Random mixing experiments!

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Al

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15+ year member
I know im starting another thread about mixed species exhibits but as we all know most zoos tend to create mixed species exhibits with species from the same countries or continents. I was wodering what unusual mixes people have seen or would like to see if country of origin was not an issue. For example is there any reason spider monkeys could not be kept with orangs? I myself like exhibits or areas of zoos geographical but always like seeing the unusual! :)
 
Last time i visited South Lakes they had a walkthrough aviary which contained;

Vulture,
Condor,
Macaws,
and Wallabies......

Beat that!!!
 
At Jo'burg Zoo I saw single individuals of ruffed lemur, red-necked wallaby and ring-necked pheasant together. If only they could have got something in from the Americas...
 
I don't know if it's still true, but some years ago the Cape May County Zoo (New Jersey, USA) had one large grassy exhibit that included American bison with giraffe and zebra.
 
Quite unusual mix could be seen in 70es in Prague zoo where Sable antelopes (small breeding herd) and Malayan Tapir were living together for some years, in a rather small enclosure. According to staff without any problem.
 
i would love to see photos of all these. At Belfast we have ruffed and red bellied lemurs mixed with southern pudu and parma wallaby with a group of agoutis moving in soon!
 
Bird Kingdom of Niagara Falls, Ontario has a huge free-flight aviary (and a smaller and a smaller one with finches, etc) of combined species from different continents. For example, Macaws are kept with the Silver-cheeked Hornbill, toucans, Scarlet Ibis, Turacos, etc. I have some pics here:

Wild Life - a set on Flickr
 
Longleat has White Rhino, Scimitar Horned Oryx and Ankole Cattle sharing with Bactrian Camel and Pere David's Deer in one reserve.
 
If country of origin wasn't an issue, here's some combinations I think would be neat:

Elk/Kudu/Nyala/Bongo/Zebra/Giraffe

Tahr/Bighorn Sheep

Blackbuck/Impala/White tailed Deer

Moose/Waterbuck/Lechwe/Guar/Cape Buffalo

Pudu/Dik-Dik/Duiker/Muntjak

For a prehistoric mix, Bison/Muskox/Asian Elephant (to represent the mastodon/mammoth)/Pronghorn/Przewalski's Horse (to represent the horse at that time)/camel/some kind of rhino to represent the Woolly Rhino

Mixed ratite exhibit, with Ostrich/Emu/Rhea/Casswary
 
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-Frankfurt had their okapi mixed with giraffes.
-Disney has Sika Deer with Red Kangaroos
-Singapore Zoo seems to have an odd mix of aquatic animals: manatee, sea lion, penguins...is that correct?
 
@okapikpr: you are correct about the Singapore Zoo mixed species exhibit, and there are even shows for the public at that set of tanks.
 
At Jo'burg Zoo I saw single individuals of ruffed lemur, red-necked wallaby and ring-necked pheasant together. If only they could have got something in from the Americas...

Is it me or all these animals related with the colour red?

at Longleat they have sealions and hippos together

and llamas with giraffes!
 
-Singapore Zoo seems to have an odd mix of aquatic animals: manatee, sea lion, penguins...is that correct?

And a pair of pelicans also ;)

Singapore Zoo's Fragile Forest mixes lemurs, tree kangaroos, sloth, tamandua, mousedeer, blue duiker, flying foxes, green iguanas, crowned pigeons, parrots, whistling ducks and several butterfly species together in a single walk-thru "bio-dome" under a generic rainforest theme.
 
And a pair of pelicans also ;)

how did i forget the pelicans!

im sure there are more unsual ones at longleat...

sacred ibis and chilean flamingos? theyre from different places???

camels and rhinos (completly different habitat)
 
I believe in Port Lymne's 'African Experience' area there are a number of (surplus) asian deer/antelope herds sharing the 'savanah' with the African species..
 
Knowsley
Common Rhea and Pere David Deer
Bongo with Asian Deer, Junglefowl and Antelope
Rhino, Eland, Buffalo and Ostrich share with Bison, Camels and Llamas
 
I believe in Port Lymne's 'African Experience' area there are a number of (surplus) asian deer/antelope herds sharing the 'savanah' with the African species..

Port Lymne's 'African Experience': yes, this is a paddock of around 50 hectares with Black rhinos (two males only), Giraffes, Red lechwes, Elands, Waterbucks, Wildebeests, Sitatungas, Ostriches, Zebras, Roans and Kudus. Plus Barasinghas, Axis deers, Hog deers, Nilghais, Water buffalo bull and Blackbucks.
 
There were some mixing with African and Asian Elephants at Berlin Zoo, Rostock Zoo, Cologne Zoo, Wuppertal Zoo ….

Pygmy hippo & Pudu at London Zoo
Malayan tapir & Pudu at London Zoo
American bison & Przewalsaki’s wild horse at Monarto Zoological Park
North indian muntjak & Chaco pampas deer & West African bushbuck at San Diego Zoo
Axis deer & Fallow deer & White-tailed deer & Blackbuck & Addax & Sable antelope & Ellipsen Waterbuck & Gemsbok at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
Addax & Russian saiga at San Diego Zoo
Babirusa & Alpaca at Twycross Zoo
Babirusa & Patagonian cavy at Twycross Zoo (one babirusa ate a newborn Patagonian cavy)
Greater kudu & Guanaco & Rhea at Marwell Zoo
Forest buffalo & Parma wallaby at Twycross Zoo
Malayan tapir & Patagonian cavy at Twycross Zoo
Dromedar & Patagonian cavy
Chinese water deer & Patagonian cavy & Kori bustard & Cape barren goose at Wuppertal Zoo
Bactrian camel & Capybara at Hannover Zoo
Ameican black bear & Asiatic black bear & Brown bear & Polar bear at Zoo Osnabruck
Barbary sheep & Common walleroo & Ostrich at Ebeltoft Familiepark
Barbary sheep & Barbary ape & Oriental small-clawed otter
Red-necked wallaby & Red kangaroo & Patagonian cavy at Zoo de la Palmyre
Common tree shrew & Pygmy armadillo at Zoo Halle
European otter & Red fox & Striped skunk & Raccoon at St. Felicien Zoo
Red panda & Short-beaked echidna at Paignton Zoo
Patagonian cavy & Bobac marmot at Zoo Amersfoort
Prairie dog & Red-necked wallaby at Zoo Nürnberg
Black-handed spider monkey & Ring-tailed lemur at Zoo Karlsruhe
Lesser mouse deer & Grey mouse lemur at Burger’s Zoo
White-handed gibbon & African porcupine at Zoo Saarbrücken
Nort American porcupine & African porcupine at Berlin - Friedrichsfeld

Certainly many of them don’t exist currently …
But there are many further examples ….
 
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