Mixed species exhibit ideas

[Mr Gharial]

Would Pin-Tailed whydah's work with other african birds like Corden-bleu's and african village weavers?
Also do Blue Bellied Rollers get along with any species?
thanks in advance

Pin-tailed whydah's are held with Orange-breasted waxbills, Black-rumped waxbills, Red-cheeked cordon-bleu's and Harlequin quail in Zoom Erlebniswelt

Blue-bellied roller are held with Timneh parrots, Common redshanks, Black-necked stilts, Ruffs, Pied avocets, Little bustards and Black-faced spoonbills in Parc Des Oiseaux.

Also in Parc Des Oiseaux with Brown-necked parrots, Fischer’s lovebirds and Yellow-necked francolins.

In Zie-Zoo, they were held with Glossy ibises, Eurasian spoonbills, Western cattle egrets, Hamerkops, Black-crowned night herons, Greater flamingos, White-faced whistling ducks, Violet turacos and Trumpeter hornbills

If we count other Rollers there's way longer species lists in Artis and Antwerp

Also Andean condors and Egyptian vultures have been in mixed avairies before?

In GaiaZOO, Egyptian vultures are held in the Taiga aviary. Along with:
Western Eurasian griffon vulture, Cinereous vulture, Lesser kestrel, Glossy ibis, Northern bald ibis, Eurasian oystercatcher, Pied avocet, Common redshank, European thick-knee, Cheer pheasant, Red-breasted goose, Lesser white-fronted goose, Swan goose, Baer’s pochard, Marbled teal, Baikal teal, White-headed duck, Scaly-sided merganser, European turtle dove, Rock pigeon, European roller en Asian azure-winged magpie.

In Parc Des Oiseaux, Egyptian vultures are held in the Africa In Mosaics aviary, along with:
Silvery-cheeked hornbill, Greater vasa parrot, Congo grey parrot, Spur-winged lapwing, Blacksmith lapwing, Squacco heron, Glossy ibis, African spoonbill, African openbill, Marabou stork, Black stork, Goliath heron, Little egret, Yellow-billed stork, Abdim’s stork, White-faced whistling duck, African comb duck, Vulturine guineafowl, Yellow-necked francolin, Spotted thick-knee and Speckled pigeon

Also in Parc Des Oiseaux, the Andean condors are accompanied by Black-faced ibises. They have also been held in Doue de la Fontaine's South American aviary, but I think they have been removed.

 

[FBBird]

Would Pin-Tailed whydah's work with other african birds like Corden-bleu's and african village weavers?
Also do Blue Bellied Rollers get along with any species?
thanks in advance

I would say you should generally avoid vulture commonly found at large carcasses in the wild and egg-eater vultures like the Egyption vulture.(unless it's a species that is confirmed to be compatible) Not that they can't be trusted but rather to be cautious. Also Andean condors and Egyptian vultures have been in mixed avairies before?

With all these mixes, much depends on the space available. Pintailed Whydahs are sustainably bred in Australian aviculture, sharing large aviaries with waxbills that serve as host species. In a small aviary, the flamboyant antics of a male whydah in breeding condition will actually put the other species off breeding.
While I know that Andean Condors are kept with other species, I know of at least one male condor that has killed other birds

 

[ZooBoy99]

Another question about the vulture topic, are lappet-faced vultures more aggressive than other species of vulture? Is that the reasoning behind why lappet-faced vultures shouldn't be mixed with smaller species of bird?

Also, thanks again for everyone's opinions and thoughts!

 

[Great Argus]

Another question about the vulture topic, are lappet-faced vultures more aggressive than other species of vulture? Is that the reasoning behind why lappet-faced vultures shouldn't be mixed with smaller species of bird?

Also, thanks again for everyone's opinions and thoughts!

Yes - they are a large and aggressive species. They are top of the African vulture pecking order and other species will give way to them. Lappet-faced is also one of relatively few vultures suspected to actually hunt live prey on occasion, they have regularly been documented with small freshly-killed prey.

 

[antilio capra]

Would Bat fish work with yellowtail damselfish.(Thanks to anyone who answers)

 

[Mr Gharial]

Would Bat fish work with yellowtail damselfish.(Thanks to anyone who answers)

Haven't seen a lot of batfish myself, only mix I've seen is Brazilian batfish with Bluehead wrasse, Foureye butterflyfish and Peacock flounder in Aquarium de Nancy.

