great Apes
-Most Penguins and Seabirds
-Subspecific Tigers and Leopards
-Jaguars
-Most Iguanas from Brachylophus or Cyclura
-African Wild Dogs
-Most AU/NZ endemics (Koala, Tasmanian Devil, Tawny Frogmouth, Tuatara, etc.)

That is all I can name off the top of my head. Feel free to change my mind and/or add more!
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Gorillas are found at Gulf Breeze Zoo. Orangutans and Chimpanzees are at several non-AZAs.

Jaguars are most definitely not AZA-exclusives.

African Wild Dogs somehow wound up at Shamba Safari in Wisconsin.

Most Amur/Malayan Tigers in non-AZA are very likely just generics but I do believe there are a few breeding facilities that hold pure Amur Leopards like Panther Ridge in Florida.

Eventhough its by no means perfect, Zootierliste might be a good place to start looking at for more information on whats exclusive and not.
 
What do you mean "AZA-locked"? Your list reads like you have some strange ideas about what the AZA is.
 
Chlidonias said:
What do you mean "AZA-locked"? Your list reads like you have some strange ideas about what the AZA is.
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By this, I mean species that are not present in private as much. For example, after years of searching, I know of no private keepers or zoos who keep or breed pure Cyclura lewisi (there are only impure hybrids of them and Cyclura nubila being sold from what I have seen in stores/online ads). I could be wrong about this, but the only keepers of PURE C. lewisi that I know of are exclusively AZA facilities.
 
As has been mentioned, most of the species you’ve listed are also present in non AZA zoos, usually not as commonly though and more often seen in the “higher end” non AZAs. To give an example of a species that is *only* found in AZA, but is very common within AZA, there’s the Panamanian golden frog. The permits issued back in 2000 that allowed the collection of the frogs from the wild stipulated that they could only be kept by AZA facilities. This decision was made to guarantee that they didn’t end up in the pet trade, get hybridized, and potentially contaminate the gene pool for potential future reintros
 
Iguana_Cabana said:
-Most AU/NZ endemics (Koala, Tasmanian Devil, Tawny Frogmouth, Tuatara, etc.)
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Importing Australian species is not impossible, but it is difficult, time-consuming and requires the close co-operation of an Australian zoo. Larger, more established zoos would have the contacts and resources necessary. I am surprised tawny frogmouths are included on your list, though.
 
birdsandbats said:
Are there any mammal species found at more than one facility that are exclusive to the AZA in North America? I struggle to think of a single one.

EDIT: Dhole, thought of one. Although it is only found at two zoos. But there really aren't many.
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There's a pretty long list, actually. Coquerel's sifaka, aye-ayes, blue-eyed black lemurs, gray mouse lemurs, pygmy slow loris, pied tamarin, koala, Matschie's tree kangaroo, Chinese goral all come to mind. I'm not aware of any non-AZA zoos with Francois' langur or silvered leaf langur either. A number of other species come extremely close to being only found in AZA zoos, such as polar bears, but include at least one non-AZA partner (in the case of polar bears, Alaska Zoo is the only unaccredited holder).

Of course, we could spend a long time debating the reasons for any of these species being exclusive to AZA zoos- and whether it is due to an AZA "monopoly", a simple lack of interest from non-AZA zoos, closely related species that are easier to acquire, or something else entirely.

Similar to @Aardwolf's Panamanian golden frog example, golden lion tamarins are either exclusive to AZA facilities or extremely close to being exclusive to AZA facilities.
 
Neil chace said:
There's a pretty long list, actually. Coquerel's sifaka, aye-ayes, blue-eyed black lemurs, gray mouse lemurs, pygmy slow loris, pied tamarin, koala, Matschie's tree kangaroo, Chinese goral all come to mind. I'm not aware of any non-AZA zoos with Francois' langur or silvered leaf langur either. A number of other species come extremely close to being only found in AZA zoos, such as polar bears, but include at least one non-AZA partner (in the case of polar bears, Alaska Zoo is the only unaccredited holder).

Of course, we could spend a long time debating the reasons for any of these species being exclusive to AZA zoos- and whether it is due to an AZA "monopoly", a simple lack of interest from non-AZA zoos, closely related species that are easier to acquire, or something else entirely.

Similar to @Aardwolf's Panamanian golden frog example, golden lion tamarins are either exclusive to AZA facilities or extremely close to being exclusive to AZA facilities.
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I know Koalas have worked their way into the private trade in recent years, so I'm a little surprised they make the list.
 
Red Pandas were at one point said to be "AZA-exclusive" and I believe a few years ago they finally appeared outside the AZA?
 
Although I don't know from personal experience, I'm 100% positive there is not a single
species of animal that a private citizen could not purchase (legally or otherwise) import and
keep in America. Hell Resort World casino toyed with the idea of getting Giant Pandas.
Don't know the specifics of failure of the deal, but I would bet it more along the economics from the casino side more so than the Chinese willing to part with them.
 
birdsandbats said:
I know Koalas have worked their way into the private trade in recent years, so I'm a little surprised they make the list.
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It is news to me that koalas have entered the private trade now. That's not something I would've expected to happen.

Daktari JG said:
Although I don't know from personal experience, I'm 100% positive there is not a single
species of animal that a private citizen could not purchase (legally or otherwise) import and
keep in America. Hell Resort World casino toyed with the idea of getting Giant Pandas.
Don't know the specifics of failure of the deal, but I would bet it more along the economics from the casino side more so than the Chinese willing to part with them.
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There are certainly cases where it can't be done legally, however, or where the hurdles needed to do it legally make it functionally impossible for anyone to do so. Yes, though, unfortunately there are many animals being housed illegally in the United States, likely including some species none of us would expect to be present.

