NNM.
Well-Known Member
It’s always the worst ones that have the happiest names.
Snowleopard's Mammals: A Lifetime List of Species Mammalian and Non-Mammalian
- Thread starter snowleopard
- Start date
Glad this thread is coming back!
I have seen capybaras at many zoos, and I can also say I'm lucky enough to have seen them in the wild! Unfortunately, I didn't see them in the best conditions, though, as many venture into polluted waters here in Rio de Janeiro...
Despite mixed savanna enclosures not being common in Brazilian zoos, capies are commonly displayed alongside many different species. I have seen them mixed with collared peccaries, giant anteaters, greater rheas, grey brocket deer, lowland paca and lowland tapirs.
I have seen capybaras at many zoos, and I can also say I'm lucky enough to have seen them in the wild! Unfortunately, I didn't see them in the best conditions, though, as many venture into polluted waters here in Rio de Janeiro...
Despite mixed savanna enclosures not being common in Brazilian zoos, capies are commonly displayed alongside many different species. I have seen them mixed with collared peccaries, giant anteaters, greater rheas, grey brocket deer, lowland paca and lowland tapirs.
Yesterday I reignited this thread with the news that I'd seen Capybaras at 111 zoos and today I will discuss Maras, a close relative. I will NOT be doing all the rodents, because too many of my earlier reviews didn't have exhaustive species lists and so unless I'm 95% accurate then I've steered clear of all the mice and rats of the world. In fact, I'll finish off rodents today and if you remember I did cover a number of rodent species earlier. It's just too difficult to figure out every type of mouse, hamster, gerbil and rat that I saw at zoos many moons ago, not to mention the loads of squirrels I've come across over the years. For instance, I saw a dozen or so different squirrel species at a single zoo in the Netherlands in 2019, which I believe is now closed.
I've seen Maras at 95 zoos:
2018 = 16 zoos (northern USA)
2019 = 24 zoos (Europe)
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park – Mara – 1975
2- Perth Zoo (Australia) – Mara – 1987
3- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Mara – 1998
4- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2006
5- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Mara – 2006
6- Adelaide Zoo (Australia) – Mara – 2007
7- Lincoln Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2008
8- Central Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2008
9- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2008
10- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Mara – 2008
11- Binder Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
12- Roger Williams Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
13- Philadelphia Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
14- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
15- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
16- El Paso Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
17- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
18- Zoo Boise (USA) – Mara – 2010
19- Charles Paddock Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2011
20- Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Mara – 2011
21- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2012
22- Erie Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2012
23- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2012
24- Tautphaus Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2012
25- Hemker Park & Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2014
26- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Mara – 2014
27- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Mara – 2014
28- Grant’s Farm (USA) – Mara – 2014
29- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2014
30- Frank Buck Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
31- Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Mara – 2015
32- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
33- Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
34- Abilene Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
35- Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
36- Out of Africa (USA) – Mara – 2015
37- Sierra Safari Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
38- Sequoia Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
39- Monterey Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2017
40- Kangaroo Creek Farm (USA) – Mara – 2018
41- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Mara – 2018
42- Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
43- GarLyn Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
44- Roscommon Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
45- Toledo Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
46- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Mara – 2018
47- Washington Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
48- Summerfield Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
49- Animal Gardens Petting Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
50- Jo-Don Farms (USA) – Mara – 2018
51- Bear Den Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
52- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
53- Menominee Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
54- Animal Haven Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
55- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
56- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
57- Landgoed Hoenderdaell (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
58- Van Blanckendaell Park (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
59- Familiepark Plaswijckpark (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
60- Maubeuge Zoo (France) – Mara – 2019
61- Harry Malter Familiepark (Belgium) – Mara – 2019
62- Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) – Mara – 2019
63- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Mara – 2019
64- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Mara – 2019
65- Aachener Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
66- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
67- Solinger Vogel-und Tierpark (Bird and Animal Park) (Germany) – Mara – 2019
68- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
69- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
70- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
71- Tiergarten Monchengladbach (Germany) – Mara – 2019
72- De Bosruiter (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
73- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – Mara – 2019
74- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
75- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Mara – 2019
76- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Mara – 2019
77- NaturZoo Rheine (Germany) – Mara – 2019
78- Nordhorn Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
79- Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
80- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – Mara – 2022
81- Aalborg Zoo (Denmark) – Mara – 2022
82- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Mara – 2022
83- Kobenhavn Zoo/Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Mara – 2022
84- Wildlife Images Rehabilitation and Education Center (USA) – Mara – 2023
85- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand) – Mara – 2024
86- Lanna Mini Zoo (Thailand) – Mara – 2024
87- Lost World of Tambun (Malaysia) – Mara – 2024
88- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – Mara – 2024
89- River Wonders (Singapore) – Mara – 2024
90- Bird Paradise (Singapore) – Mara – 2024
91- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) – Mara – 2024
92- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Mara – 2024
93- Royal Safari Garden Resort (Indonesia) – Mara – 2024
94- Faunaland Ancol (Indonesia) – Mara – 2024
95- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2025
AND...