But I don't know enough about saltwater fish to be able to say if damselfish has similar behaviours to Wrasses or Butterflyfish

 

[Torgos]

Also Egyptian vulture, Cinereous vulture, Eurasian griffon vulture, Rüppel's griffon vulture, African white-backed vulture, White-headed vulture, Bearded vulture, Turkey vulture, American black vulture, Lesser yellow-headed vulture, King vulture and Andean condor.

It seems like Lappet-faced vulture is the only one not in a large, mixed-species aviary including a few smaller species. But I assume that's only because they're rare in European zoos

Re lappets: they CAN cohabit with others but with care in exhibit mates. Albuquerque has a pair with a group of cape vultures and there used/may still be ravens in there also. It's a big flighted space. Dallas keeps them with marabous in open-topped yards. Jacksonville houses them technically alone except for the large numbers of black vultures that invade their space and don't get killed. Riverbanks way back when used to have pair with Ruppells in a hoofstock yard. I think their lives were too stressful to cause harm. I would be fine housing them with starlings and turacos (space and perching being suitable) tho newly fledged chicks near teh ground could be vulnerable. I would NOT trust them (like Great Argus) with waterfowl, guineas, ground dwellers and slow moving birds that like to nap on the ground. And no dik diks or hyrax They have huge feet compared to a similarly sized cinereous vultures which suggests that they sometimes predate.

 

[Great Argus]

Would Bat fish work with yellowtail damselfish.(Thanks to anyone who answers)

Are we talking about Platax batfish or Ogcocephalus batfish?

 

[antilio capra]

Platax

 

[Great Argus]

Platax

Yes these are fine with Yellowtail Damselfish.

 

[OskarGC]

Would these mixes work?
1. terrarium: Madagascan Giant Day-Gecko & Panther Chameleon

2. large open Indian Savanna exhibit: Indian Rhinoceros, Blackbuck, Chital Deer, Sarus Crane & Banteng (with seperate spaces the smaller species could access)

3. aviary: Domestic Guinea-Pig, Burrowing Parakeet, Bronze-Winged Parrot & Long-Tailed Chinchilla

4. aviary: Luzon Bleeding-Heart Dove, Cockatoos (Salmon-Crested, Citron-Crested), Black-Capped Lory, Alexandrine Parakeet & Indian Star-Tortoise (adults)

5. largish Amazonian walkthrough-aviary: Cotton-Top Tamarin, Green Iguana & Argentine Black-&-White Tegu with Ruddy Ground-Dove, smaller South American parrots, Cuban Grassquit, Red-Crested Cardinal, South American finches/tanagers

6. terrarium: European Box-Turtle & Corn Snake

7. largish African walkthrough-aviary: Leopard Tortoise (adults) with smaller African parrots, doves, Chukar Partridge, waxbills & weavers

8. aviary: Thick-Billed Parrot & California Quail

 

[KevinB]

Would these mixes work?
1. terrarium: Madagascan Giant Day-Gecko & Panther Chameleon

2. large open Indian Savanna exhibit: Indian Rhinoceros, Blackbuck, Chital Deer, Sarus Crane & Banteng (with seperate spaces the smaller species could access)

3. aviary: Domestic Guinea-Pig, Burrowing Parakeet, Bronze-Winged Parrot & Long-Tailed Chinchilla

4. aviary: Luzon Bleeding-Heart Dove, Cockatoos (Salmon-Crested, Citron-Crested), Black-Capped Lory, Alexandrine Parakeet & Indian Star-Tortoise (adults)

5. largish Amazonian walkthrough-aviary: Cotton-Top Tamarin, Green Iguana & Argentine Black-&-White Tegu with Ruddy Ground-Dove, smaller South American parrots, Cuban Grassquit, Red-Crested Cardinal, South American finches/tanagers

6. terrarium: European Box-Turtle & Corn Snake

7. largish African walkthrough-aviary: Leopard Tortoise (adults) with smaller African parrots, doves, Chukar Partridge, waxbills & weavers

8. aviary: Thick-Billed Parrot & California Quail

1: If the terrarium is large enough certainly possible, there are zoos that have done this mix.

2: I would mix the deer and/or blackbuck with either the Indian rhinoceros or the banteng (or with access to both), but mixing banteng and Indian rhinoceros doesn't seem like a good idea. I would not put in the sarus cranes for risk of trampling, aside from the issue of flight restriction.

