New Zealand Species Held Overseas

zooboy28

zooboy28

Well-Known Member
What endemic species of NZ fauna are held in zoos outside of NZ (probably just Australia, Europe and America)? This excludes species also found in other countries, e.g. White-faced Heron. I have made the initial list mostly from Zootierliste and ZooChat, so could definitely be missing some North American holdings. If you know of any other species, or other zoos holding listed species, please post below.

* denotes taxa that aren't definitely pure NZ taxa, i.e. chance they are hybrid with Australian subspecies.

Mammals:
None

Birds:
-North Island Brown Kiwi (Berlin, Walsrode, Frankfurt, Antwerp, Vogelpark Avifauna, San Diego Zoo, National Aviary, National Zoo, Columbus, Osaka)
-Paradise Shelduck (34 European zoos, Gorge Wildlife Park, ? American Zoos)
-Blue Duck (Arundel)
-NZ Shoveller* (19 European zoos, ? American zoos)
-NZ Grey Duck* (Cottbus, Marlow, Moskow, Santillana)
-Brown Teal (Slimbridge, Blackbrook)
-NZ Scaup (20 European zoos, Gorge Wildlife Park)
-Fiordland Crested Penguin (Taronga)
-Kea (45 European zoos, 7 American zoos)
-North Island Kaka (Stuttgart)
-Red-crowned Parakeet (55 European zoos)
-Yellow-crowned Parakeet (16 European zoos)

Reptiles:
-Northern Tuatara (Taronga, Chester, Berlin, Dallas, St Louis, Toledo)
-Brother's Island Tuatara (San Diego)
-Green Tree Gecko (Prague, Fresno?)
-Northland Green Gecko (Fort Worth)

Amphibians:
None

Fish:
?

Invertebrates:
-Poor Knights Giant Weta (London, Bristol)
 
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There are keas in San Diego Zoo, Denver Zoo, Franklin Park Zoo (Boston), and Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle) in the U.S.
 
zooboy28 said:
Reptiles:
-Tuatara (Taronga, Chester, Berlin, San Diego)
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For further accuracy: all of the above bar San Diego hold Sphenodon punctatus, the Northern Tuatara. This species is also, I believe, held by Dallas, St. Louis and Toledo.

San Diego holds the Brothers Island tuatara, Sphenodon guntheri.
 
Fresno Chaffee Zoo has (had?) New Zealand Green Gecko (Naultinus elegans)
 
Fort Worth Zoo has Naultinus grayii. There are more Naultinus and other obscure NZ geckos/lizards in the private sector (Reptile Hobby) than in captive institutions. For an avid Herp Enthusiast like myself, the Terraristika Hamm Show is Heaven, better than any Zoo Collection for Reptiles.
 
Gulo gulo said:
Fort Worth Zoo has Naultinus grayii. There are more Naultinus and other obscure NZ geckos/lizards in the private sector (Reptile Hobby) than in captive institutions. For an avid Herp Enthusiast like myself, the Terraristika Hamm Show is Heaven, better than any Zoo Collection for Reptiles.
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a supporter of smuggling and keeping illegally-obtained reptiles are you?
 
In addition to those already mentioned, the Cincinnati Zoo has a flock of kea, the largest outside of New Zealand, and the Columbus Zoo has North Island brown kiwis.
 
Chlidonias said:
I'll just drop this in here for you zooboy28 (the responses were a bit slow, because there weren't as many members on the forum back then) and come back later with some more info for your list when I've got time.
http://www.zoochat.com/2/new-zealand-animals-overseas-zoos-8578/
Click to expand...

Cheers for the link Chlidonias, I thought there was a thread like this somewhere, but didn't think to search GZD. :o

I have got all species from that list on this list, except weka, which I can't find any info on.
 
zooboy28 said:
Cheers for the link Chlidonias, I thought there was a thread like this somewhere, but didn't think to search GZD. :o

I have got all species from that list on this list, except weka, which I can't find any info on.
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I think the reason for that was that at the time I made that thread there weren't many overseas members visiting the NZ forum so the General bit seemed best. It took me a while to find it again (I had been looking in the NZ section myself) and only found it with some judicious search words.

