Rare Animals in US AZA Facilities

Has anyone ever tried to put together a North American version of Zootierliste?

It would be an enormous undertaking.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Personally I usually define rare as anything with 5 or less zoos and very rare as one or two zoos. Anything more than 10 is not common, but also not really rare IMO.

Drill - Atlanta
Giant Panda - Atlanta, Memphis, National
Shoebill Stork - Tampa, Dallas World Aquarium
Mountain Tapir - Cheyanne, Los Angeles
Emperor Penguin - SeaWorld San Diego
Elephant Seal - Pittsburg (non-AZA)
Rough-toothed dolphin - Gulfworld, Clearwater Marine (both non-AZA)
Tiger Shark - Georgia Aquarium
Whale Shark - Georgia Aquarium
Great Hammerhead - Georgia Aquarium, SeaWorld Orlando, Adventure Aquarium
Scalloped Hammerhead - Monterey Bay, Point Defiance

Tyra - Wildlife World, several small private places (does anyone else hold tyra on display these days?)

I am pretty sure on most of those other than the sharks.
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I thought the San Diego Zoo Safari Park had shoebill storks.
 
King of Komodo Dragons said:
These are just a few, some of the zoos mentioned above have tons of rare species especially when you start getting into herps.
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Blackleopard207 said:
Rare to me is basically any animal that is held at 10 facilities or less.
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Under that definition, most herps in zoos would be rare. That group is much less homogeneous across zoo collections than mammals or birds.
 
Are slender-horned gazelle kept at under 10 US AZA facilities? I see that they are kept at the:
Bronx Zoo
Living Desert Zoo & Gardens
Fresno Chaffee Zoo
Naples Zoo
White Oak Conservation Center
Blank Park Zoo
Zoo Miami
 
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With National Zoo and Memphis Zoo sending their pandas back to China that will mean Zoo Atlanta will become the only facility to hold them in the US. Do any zoos have plans to start a giant panda program? Or is it just too expensive?
 
Blackleopard207 said:
Do any zoos have plans to start a giant panda program? Or is it just too expensive?
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I do not believe so. The most recent one that I know of was Columbus, but that did not happen for a number of reasons. Costs of the program are high for the zoos and the return is debatable. It also seems the AZA is broadly against the agreements that have to be made with China to make it happen. Complicating matters further is the current political climate with China.
 
From what I recall, the Javan Gibbon (Hylobates moloch) is found in only 3 facilities: Greensboro Science Center, Fort Wayne Childrens Zoo, and the Gibbon Conversation Center.

JVM said:
I think Cincinnati is currently the only remaining AZA holder of potto, but I may be completely wrong on this one.
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I believe Omaha had them back in 2017, but not sure if that is still the case.

King of Komodo Dragons said:
Fort Worth Zoo holds Red Wolf.
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Red Wolves are actually somewhat common in zoos, particularly in the Southeast. Redwolves.com lists at least 40 facilities where they are held. North Carolina alone displays them at 3 AZA facilities (NC, Durham, and Western NC Nature Center).
 
Red wolves definitely are more common on the east coast, but can be a more rare sighting for the west coast. Fresno Chaffee Zoo however does have a 1.1 pair (Cypress & Daisy) that they just welcomed recently.
 
Arabian oryx which can be found at San Diego Zoo Safari Park are a rare sight in AZA collections. The same goes for the Egyptian vulture.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Personally I usually define rare as anything with 5 or less zoos and very rare as one or two zoos. Anything more than 10 is not common, but also not really rare IMO.

Drill - Atlanta
Giant Panda - Atlanta, Memphis, National
Shoebill Stork - Tampa, Dallas World Aquarium
Mountain Tapir - Cheyanne, Los Angeles
Emperor Penguin - SeaWorld San Diego
Elephant Seal - Pittsburg (non-AZA)
Rough-toothed dolphin - Gulfworld, Clearwater Marine (both non-AZA)
Tiger Shark - Georgia Aquarium
Whale Shark - Georgia Aquarium
Great Hammerhead - Georgia Aquarium, SeaWorld Orlando, Adventure Aquarium
Scalloped Hammerhead - Monterey Bay, Point Defiance

Tyra - Wildlife World, several small private places (does anyone else hold tyra on display these days?)

I am pretty sure on most of those other than the sharks.
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Elephant Seal can usually be seen at rescue places on the west coast, like Alaska SeaLife. Assuming you meant tayra, there's 18 or so places with them.


Corangurilla said:
Cheyenne’s last mountain tapir passed away last year, so LA is the only US facility with them.
I think honey badgers are pretty rare. Only 4(?) zoos in the US keep them afaik.
  • San Diego Zoo
  • Naples Zoo
  • Tanganyika Wildlife Park
  • Living Treasures
  • Oklahoma City Zoo has them in their plans for their new African exhibit, but we’ll see if they actually follow through
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Double your number for ratel.

King of Komodo Dragons said:
Dallas Zoo holds the last Double-Eyed Fig Parrot outside of Australia, also have Perentie and Tuatara
Naples Zoo has the last White-Headed Lemur in the AZA,
San Antonio has quite a few rarities when it comes to birds and herps, a main one being their Psychedelic Rock Geckos. alonside Habu, Guam Rail, Micronesian Kingfisher
Miami, Gladys Porter, and Bronx are the last 3 holders of Indian Gaur
Miami also holds Brown Kiwi but currently only can be seen via a tour until a permanent habitat is constructed.
Fort Worth Zoo holds Red Wolf, Jararaca, Harpy Eagle, and if their new expansion keeps its promise will have African Leopards in the coming months.
St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoo are one of the few holders of Freshwater Crocodiles and the only holder I am aware of with Mugger Crocodile, Black Caiman, Hall's New Guinea Crocodile, and Desert Crocodile.

These are just a few, some of the zoos mentioned above have tons of rare species especially when you start getting into herps.
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There's gaur outside AZA, though still rare. 40+ holders of red wolf.

Neil chace said:
Roger Williams Park Zoo: Asiatic Black Bear, Giant Wood Rail, Blue-Throated Piping Guan

Capron Park Zoo: Blue-Winged Kookaburra

Buffalo Zoo: Gemsbok, Roan Antelope, Dumeril's Monitor, Black-Capped Squirrel Monkey

Rosamond Gifford Zoo: Thorold's White-Lipped Deer, Large Hairy Armadillo, Armenian Mouflon, a few bird species they have are on the rarer side as well

Utica Zoo: Transcapian Urial, Striped Hyena
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20+ with gemsbok.
 
TinoPup said:
Elephant Seal can usually be seen at rescue places on the west coast, like Alaska SeaLife. Assuming you meant tayra, there's 18 or so places with them.
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The thread OP said "AZA facilities", so I eliminated the very small non-AZA places and rescues with the exception of CMA. But it is nice to know that other places outside the AZA are holding things. Personally I think limiting any list to just AZA zoos is to narrow. Rescues are their own thing, but non-AZA and AZA should be included when discussing a rare creature separate from a facility.

20+ with gemsbok
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Yeah, those things are all over the place, especially (again) outside AZA zoos.
 
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