North Carolina Zoo North Carolina Zoo: Species List

nczoofan

nczoofan

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
This species list was as of February 2020. At the time the aviary was closed for small renovations, and several species were off exhibit for the winter. I will update once the aviary is reopened.

North America:
​
Streamside:

1. American alligator
2. American alligator
3. Empty for Winter (normally home to alligator-snapping turtle)
4. Mountain lion
5. Eastern-indigo snake
6. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Carolina gopher frog)
7. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Eastern tiger salamander)
8. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Eastern hognose)
9. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Eastern hognose)
10. Empty for Winter (Normally houses amphibians)
11. Empty for Winter (Normally houses amphibians)
12. Empty for Winter (Normally houses amphibians)
13. American alligator
14. Alligator-snapping turtle

Rocky Coast:

1. California sea lion, harbor seal
2. Peregrine falcon
3. Thick-billed murre, Parakeet auklet, Horned puffin
4. Polar bear
5. Arctic fox
6. Polar bear

Streamside:

Aquatic Building:
1. Hellbender (mixed with fish)
2. Hellbender (mixed with fish)
3. Largemouth bass, river cooter, longnose gar, redbreast sunfish, shortnose sturgeon, (other species of fish as well)
4. River Otter
5. River Otter

Terrestrial Building:
1. Barred Owl
2. Carolina pygmy rattlesnake
3. Eastern copperhead, Pine snake
4. Eastern-diamondback rattlesnake, Timber rattlesnake (empty today)
5. Eastern box turtle
6. Eastern rat snake
7. Eastern fence lizard
8. Cottonmouth
9. Spotted Turtle (empty today)
10. Bobcat

Rest of North America:

1. Black bear
2. Elk, American Bison
3. Grizzly bear (closed for renovations)
4. Red wolf

Desert:

1. Komodo Dragon
2. Pygmy Spiny-Tailed Skink
3. Burrowing Owl, Greater Roadrunner
4. Gorongosa Girdled Lizard, Pancake Tortoise, Giant Plated Lizard
5. Collared Lizard, Chuckwalla
6. Desert Tortoise
7. Free Flight: White-winged dove, House finch, White-headed buffalo weaver, Horned lark
8. Giant vinegaroon
9. Spiny-tailed monitor, Blue-tongued Skink
10. Laughing Kookaburra
11. Colorado River Toad
12. Cape porcupine
13. Ocelot (outdoor)
14. Ocelot (outdoor)
15. Desert tarantula
16. Desert Kingsnake
17. Western Hognose Snake
18. Long-nosed snake
19. Frilled Dragon
20. Western banded gecko
21. Desert pupfish
22. Colorado river toad
23. Arizona tiger salamander
24. Banded rock rattlesnake, black-tailed rattlesnake
25. Speckled rattlesnake
26. Desert hairy scorpion
27. Vampire bat
28. Beaded lizard, Gila Monster
29. Sand Cat
30. Sidewinder

Honey Bee Garden:
1. Honey bee (Apis mellifera)

Aviary: (closed today, species list from memory (past 3 visits), will revise once it reopens, species in aviary change regularly)

1. Chilean flamingo
2. Panamanian golden frog
3. Blue-poison dart frog, Green and black poison frog
4. Free-range aviary:
  • Crested-wood partridge
  • Victoria crowned pigeon
  • Scarlet ibis
  • Scarlet-face liocichla
  • Bali mynah
  • Sunbittern
  • Green woodhoopoe
  • Crested coua
  • Nicobar pigeon
  • White-faced whistling duck
  • Ringed Teal
  • Blue-crowned hanging parrot
  • Eclectus Parrot
  • Pekin robin
  • Blue-bellied roller
  • Rosybill pochard
  • Blue-naped mousebird
  • White-headed mousebird
  • African pygmy goose
  • Golden-crested myna
  • Masked lapwing
  • Asian fairy bluebird
  • Emerald starling
  • Yellow-footed tortoise
  • Red-footed tortoise

Africa:

1. Western-lowland gorilla
2. Ring-tailed lemur, Red-ruffed lemur
3. Chimpanzee
4. African Lion
5. Red river hog
6. Common Zebra, Giraffe, Ostrich
7. African elephant (2 exhibits)
8. White rhinoceros, Thomson’s gazelle, Addra gazelle, Waterbuck, Sitatunga, Greater Kudu, Fringe-eared oryx, Bongo (have not seen recently), Ostrich
9. Hamadryas Baboon
 
Species Totals (On Display Only):
Mammal: 34 species
Bird: 36 species (likely at least 10 species higher, but will be edited once aviary is reopened next week)
Reptile: 37 species
Amphibian: 6 species
 
Did the Desert exhibit always have species from around the world like sand cats and weaver birds, or is that a relatively new addition?
 
