Mixed-Species exhibits with mammals in Central European Zoos

Bele

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
A fascinating long article in the latest edition of International Zoo News , number 367 ,gives details of a 64 mixed species exhibits , not all successful .

The front cover has a picture of a young rhesus monkey riding on a sloth bear in a successful mix at Leipzig Zoo .

Stuttgart mixes gelada with Barbary sheep and rock hyrax . The geladas ride on the sheep and milk them , low-ranking monkeys copulate with lambs .

Basel kept hippopotamus with Grant's zebra and ostrich , there is a picture of a zebra picking grass from the male hippo's open mouth ! This worked long-term with one exception - the zebra stallion was killed by the hippos .

Salzburg keeps pygmy hippos with sooty mangabeys , the monkeys ride on the pigs .

Heidelberg zoo keeps blackbuck and axis deer with its Asiatic elephants , the smaller animals have their own areas they can retire to .

Both Berlin and Leipzig keep red duiker with okapi .

Brown bear and wolves have been mixed in quite a few collections , not all without losses of wolves .
 
Bele said:
Stuttgart mixes gelada with Barbary sheep and rock hyrax . The geladas ride on the sheep and milk them , low-ranking monkeys copulate with lambs
now that just doesn't sound like a nice place to live in (for the sheep)
 
Thanks Pat , some fascinating photos , I don't understand Dutch so don't know what is being said either ! I think I have read elsewhere that white rhino have to be watched when there are new-borns of another species in a mixed exhibit . At Marwell the Grevy zebras have caused problems with newborn oryx in the shared paddock .

I liked the orang with otters , gorilla with spot-nosed monkey and sloth bear carrying monkeys .

I guess there is a fine line between mixed exhibits being enriching or stressful . Though this can be the case in mixing a number of specimens of the same species particularly if they are normally solitary .
 
I guess there is a fine line between mixed exhibits being enriching or stressful .

I'm not sure if I approve of some of these mixed exhibits where there are unnatural interactions(e.g. copulation attempts and riding;) ) between the species. But then zoos aren't natural situations.

I think there are often hidden tensions between mixed species which appear compatable, and which every so often erupt into aggression. You are right that Grevy Zebras will chase & attack Oryx calves, probably other species too.
 
Reg. Salzburg: little correction-should be Red River Hogs and Golden-bellied Mangabey. Wonder whether this combination still exists, as rumor has it that the mangabies should go...

Thanks for the link, PAT.
 
There are many cases of mixed exhibitis around the world and in Europe.
i was shocked to see that Orang's are exhibited with Gibbons in some zoo's
many small primates are exhibited togther.
i know for a fact that some of those exhibits are working great, atlist until the animals start to fight.
 
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