The following is really just to add some notes to what you already have.

zooboy28 said:
Mammals:
None

Birds:
-North Island Brown Kiwi (Berlin, Walsrode, Frankfurt, Antwerp, Vogelpark Avifauna, San Diego Zoo, National Aviary, National Zoo, Columbus)
-Paradise Shelduck (34 European zoos, Gorge Wildlife Park, ? American Zoos)
-Blue Duck (Arundel)
-NZ Shoveller* (19 European zoos, ? American zoos)
-NZ Grey Duck* (Cottbus, Marlow, Moskow, Santillana)
-Brown Teal (Slimbridge, Blackbrook)
-NZ Scaup (20 European zoos, Gorge Wildlife Park)
-Fiordland Crested Penguin (Taronga)
-Kea (45 European zoos, 7 American zoos)
-North Island Kaka (Stuttgart)
-Red-crowned Parakeet (55 European zoos)
-Yellow-crowned Parakeet (16 European zoos)
Click to expand...
*North Island brown kiwi at the places you mention, plus Osaka, and are they still at the Bronx, LA and Chicago anyone?
*all the native and endemic ducks are common in private aviculture and zoos overseas except blue duck (down to one individual at Arundel) and Auckland and Campbell Island teal (none of either).
*Fiordland crested penguin down to one individual at Taronga (I haven't been able to find out if that other one at the rescue place in South Australia got released or not).
*Kea are relatively common in zoos and private aviculture.
*North Island kaka down to one individual at Stuttgart (derived from captive-bred birds sent to Stuttgart by Auckland Zoo in the 1980s).
*Red-crowned and yellow-crowned kakariki are very very common in private aviculture overseas, but there are probably no pure birds of either due to extensive hybridisation (so only birds that look more like one or the other).

*Weka used to be found in a number of overseas zoos in America and Europe. I remember when Orana got its first white rhinos from San Diego (a long time ago) they sent over 20 buff weka in exchange. There don't appear to any left outside NZ now. They actually aren't particularly easy to breed in captivity.
*Morepork (as opposed to boobook) also used to be in some overseas collections but I don't think there are any left now?

zooboy28 said:
Reptiles:
-Northern Tuatara (Taronga, Chester, Berlin, Dallas, St Louis, Toledo)
-Brother's Island Tuatara (San Diego)
-Green Tree Gecko (Prague, Fresno?)
-Northland Green Gecko (Fort Worth)

Amphibians:
None
Click to expand...
*Common tuatara (all Cook Strait provenance) at Taronga, Chester, Berlin, Dallas, St. Louis, Toledo.
*Brothers Islands tuatara at San Diego.
*Apart for those two Naultinus geckoes I won't mention lizards or I'll just start up again about the ******* pieces of **** who support smuggling. Theoretically there should be loads of common and copper skinks and common and forest geckoes in private hands overseas as those four species were unprotected until 1996 and were legally exported in large numbers (especially to Germany) as a cover for smuggling of the protected species.

*No frogs legally outside NZ but I wouldn't register even one molecule of surprise if they were being kept illegally as well.

zooboy28 said:
Fish:
?

Invertebrates:
-Poor Knights Giant Weta (London, Bristol)
Click to expand...
all of the native freshwater fish can be exported, and a lot of galaxiids have been sent overseas over the years, especially to Germany (big fish-keepers there), in particular inanga and the various kokopu species. I don't know any specifics though. I doubt there are any on public display.

Same for invertebrates, very few of the native species are protected (mainly the big ones who might be targets of collectors, or particularly endangered ones), and they can be easily exported legally. Things like peripatus used to be commonly exported, and tree weta as well. Deinacrida fallai and (I think) D. heteracantha are the only ones I've heard about actually displayed in zoos though (although I suspect the NZ stick insects are sometimes in zoos in the UK?)
 
The last kiwi at LA Zoo died at least 10 years ago. It was allegedly there when I started regularly visiting the zoo in 1997, but I never saw it.

The Bronx Zoo has no kiwis. They were gone sometime prior to 2005 when I visited the zoo.
 
Chlidonias said:
Same for invertebrates, very few of the native species are protected (mainly the big ones who might be targets of collectors, or particularly endangered ones), and they can be easily exported legally. Things like peripatus used to be commonly exported, and tree weta as well. Deinacrida fallai and (I think) D. heteracantha are the only ones I've heard about actually displayed in zoos though (although I suspect the NZ stick insects are sometimes in zoos in the UK?)
Click to expand...

I've kept both New Zealand Peripatus and tree weta (Hemideina crassidens) myself. Very nice animals, though keeping the Peripatus cool enough is often a struggle.
 
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