I've seen Chacoan Maras at 6 zoos:
1- Zoo Neuwied (Germany) – Chacoan Mara – 2019
2- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Chacoan Mara – 2019
3- BestZOO (Netherlands) – Chacoan Mara – 2019
4- Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands) – Chacoan Mara – 2019
5- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Chacoan Mara – 2019
6- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – Chacoan Mara – 2024
Here's a substantial space for Maras and Capybaras at Philadelphia Zoo (USA) in 2010, directly next to the parking lot.
Utah's Hogle Zoo (USA) had Maras entirely indoors in 2010, alongside a few species of bird.
So many low-budget, poor-quality U.S. zoos have corn-crib cages that are rarely ever decent zoo exhibits. When it rains, the sound on the metal roof is deafening. There's no space. These types of enclosures are awful 99% of the time and yet soon after I took this photo at Menominee Park Zoo (USA), the Maras were replaced by two Bobcats!
Summerfield Zoo's (USA) amazing Mara exhibit...my photo shows the whole thing.
Maras at Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA):
A big South American dustbowl at Abilene Zoo (USA), with Maras, Guanacos and Rheas.
A really small space for Maras was at Toledo Zoo (USA) in 2018 within the kiddie zoo area and obviously designed for a climbing mammal.
When I toured Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) in 2018, I saw some Maras in with Giant Wood Rails and Chestnut-mandibled Toucans.
Monterey Zoo (USA) had Maras mixed with Red Kangaroos, Red-necked Wallabies and Reeves's Muntjacs in 2023. That's quite the combination!
European zoos LOVE Maras to such an extent that I became bored seeing them on my big 2019 trip. Maras are everywhere and anywhere there, even free-roaming at some zoos. Here's one with a blue tag in its ear at Planckendael Zoo (Belgium).
@KevinB
Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) not only has free-ranging Capybaras, but Maras as well. It's an incredible sight that I'm not sure is duplicated in a single zoo in America. Large rodents mixing with the public in a U.S. establishment would be a lawsuit waiting to happen.
@JigerofLemuria
At least 20 Maras are at Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand), in a covered enclosure.
The Lost World of Tambun (Malaysia) has Maras and Capybaras in a walk-through exhibit, and technically there's also underwater viewing for the Capybaras here via the pool at the back of the enclosure.
Zoo Negara (Malaysia) has Maras behind glass and in an enclosed space. Surely this was an exhibit for a different species at one time.
As for Chacoan Maras, I'd never seen the species before I set forth on a huge European zoo trek in the summer of 2019. Zoo Neuwied (Germany), a mid-sized facility, had the animals inside their brand-new South American House and the critters were labeled as 'Dwarf Maras'.
Here's their exhibit at Neuwied:
Berlin Tierpark (Germany) has a curious little house for Chacoan Maras, not on the zoo's map and sort of randomly located in a wooded area. I took this photo in 2019, and I still think that the maras here do not have an outdoor exhibit attached to the building.
