Predation of Wild Animals by Captive Zoo Animals

birdsandbats

birdsandbats

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
What examples have you seen of predation of wild animals by captive zoo animals? When I was at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday, I saw a mostly eaten Wild Turkey in the Coyote enclosure, prompting me to think about this. This wasn't even the first example of something like this occurring with this particular Coyote I have seen, as I saw it take a gray squirrel last year.

Many years ago I saw Mexican Wolves at Minnesota take down a Wild Turkey that had flown into the enclosure.

I once saw a Tiger at DeYoung leap up quite a ways into the air to grab a Rock Pigeon.

Dead, half-eaten House Sparrows are a common sight for me in the badger enclosure at the NEW Zoo.

I also once saw a wood-rail catch and eat a House Mouse in the aviary at Henry Vilas. It was quite the surprise to learn that they took prey like that at all! :eek:
 
Last year, I watched as the four Sumatran tigers at London Zoo chased, caught and killed a woodpigeon. It initially escaped the first pounce of one of the tigers but, unluckily for it, it tried to escape through the netting separating the two tiger enclosures and I think may have damaged itself in the process.

Cannot think of any other example, except maybe things catching insects. I did once see one of the cheetahs at Colchester Zoo chase a magpie, but it escaped pretty easily.
 
The killer whales at SeaWorld San Diego have learned how to hunt wild birds such as seagulls and egrets that sit near their tank which is quite interesting to see! A whale will grab a fish and spit it out on the edge of it's tank and then wait. As soon as one of the birds comes to grab it the whale will jump of the water and snatch the bird. Then the orca will bring the bird to the rest of the pod and they will all share it together. It is quite the amazing sight to see!

Video of a hunt by Ikaika and Orkid in 2012:
 
Have seen evidence of wild kills in wolverines and wolves more often than other animals - the previous wolf pack at CWP had a few.

In the U.K, as zoos feed whole prey or parts with fur and feathers, you have to be careful you aren’t attributing their lunch to a wild kill though.

I’ve seen the lions at Whipsnade (the old full time pride) eating what remained of pigeons and the tiger at Linton chasing them. Conversely I’ve seen magpies sitting right next to the Whipsnade tigers who never looked like they could be bothered. There are rabbits to be seen wandering around in the polar bear enclosure at YWP - never seen a bear eating one but I can’t think it’s a safe spot for a warren.

In terms of what animals have definitely been killed by zoo animals, I can’t think of any zoo providing squirrels as food, so they are probably always valid as wild when seen.

I snapped a corsac fox at Hamerton taking what I think was a young sparrow, just before closing on an incredibly wet day in June a couple of years ago. It’s not a great angle bird wise but you can see the sparrow in the grass and after some jumping around and pouncing the bird was eventually eaten.

Hamjune22corsac.jpg

The female lynx at Beale apparently took down a red kite which is pretty impressive.
 

Attachments

  • Hamjune22corsac.jpg
    Hamjune22corsac.jpg
    199.3 KB · Views: 122
Mary the Sun Bear at Taronga has eaten several wild brush turkeys, as well as one of the zoo's free-range peacocks. I know that the meerkats at Taronga have caught Indian Mynahs, and those at Taronga Western Plains occasionally kill and eat magpies. Taronga's tigers once had a pair of kookaburras find their way into their netted "Figtree" exhibit. Didn't end well for the birds!
 
I have seen a raptor - unfortunately I don't remember the species, because this happened when I was a pretty small kid - catch and eat a pigeon that got into its aviary.

I have seen a squirrel monkey chewing up a wild native butterfly it caught.

I once saw the remains of a dead heron in a bear exhibit. Not sure whether the bears actually killed it, but they did consume some of it.
 
I’m not sure if this counts since the prey in question later got freed alive but I saw a white throated capuchin get hold of a broad headed skink at Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo.
 
Now it’s possible it was live food, but there are mice running loose in Franklin Park Zoo’s Tropical Forest, and on at least three occasions, I have seen a dead one hanging out of an African pygmy falcon’s beak. I guess one needs to entertain themselves in the worst exhibit at an otherwise decent zoo.

But I might be wrong, because I saw a kookaburra eating a dead white mouse there too.

I’ve seen some dead birds in exhibits before.
 
Last edited:
NNM. said:
Now it’s possible it was live food, but there are mice running loose in Franklin Park Zoo’s Tropical Forest, and on at least three occasions, I have seen a dead one hanging out of an African pygmy falcon’s beak. I guess one needs to entertain themselves in the worst exhibit at an otherwise decent zoo.

But I might be wrong, because I saw a kookaburra eating a dead white mouse there too.

I’ve seen some dead birds in exhibits before.
Click to expand...
Live mice are not offered as food to zoo animals, I guarantee the ones in the Tropical Forest as you describe are wild mice.

The white mouse fed to the kookaburra probably would have been a feeder mouse given to the bird in that state.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top