Questions about number of species currently kept in certain Zoos

StellarChaser

StellarChaser

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Does anyone know the number that how many kinds of animals these Zoos currently have?
Columbus Zoo (US)
Omaha Henry Doorly zoo
Bronx Zoo
Leipzig Zoo
Pairi Daiza


Thanks
 
I counted 458 species at Omaha in August. This is probably less than their actual number. Wikipedia claims the number is 962, and America's Top 100 Zoo and Aquariums lists the number as ~1400, which seems unlikely. @snowleopard where did you get that number?

I counted 481 species at Columbus in 2019. Their collection has probably gone up too since then, as they've opened up a new complex. America's Top 100 Zoo and Aquariums lists their species count as 585.

America's Top 100 Zoo and Aquariums lists Bronx's number as ~800.
 
birdsandbats said:
I counted 458 species at Omaha in August. This is probably less than their actual number. Wikipedia claims the number is 962, and America's Top 100 Zoo and Aquariums lists the number as ~1400, which seems unlikely. @snowleopard where did you get that number?

I counted 481 species at Columbus in 2019. Their collection has probably gone up too since then, as they've opened up a new complex. America's Top 100 Zoo and Aquariums lists their species count as 585.

America's Top 100 Zoo and Aquariums lists Bronx's number as ~800.
Click to expand...

For Omaha, I'd assume it's from the aquarium?
 
birdsandbats said:
I counted 458 species at Omaha in August. This is probably less than their actual number. Wikipedia claims the number is 962, and America's Top 100 Zoo and Aquariums lists the number as ~1400, which seems unlikely. @snowleopard where did you get that number?

I counted 481 species at Columbus in 2019. Their collection has probably gone up too since then, as they've opened up a new complex. America's Top 100 Zoo and Aquariums lists their species count as 585.

America's Top 100 Zoo and Aquariums lists Bronx's number as ~800.
Click to expand...

When compiling all the statistics for the book, Tim and I used two main sources. The first was the zoo itself and the second was the IZY (International Zoo Yearbook), and all those IZY numbers are collected from the zoos and aquariums of the world.

I am consistently astonished by the numbers given out by zoological facilities, as I know that many zoo nerds (myself included) make detailed lists of species and the numbers that the zoo nerds come up with are far below the actual totals. This is because there are vast numbers of animals (especially invertebrates) behind the scenes at many zoos. For example, Dallas Zoo has a huge reptile/amphibian collection not seen by the public, and the Omaha number (actually 1,300 species in the book) appears large but that's the number the zoo went with via their public relations worker. Shedd Aquarium is another example, as the facility always has between 1,400 and 1,500 species listed in various publications, but anyone compiling a list from a visit never reaches such high totals.
 
StellarChaser said:
@snowleopard Hi, sir, I am curious about your book, where can I buy it in Canada? I don't find it through Amazon or Chapters.
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If you are willing to pay a lot in postage, which has shot up since the pandemic began, then you can order the book via the IZES (Independent Zoo Enthusiasts Society) website. The book is 30 British pounds (approximately 50 Canadian dollars) plus almost that again in shipping costs. To pay around $90 Canadian for a book can seem outrageous to some individuals, but it is a hardcover with 368 pages of information and more than 700 colour photos. It's your decision. ;)

America's Top 100 Zoos & Aquariums
 
snowleopard said:
I am consistently astonished by the numbers given out by zoological facilities, as I know that many zoo nerds (myself included) make detailed lists of species and the numbers that the zoo nerds come up with are far below the actual totals. This is because there are vast numbers of animals (especially invertebrates) behind the scenes at many zoos.
Click to expand...
With smaller animals, in particular invertebrates, fish and rodents, it's actually relatively easy to boost the species number of your collection. If well organized, a single small room can easily hold hundreds of species. However, the show value for Average Joe zoo visitor is not always a given, and you need zookeepers and curators with the right passion and expertise to maintain such husbandries. Once these people leave the zoo and their successors are not on the same level, species numbers can quickly drop and whole species can be gone out of zoos for good.
Furthermore, species lists can quickly be out of date if you keep short-lived or quickly reproducing organismens.
 
I remember seeing a flatworm on the side of the freshwater tank in London Zoo's B.U.G.S. I wonder how many species, including parasites, are inadvertently kept at zoos.
 
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