Skip the small Children's Zoo zone at Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) at your peril, because this exhibit mixes Chacoan Maras and Dusky Pademelons. Two zoo nerd rarities!
Rodents: 23 species (that's all folks - but I've obviously seen FAR more)
Prairie Dog - 116 zoos
Capybara - 111 zoos
Mara - 95 zoos
North American Porcupine - 78 zoos
African Crested Porcupine - 74 zoos (and some of those will be Cape Porcupines)
Naked Mole-Rat - 37 zoos
Prehensile-tailed Porcupine - 37 zoos
North American Beaver - 35 zoos
Indian Crested Porcupine - 34 zoos
Nutria - 24 zoos
Woodchuck - 18 zoos
Lowland Paca - 11 zoos
Malayan Porcupine - 11 zoos
Chacoan Mara - 6 zoos
Eurasian Beaver - 6 zoos
Damaraland Mole-Rat - 5 zoos
Sunda Porcupine - 5 zoos
African Brush-tailed Porcupine - 4 zoos
Asian Brush-tailed Porcupine - 3 zoos
Cape Porcupine - 3 zoos (and likely many more that have been mislabeled in zoos)
Ansell's Mole-Rat - 1 zoo
Mechow's Mole-Rat - 1 zoo
Zambian Mole-Rat - 1 zoo
I've seen Maras at 95 zoos:
2018 = 16 zoos (northern USA)
2019 = 24 zoos (Europe)
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park – Mara – 1975
2- Perth Zoo (Australia) – Mara – 1987
3- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Mara – 1998
4- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2006
5- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Mara – 2006
6- Adelaide Zoo (Australia) – Mara – 2007
7- Lincoln Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2008
8- Central Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2008
9- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2008
10- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Mara – 2008
11- Binder Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
12- Roger Williams Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
13- Philadelphia Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
14- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
15- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
16- El Paso Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
17- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2010
18- Zoo Boise (USA) – Mara – 2010
19- Charles Paddock Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2011
20- Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Mara – 2011
21- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2012
22- Erie Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2012
23- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2012
24- Tautphaus Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2012
25- Hemker Park & Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2014
26- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Mara – 2014
27- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Mara – 2014
28- Grant’s Farm (USA) – Mara – 2014
29- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2014
30- Frank Buck Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
31- Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Mara – 2015
32- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
33- Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
34- Abilene Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
35- Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
36- Out of Africa (USA) – Mara – 2015
37- Sierra Safari Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
38- Sequoia Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2015
39- Monterey Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2017
40- Kangaroo Creek Farm (USA) – Mara – 2018
41- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Mara – 2018
42- Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
43- GarLyn Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
44- Roscommon Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
45- Toledo Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
46- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Mara – 2018
47- Washington Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
48- Summerfield Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
49- Animal Gardens Petting Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
50- Jo-Don Farms (USA) – Mara – 2018
51- Bear Den Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
52- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
53- Menominee Park Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
54- Animal Haven Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
55- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2018
56- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
57- Landgoed Hoenderdaell (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
58- Van Blanckendaell Park (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
59- Familiepark Plaswijckpark (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
60- Maubeuge Zoo (France) – Mara – 2019
61- Harry Malter Familiepark (Belgium) – Mara – 2019
62- Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) – Mara – 2019
63- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Mara – 2019
64- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Mara – 2019
65- Aachener Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
66- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
67- Solinger Vogel-und Tierpark (Bird and Animal Park) (Germany) – Mara – 2019
68- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
69- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
70- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
71- Tiergarten Monchengladbach (Germany) – Mara – 2019
72- De Bosruiter (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
73- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – Mara – 2019
74- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
75- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Mara – 2019
76- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Mara – 2019
77- NaturZoo Rheine (Germany) – Mara – 2019
78- Nordhorn Zoo (Germany) – Mara – 2019
79- Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands) – Mara – 2019
80- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – Mara – 2022
81- Aalborg Zoo (Denmark) – Mara – 2022
82- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Mara – 2022
83- Kobenhavn Zoo/Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Mara – 2022
84- Wildlife Images Rehabilitation and Education Center (USA) – Mara – 2023
85- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand) – Mara – 2024
86- Lanna Mini Zoo (Thailand) – Mara – 2024
87- Lost World of Tambun (Malaysia) – Mara – 2024
88- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – Mara – 2024
89- River Wonders (Singapore) – Mara – 2024
90- Bird Paradise (Singapore) – Mara – 2024
91- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) – Mara – 2024
92- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Mara – 2024
93- Royal Safari Garden Resort (Indonesia) – Mara – 2024
94- Faunaland Ancol (Indonesia) – Mara – 2024
95- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Mara – 2025
AND...