DavidBrown said:
Did the Desert exhibit always have species from around the world like sand cats and weaver birds, or is that a relatively new addition?
Click to expand...

Originally it was themed to the Sonoran Desert solely. This led to a bunch of really cool species being held, that were rarely kept in captivity. For example the zoo worked with wildlife rehabilitaters in that region, to acquire unreleasable birds.

A few years back though the zoo changed the name of the complex from Sonoran Desert to just “Desert”. This removed it from the North American section of the zoo, and its now like the nearby aviary a global exhibit. They never really announced this, as it was a rather slow transition. I imagine a large part of it was the flexibility the change allowed in collection planning, but also the fact that the zoo could work with more SSP species (hence the Sand Cat, Weaver Bird, Porcupine, kookaburra, and many of the lizard species).
 
nczoofan said:
Originally it was themed to the Sonoran Desert solely. This led to a bunch of really cool species being held, that were rarely kept in captivity. For example the zoo worked with wildlife rehabilitaters in that region, to acquire unreleasable birds.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the history. What were some of the unusual Sonoran desert species that the zoo had in the past?
 
DavidBrown said:
Thanks for the history. What were some of the unusual Sonoran desert species that the zoo had in the past?
Click to expand...

Not all these species were held at the same time but:
  • Black chinned hummingbird
  • Anna’s hummingbird
  • Giant hummingbird
  • Verdin
  • Gambel’s Quail
  • Lesser goldfinch
  • Gila woodpecker
  • Elf owl
  • Ringtail
  • Coati
  • Spotted Skunk
  • Skunk
  • Kangaroo rat (sp.)
  • Sonoran desert turtle
  • Desert iguana
  • Night snake
 
Last edited:
Ah, beat me to it.

Well, I last visited in October 2019 and was going to do my own list, but then things came up and I figured I'd wait until late spring anyway when all the Cypress Swamp animals are out and the current renovations were done (minus the Baboon). Thank you for putting this together.

A couple of things I want to add;
  • In Cypress Swamp, there is a small exhibit across from the first Alligator exhibit, lined with logs, that houses Gopher Tortoise and Florida Box Turtle (who seem to go off-exhibit for the winter by October).
  • For the desert, you left out Rock Hyrax and Ornate Uromastyx. Are these species no longer present?
  • The following fish are housed with the Hellbender (according to signage):
    • Bluehead Chub
    • Eastern Creek Chubsucker
    • Greenfin Shiner
    • Greenside Darter
    • Rosyside Dace
    • Spottail Shiner
    • Swallowtail Shiner
    • Yellowfin Shiner
  • For Africa, you left out Nile lechwe (was told by a Zoofari guide that they have 4 females).
  • The Kangaroo Rat you mentioned in a reply above were Merriam's Kangaroo Rat.
 
Astrotom3000 said:
Ah, beat me to it.

Well, I last visited in October 2019 and was going to do my own list, but then things came up and I figured I'd wait until late spring anyway when all the Cypress Swamp animals are out and the current renovations were done (minus the Baboon). Thank you for putting this together.

A couple of things I want to add;
  • In Cypress Swamp, there is a small exhibit across from the first Alligator exhibit, lined with logs, that houses Gopher Tortoise and Florida Box Turtle (who seem to go off-exhibit for the winter by October).
  • For the desert, you left out Rock Hyrax and Ornate Uromastyx. Are these species no longer present?
  • The following fish are housed with the Hellbender (according to signage):
    • Bluehead Chub
    • Eastern Creek Chubsucker
    • Greenfin Shiner
    • Greenside Darter
    • Rosyside Dace
    • Spottail Shiner
    • Swallowtail Shiner
    • Yellowfin Shiner
  • For Africa, you left out Nile lechwe (was told by a Zoofari guide that they have 4 females).
  • The Kangaroo Rat you mentioned in a reply above were Merriam's Kangaroo Rat.
Click to expand...

Thanks for adding the fish species.

I left off the Nile lechwe because I have not seen them in at least a year, to be honest. The rock hyrax signs were removed when I was at the zoo last month. I need to check on the uromastyx next time I go to the zoo.
 