JVM said:
Red Pandas were at one point said to be "AZA-exclusive" and I believe a few years ago they finally appeared outside the AZA?
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Typically it seems that once a species becomes more established within the AZA, more non-AZA holders end up getting the species. The same thing has been happening with giant anteaters and pygmy hippos in recent years too.
 
Neil chace said:
There are certainly cases where it can't be done legally, however, or where the hurdles needed to do it legally make it functionally impossible for anyone to do so. Yes, though, unfortunately there are many animals being housed illegally in the United States, likely including some species none of us would expect to be present.
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I'm not saying it would be easy or cheap. But if you have enough money you can functionally do any damn thing you want to accomplish. And legally. Not morally, not ethically, but legally.

lets take a hypothetical billionaire that wants to see a family of gorillas everyday.
he sets up the I.M Riche Gorilla Foundation., He donates millions to conservation rehabilitators
in the Republic of the Congo. He contributes millions to the government of the Republic of the Congo for "gorilla conservation" (where that money ends up is not really relevant nor the fault of our goodly billionaire ). He contributes a few million to his duly elected officials (State and Federal Senators, representatives etc) He contributes to the Make America Gorilla Again Pac. He builds
a multi million dollar facility in his back yard (of 1000 acres or so) and he hires the foremost expert on gorillas is (whoever that may be) as his curator. Viola he gets himself a troop of gorillas no matter what the public outcry might be.
Cynical? sure. reality? you betcha
 
There might be a few in larger ZAA zoos but meerkats won’t make their way to the rest of the animal industry in the US with all mongooses, sans cusimanse, for being listed as injurious species.
 
PossumRoach said:
There might be a few in larger ZAA zoos but meerkats won’t make their way to the rest of the animal industry in the US with all mongooses, sans cusimanse, for being listed as injurious species.
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That law is a shame, but at least we got one cool story out of it.

You see, in 1962, a merchant ship from India docked in the city of Duluth, Minnesota. On board the ship, was a sailor and his pet mongoose. The sailor went ashore and donated the mongoose to the Duluth Zoo, who were quite happy to have him.

Cue the US Federal Government finding out about the mongoose -Now sporting the moniker, Mr. Magoo- roughly a week later. Citing the 1909 law, Mr. Magoo was given the death sentence. Which was to be carried out as soon as an agent from the US Fish & Wildlife Service could be dispatched to the zoo.

Naturally, the entire city collectively freaked out, rallied around Mr. Magoo and proceeded to absolutely bombard US Fish & Wildlife with pleas to spare Mr. Magoo's life. The curator of the Duluth Zoo even got in on it! He placed a padlock on Mr. Magoo's cage and kept the keys to it on his person at all times, refusing to allow anyone but himself access to Mr. Magoo!

And the craziest part of this already crazy story? It worked.

Mr. Magoo's life was spared. He even received an official pardon from the Feds! He spent the rest of his life at the Duluth Zoo, ultimately dying of old age in 1968.

News Tribune Attic: Long before Lily the Bear, we had Mr. Magoo the Mongoose | Duluth News Tribune

Remembering Duluth's famous mongoose, Mr. Magoo | Duluth News Tribune

Wayback Machine
 
Wisp O' Mist said:
That law is a shame, but at least we got one cool story out of it.

You see, in 1962, a merchant ship from India docked in the city of Duluth, Minnesota. On board the ship, was a sailor and his pet mongoose. The sailor went ashore and donated the mongoose to the Duluth Zoo, who were quite happy to have him.

Cue the US Federal Government finding out about the mongoose -Now sporting the moniker, Mr. Magoo- roughly a week later. Citing the 1909 law, Mr. Magoo was given the death sentence. Which was to be carried out as soon as an agent from the US Fish & Wildlife Service could be dispatched to the zoo.

Naturally, the entire city collectively freaked out, rallied around Mr. Magoo and proceeded to absolutely bombard US Fish & Wildlife with pleas to spare Mr. Magoo's life. The curator of the Duluth Zoo even got in on it! He placed a padlock on Mr. Magoo's cage and kept the keys to it on his person at all times, refusing to allow anyone but himself access to Mr. Magoo!

And the craziest part of this already crazy story? It worked.

Mr. Magoo's life was spared. He even received an official pardon from the Feds! He spent the rest of his life at the Duluth Zoo, ultimately dying of old age in 1968.

News Tribune Attic: Long before Lily the Bear, we had Mr. Magoo the Mongoose | Duluth News Tribune

Remembering Duluth's famous mongoose, Mr. Magoo | Duluth News Tribune

Wayback Machine
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I don’t want to get too out of topic but few years back there was a similar case with a family taking in a orphaned Nutria in Louisiana which got in trouble until people rallied up for the family.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
I also have heard nothing about this... do you have specific information about or examples of this @birdsandbats ?
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I've seen them for sale on exoticanimalsfosale.net a few times, they seem to sell for shockingly low amounts of money. I wasn't able to re-find any of the listings I've seen before on there, but there's also this somewhat infamous screenshot of a Craigslist listing that's been circulating the internet since 2014 (though I can't say if it's legit or not):

awesome-craigslist-ad-koala-for-sale
 
birdsandbats said:
I've seen them for sale on exoticanimalsfosale.net a few times, they seem to sell for shockingly low amounts of money. I wasn't able to re-find any of the listings I've seen before on there, but there's also this somewhat infamous screenshot of a Craigslist listing that's been circulating the internet since 2014 (though I can't say if it's legit or not):
Click to expand...
And you believe these listings?

The one you quoted with the comment "I can't say if it's legit or not" is clearly not "legit", and the photo is a really well-known photo from Australia.
 
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