I've seen Chacoan Maras at 6 zoos:
1- Zoo Neuwied (Germany) – Chacoan Mara – 2019
2- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Chacoan Mara – 2019
3- BestZOO (Netherlands) – Chacoan Mara – 2019
4- Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands) – Chacoan Mara – 2019
5- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Chacoan Mara – 2019
6- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – Chacoan Mara – 2024
Here's a substantial space for Maras and Capybaras at Philadelphia Zoo (USA) in 2010, directly next to the parking lot.
Utah's Hogle Zoo (USA) had Maras entirely indoors in 2010, alongside a few species of bird.
So many low-budget, poor-quality U.S. zoos have corn-crib cages that are rarely ever decent zoo exhibits. When it rains, the sound on the metal roof is deafening. There's no space. These types of enclosures are awful 99% of the time and yet soon after I took this photo at Menominee Park Zoo (USA), the Maras were replaced by two Bobcats!
Summerfield Zoo's (USA) amazing Mara exhibit...my photo shows the whole thing.
Maras at Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA):
A big South American dustbowl at Abilene Zoo (USA), with Maras, Guanacos and Rheas.
A really small space for Maras was at Toledo Zoo (USA) in 2018 within the kiddie zoo area and obviously designed for a climbing mammal.
When I toured Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) in 2018, I saw some Maras in with Giant Wood Rails and Chestnut-mandibled Toucans.
Monterey Zoo (USA) had Maras mixed with Red Kangaroos, Red-necked Wallabies and Reeves's Muntjacs in 2023. That's quite the combination!
European zoos LOVE Maras to such an extent that I became bored seeing them on my big 2019 trip. Maras are everywhere and anywhere there, even free-roaming at some zoos. Here's one with a blue tag in its ear at Planckendael Zoo (Belgium).
@KevinB
Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) not only has free-ranging Capybaras, but Maras as well. It's an incredible sight that I'm not sure is duplicated in a single zoo in America. Large rodents mixing with the public in a U.S. establishment would be a lawsuit waiting to happen.
@JigerofLemuria
At least 20 Maras are at Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand), in a covered enclosure.
The Lost World of Tambun (Malaysia) has Maras and Capybaras in a walk-through exhibit, and technically there's also underwater viewing for the Capybaras here via the pool at the back of the enclosure.
Zoo Negara (Malaysia) has Maras behind glass and in an enclosed space. Surely this was an exhibit for a different species at one time.
As for Chacoan Maras, I'd never seen the species before I set forth on a huge European zoo trek in the summer of 2019. Zoo Neuwied (Germany), a mid-sized facility, had the animals inside their brand-new South American House and the critters were labeled as 'Dwarf Maras'.
Here's their exhibit at Neuwied:
Berlin Tierpark (Germany) has a curious little house for Chacoan Maras, not on the zoo's map and sort of randomly located in a wooded area. I took this photo in 2019, and I still think that the maras here do not have an outdoor exhibit attached to the building.
Skip the small Children's Zoo zone at Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) at your peril, because this exhibit mixes Chacoan Maras and Dusky Pademelons. Two zoo nerd rarities!