Updates from my visit this week:
  • The baboons are off display for at least the next year.
Desert:
  • Exhibit 4: Ornate Uromastyx are in this exhibit (must have missed the sign last time).
  • Exhibit 5: Sonoran Box Turtle added
  • Exhibit 9: Unidentified Egernia species. Probably E. stokesii
  • In the desert, a previously empty exhibit is now occupied by blue-death feigning beetle.
Aviary: (Species I observed during my visit. Several more species are likely in the aviary.)
  1. Scarlet Ibis
  2. Sunbittern (building a nest currently)
  3. Crested Coua
  4. White-faced whistling duck
  5. Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot
  6. Red-capped Cardinal
  7. Nicobar pigeon
  8. Eclectus Parrot
  9. Purple Glossy Starling
  10. Scarlet-faced Liochichla
  11. Common Shama Thrush
  12. Blue-Grey Tanager
  13. Victoria-Crowned Pigeon
  14. Speckled Mousebird
  15. White-Headed Buffalo Weaver
  16. Ringed Teal
  17. African Pygmy Goose
  18. Green Woodhoopoe
  19. Forsten's Tortoise
  20. Bali Mynah
  21. White-Crested Laughingthrush
  22. Pekin Robin
  23. Crested Wood Partridge
  24. Inca Jay
 
Some December 2021 updates:

nczoofan said:
5. Eastern-indigo snake
6. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Carolina gopher frog)
7. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Eastern tiger salamander)
8. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Eastern hognose)
9. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Eastern hognose)
10. Empty for Winter (Normally houses amphibians)
11. Empty for Winter (Normally houses amphibians)
12. Empty for Winter (Normally houses amphibians)
Click to expand...

This rotunda was signed for the following small species during my visit (also winter): Eastern Indigo Snake, Eastern Hognose, Eastern Tiger Salamander, Southern Toad, and Carolina Gopher Frog.

nczoofan said:
Hellbender (mixed with fish)
Click to expand...

Fish: Spottail Shiner (Notropis hudsonius), Swallowtail Shiner (Notropis procne), Yellowfin Shiner (Notropis lutipinnis), Bluehead Chub (Nocomis leptocephalus), Creek Chubsucker (Erimyzon oblongus), Greenfin Shiner (Cyprinella chloristia), Greenside Darter (Etheostoma blenniodes), Rosyside Dace (Clinostomus funduloides)

nczoofan said:
1. California sea lion, harbor seal
2. Peregrine falcon
Click to expand...

The pinniped pool was only home to Harbor Seal when I visited, and the Peregrine Falcon exhibit is now home to North American Porcupine.

nczoofan said:
3. Largemouth bass, river cooter, longnose gar, redbreast sunfish, shortnose sturgeon, (other species of fish as well)
Click to expand...

Also saw signed: Redear Sunfish (Lepomis microlophus), Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus), and Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus). Thought I took photos of the other signage, but I guess I didn't; I believe those other species are still in there though (gar and sturgeon for sure).

nczoofan said:
1. Komodo Dragon
Click to expand...

Komodo is gone, now home to Mexican Beaded Lizards.

nczoofan said:
6. Desert Tortoise
Click to expand...

Also now has Hosmer's Skink and Ackies' Dwarf Monitor.

nczoofan said:
8. White rhinoceros, Thomson’s gazelle, Addra gazelle, Waterbuck, Sitatunga, Greater Kudu, Fringe-eared oryx, Bongo (have not seen recently), Ostrich
Click to expand...

Ostrich, Sitatunga, Kudu and Bongo not seen and I don't think are signed anymore (at the very least Ostrich and Bongo were not). No Nile Lechwe signed either.

nczoofan said:
7. Free Flight: White-winged dove, House finch, White-headed buffalo weaver, Horned lark
Click to expand...

Lark is gone, Buffalo Weaver was in with the roadrunner and burrowing owl. Black-faced Finch is a new addition but I didn't see any.

nczoofan said:
15. Desert tarantula
16. Desert Kingsnake
17. Western Hognose Snake
18. Long-nosed snake
19. Frilled Dragon
20. Western banded gecko
21. Desert pupfish
22. Colorado river toad
23. Arizona tiger salamander
24. Banded rock rattlesnake, black-tailed rattlesnake
25. Speckled rattlesnake
26. Desert hairy scorpion
Click to expand...

I didn't keep close track of these exhibits, but I don't remember seeing Frilled Lizard over there. I'm also missing signage for Black-tailed Rattlesnake and the scorpion is now a Diplocentrus species. All of the others were definitely present.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
I don't know, but it's a pretty small exhibit. Was it a juvenile that may have gotten too large?
Click to expand...
It is a small exhibit...I am not sure, the last previous time I was at the NC Zoo was the late 90s....so it was a while between visits!
 
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