Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo has mixed Short-Beaked Echidna & Tamar Wallaby for quite awhile now, so this mix should work.
Mixed species exhibit ideas
- Thread starter LowlandGorilla4
- Start date
I assume you mean Los Angeles Zoo, but you're correct. So Echidna / Wallaby / Tree kangaroo could indeed work (the rest is still problematic though)
I do not. Omaha also mixes these two species in Kingdom of the Night.
Wallabies in an indoor enclosure seems like a bad idea... also: I couldn't find any echidna pictures for Omaha's on ZC (No wallabies either except for the yellow-footed)
Both species were signed and seen in October.
Los Angeles does not do this mix, their echidnas are indoors and their wallabies are outdoors with birds. Maybe you are thinking of their koala kangaroo mix?
Australian exhibit at the Los Angeles Zoo - ZooChat
"It's home to Koalas, Tammar Wallabies, and Echidnas. The Echidnas mainly spend their time in the box to the left."
(whereever the mix is, it works either way)
How about a mix of Forest hingeback tortoise and Common cusimanse? (with also African grey parrots free-roaming in the surrounding area)
ParathePineapple
Well-Known Member
This mix I really doubt would work but I’m curious what place thought mixing wolves and bears was a good idea!
Ouwehands has that mix that's worked well for years
I think it's a very odd mix. Seeing that polar bears live in large, open spaces. Whilst foxes, wolverines and wolves live in taigas and forests.
Polar bears are also a lot more solitary than brown bears, as well as eating more meat. At the same time they're also less likely to start a fight.
So I honestly have no idea if it would work. But I think it shouldn't be tried
Another good (or at least "working") example for a mixed exhibit is Natur- und Tierpark Goldau in Switzerland where Syrian Brown Bears live together with wolves.
I also have my doubts if mixing one of the 3 proposed species with polar bears is a good idea. Polar bears are clearly more "predatory" then other big bears, so they MAY have more the instinct to hunt and fight for (protein containing) food. This will soon or later end with dead red foxes and possibly also dead wolverines and wolves (although the later 2 are more defensible then the former). At least we will have a lot of (non-welcomed) interspecific aggression.
On the other hand I know that there are/were mixed exhibits with polar bears and polar foxes. Here, I can imagine that the later - as a highly adaptable species, specially regarding food - could live beyond the polar bears radar. Can anybody tell how that mix work (has worked, e.g. Central Park Zoo N.Y.)?
I also have my doubts if mixing one of the 3 proposed species with polar bears is a good idea. Polar bears are clearly more "predatory" then other big bears, so they MAY have more the instinct to hunt and fight for (protein containing) food. This will soon or later end with dead red foxes and possibly also dead wolverines and wolves (although the later 2 are more defensible then the former). At least we will have a lot of (non-welcomed) interspecific aggression.
On the other hand I know that there are/were mixed exhibits with polar bears and polar foxes. Here, I can imagine that the later - as a highly adaptable species, specially regarding food - could live beyond the polar bears radar. Can anybody tell how that mix work (has worked, e.g. Central Park Zoo N.Y.)?
Wasn't there a north European zoo that mixed wolves and bears?
Cusimanses are very capable and creative predators. Not a safe mix, tortoises would go first, parrots would be grabbed eventually
Several zoos have this mix or have tried it. It hasn't however always gone well, there have been cases of wolves being killed and/or eaten by bears. So it is probably not the safest of mixes.
I have also seen a mix of Kodiak bears with Arctic foxes once.
I'm not sure there any safe mixed with mongoose given their predatory nature. Perhaps hogs could be an option, but there are still concerning elements their, like biting injuries, the dangers of the holes mongoose will dig to the hogs or predation on/injury to juvenile hogs.
If you want to do a mix with tortoise, perhaps you could consider hyraxes. I'm not sure about mixing in African grey parrots though, given their loud and busy nature I don't think they should be housed together with timid species. Their very strong beaks should also be considered.
There's been mixes with mongooses and spurred tortoises (and also a bunch of other species). I was going for a small enclosure for a Central African zoo. So river hogs would be too big and other hogs wouldn't fit the theme
I would be worried about the ungulates trampling some of the ground birds. As well as the pheasants hybridizing
I'd suggest taking out the king quail and either the golden or the Amherst pheasant. As well as adding quite some space for where the ungulates can't get to for the birds to nest. Other than that it should be fine.
So three separate mixes? In that case there's the hybrid problem with the two pheasants. The rest should all be fine