Rodents: 23 species (that's all folks - but I've obviously seen FAR more)
Prairie Dog - 116 zoos
Capybara - 111 zoos
Mara - 95 zoos
North American Porcupine - 78 zoos
African Crested Porcupine - 74 zoos (and some of those will be Cape Porcupines)
Naked Mole-Rat - 37 zoos
Prehensile-tailed Porcupine - 37 zoos
North American Beaver - 35 zoos
Indian Crested Porcupine - 34 zoos
Nutria - 24 zoos
Woodchuck - 18 zoos
Lowland Paca - 11 zoos
Malayan Porcupine - 11 zoos
Chacoan Mara - 6 zoos
Eurasian Beaver - 6 zoos
Damaraland Mole-Rat - 5 zoos
Sunda Porcupine - 5 zoos
African Brush-tailed Porcupine - 4 zoos
Asian Brush-tailed Porcupine - 3 zoos
Cape Porcupine - 3 zoos (and likely many more that have been mislabeled in zoos)
Ansell's Mole-Rat - 1 zoo
Mechow's Mole-Rat - 1 zoo
Zambian Mole-Rat - 1 zoo
Huh, it seems like almost every zoo doesn’t have a basic clue as to how maras should be displayed (or at least, the ones mentioned in the post above)!
It really makes you wonder sometimes, doesn’t it.
(or at least, the ones mentioned in the post above)!It really makes you wonder sometimes, doesn’t it.
After you went on your Asia trip, you included your mammal sightings from that trip into later entries. Will you make a followup post (or posts) from earlier pre-SEA entries, as well as those tallied from the other trips you done in the past year (Seattle, New York, etc)? Also, will you be tallying the 50+ mammal species that you saw on your SEA trip into their own individual posts as well?
biggest_dreamer
Well-Known Member
Very exciting to see some updates for this thread! That picture of Chacoan maras is so cute that it has me even more excited that I'll have an opportunity to see the species in a few weeks. If I'm not mistaken, that exhibit in Philadelphia is currently being reworked to be a wallaby enclosure.
You bring up some good points, and this Snowleopard's Mammals thread has essentially been broadly distributed into 3 main sections: Primates, Carnivores and Hoofed Mammals. Primates began in January 2024 and went to April 2024, covering almost the first 30 pages of the thread. Carnivores ran from April to July and by then the thread was up to 60 pages in length. I then went through monotremes, opossums, cetaceans and macropods, before taking the entire month of August 2024 off to go travelling with @twilighter to 4 Southeast Asian nations.
Beginning in September, the Hoofed Mammals chunk of writing was an epic look at a ton of species, taking the thread up to 97 pages in length. (I specifically mention the months and the page numbers as it helps me quickly locate what I'm looking for and others might find it useful) From there, it was Pangolins and rodents, and I ended at Christmas with a long final post about...penguins!
Now that I've added on Capybaras, Maras and Chacoan Maras, after an 8-month absence, it's true that when I did the Hoofed Mammals section I included all of the 60 Asian zoos and so it was perfectly updated. I will definitely have some kind of recap of the Primate and Carnivore sections and provide updated numbers to the present day. I also have some non-mammal species to add on to this thread as well, and I'll discuss the 50+ brand-new mammal species that I saw in Southeast Asian zoos.
Meanwhile, a little project of mine was figuring out all the orders and families for the mammals I've seen, which was quite a bit of work on its own.
Here are my totals based on 27 orders and 159 families.