3: I would not mix chinchillas given their sensitivity for stress and their specific dietary needs.

4: The cockatoo (sub)species might hybridize. Bleeding heart-doves tend to be fairly shy and would likely be lorded over by the parrots. The tortoises' food would probably be ramsacked by the birds before they could get to it.

5: Iguanas and tegus can be mixed, I have seen iguanas mixed with tamarins also but I'm not sure whether I trust such a mix fully. Both tamarins and iguanas might prey on small birds and/or open nests. The mix of bird species does seem reasonable to me in a large enough aviary.

6: Do you mean Eastern box turtle? Europe has pond turtles, not box turtles.

7: Lovebirds are generally fairly vicious and Senegal parrots (not sure about other Poicephalus) can be aggressive and territorial, I would not mix them with songbirds. However the mix of tortoises, partridges and songbirds doesn't seem unreasonable to me. With mostly seed or insect-eating birds the tortoise food would likely be less of an issue than with birds that eat more fruit and vegetables.

8: Seems reasonable.

 

[Mr Gharial]

5. largish Amazonian walkthrough-aviary: Cotton-Top Tamarin, Green Iguana & Argentine Black-&-White Tegu with Ruddy Ground-Dove, smaller South American parrots, Cuban Grassquit, Red-Crested Cardinal, South American finches/tanagers

6. terrarium: European Box-Turtle & Corn Snake

5. Tegus are way more carnivorous than iguanas. The rest of them should work, but keep in mind the Tamarins would eat bird's eggs so the birds would either have to be non-breeding or have enough space away from the tamarins.

6. Eastern box turtles have been mixed with the likes of Rattlesnakes so Corn snakes should be perfectly safe. Though Corn snakes are a little more fragile so if anything, they're the ones at risk in this mix.

For the rest, I agree with KevinB

 

[Osedax]

Could a mix of Asiatic Black Bear and Chinese Pangolin work?

 

[15399]

Could a mix of Asiatic Black Bear and Chinese Pangolin work?

Why would you dare mix a critically-endangered, rare and difficult to breed in captivity small mammal in a mixed-species exhibit with bears, which could easily do significant harm to the pangolin?!

 

[Nile Hippo Expert]

Could a mix of Asiatic Black Bear and Chinese Pangolin work?

Oh absolutely not! The bears can very easily critically injure, or even kill the pangolins. It is almost like putting an animal in the same enclosure as a predator. Mixing any small animal species with bears is a horrible idea.

 

[15399]

Oh absolutely not! The bears can very easily critically injure, or even kill the pangolins. It is almost like putting an animal in the same enclosure as a predator. Mixing any small animal species with bears is a horrible idea.

I wouldn't say mixing "any" small animal with bears is a horrible idea. ASCO and sloth bear has been tried with some success, somewhere in Europe mixes some species of langurs with Asiatic black bears, and Zoo Sauvage has mixed arctic fox with polar bear for years now. I want to say there are some European zoos with some unique Andean bear and sun bear mixed species combinations as well, but don't quote me on that. Pangolins and bears, on the other hand *is* a horrible idea!

 

[Great Argus]

I want to say there are some European zoos with some unique Andean bear

I know coati has worked with Andean Bears, and I think squirrel monkeys have been done as well.

 

[Jambo]

Could a mix of Asiatic Black Bear and Chinese Pangolin work?

I wouldn't say mixing "any" small animal with bears is a horrible idea. ASCO and sloth bear has been tried with some success, somewhere in Europe mixes some species of langurs with Asiatic black bears, and Zoo Sauvage has mixed arctic fox with polar bear for years now. I want to say there are some European zoos with some unique Andean bear and sun bear mixed species combinations as well, but don't quote me on that. Pangolins and bears, on the other hand *is* a horrible idea!

Here's an interesting article from 2020 detailing mixed species exhibits with bears:

https://zoolex.org/media/uploads/2021/05/02/2020_svabik_mixed_bears.pdf

 

[Great Argus]

Here's an interesting article from 2020 detailing mixed species exhibits with bears:

https://zoolex.org/media/uploads/2021/05/02/2020_svabik_mixed_bears.pdf

I would just like to note that anyone looking to use this as reference should read the experiences part, not just what has been housed with what. There are a lot of animals documented as dying due to mixes with bears in that document. There is an author's note at the end stating that it is clear mixed attempts with bears should be done carefully as such groupings can very quickly turn lethal.