Orders: I've seen 24/27 and 23/27 in zoos
1. Afrosoricida (tenrecs and golden moles)
2. Carnivora (carnivores)
3. Cetartiodactyla (cetaceans and artiodactyls)
4. Chiroptera (bats)
5. Cingulata (armadillos)
6. Dasyuromorphia (carnivorous marsupials)
7. Dermoptera (colugos) - WILD ONLY (inside Singapore Zoo)
8. Didelphimorphia (American opossums)
9. Diprotodontia (kangaroos, possums, etc.)
10. Eulipotyphla (hedgehogs, gymnures, shrews, moles etc.)
11. Hyracoidea (hyraxes)
12. Lagomorpha (lagomorphs)
13. Macroscelidea (elephant shrews)
14. Microbiotheria (Monito del Monte)
15. Monotremata (monotremes)
16. Notoryctemorphia (marsupial moles)
17. Paucituberculata (shrew-opossums)
18. Peramelemorphia (bandicoots)
19. Perissodactyla (perissodactyls)
20. Pholidota (pangolins)
21. Pilosa (sloths and anteaters)
22. Primates (primates)
23. Proboscidea (elephants)
24. Rodentia (rodents)
25. Scandentia (tree shrews)
26. Sirenia (sirenians)
27. Tubulidentata (Aardvark)
Families: I've seen 113/159 and 109/159 in zoos
Monotremata (monotremes) 2/2
1. Ornithorhynchidae (Platypus)
2. Tachyglossidae (echidnas)
Microbiotheria (Monito del Monte) 0/1
3. Microbiotheriidae (Monito del Monte)
Paucituberculata (shrew-opossums) 0/1
4. Caenolestidae (shrew-opossums)
Didelphimorphia (American opossums) 1/1
5. Didelphidae (American opossums)
Notoryctemorphia (marsupial moles) 0/1
6. Notoryctidae (marsupial moles)
Dasyuromorphia (carnivorous marsupials) 1/2
7. Myrmecobiidae (Numbat)
8. Dasyuridae (dasyurids)
Peramelemorphia (bandicoots) 2/2
9. Thylacomyidae (Bilby)
10. Peramelidae (bandicoots)
Diprotodontia (kangaroos, possums, etc.) 8/11
11. Phascolarctidae (Koala)
12. Vombatidae (wombats)
13. Phalangeridae (brushtail possums and cuscuses)
14. Burramyidae (pygmy possums)
15. Pseudocheiridae (ringtail possums)
16. Petauridae (striped possums, gliders)
17. Acrobatidae (feathertail gliders)
18. Tarsipedidae (Honey Possum)
19. Hypsiprymnodontidae (Musky Rat Kangaroo)
20. Potoroidae (rat kangaroos)
21. Macropodidae (kangaroos, wallabies)
Afrosoricida (tenrecs and golden moles) 1/3
22. Tenrecidae (tenrecs)
23. Potamogalididae (otter shrews)
24. Chrysochloridae (golden moles)
Macroscelidea (elephant shrews) 1/1
25. Macroscelididae (elephant shrews)
Tubulidentata (Aardvark) 1/1
26. Orycteropodidae (Aardvark)
Proboscidea (elephants) 1/1
27. Elephantidae (elephants)
Sirenia (sirenians) 1/2
28. Dugongidae (Dugong)
29. Trichechidae (manatees)
Hyracoidea (hyraxes) 1/1
30. Procaviidae (hyraxes)
Pilosa (sloths and anteaters) 3/4
31. Bradypodidae (three-toed sloths)
32. Megalonychidae (two-toed sloths)
33. Myrmecophagidae (anteaters)
34. Cyclopedidae (silky anteaters)
Cingulata (armadillos) 2/2
35. Dasypodidae (long-nosed armadillos)
36. Chlamyphoridae (chlamyphorid armadillos)
Dermoptera (colugos) 1/1
37. Cynocephalidae (colugos) - WILD ONLY (inside Singapore Zoo)
Scandentia (tree shrews) 1/2
38. Tupaiidae (tree shrews)
39. Ptilocercidae (Pen-tailed Tree Shrew)
Primates (primates) 15/16
40. Cheirogaleidae (dwarf lemurs, mouse lemurs)
41. Daubentoniidae (Aye-aye)
42. Lemuridae (lemurs)
43. Lepilemuridae (sportive lemurs)
44. Indriidae (woolly lemurs, sifakas)
45. Lorisidae (lorises)
46. Galagidae (bushbabies)
47. Tarsiidae (tarsiers)
48. Callitrichidae (marmosets, tamarins)
49. Cebidae (capuchins, squirrel monkeys)
50. Aotidae (douroucoulis)
51. Pithediidae (titis, uakaris, sakis)
52. Atelidae (howlers, spider monkeys, woolly monkeys)
53. Cercopithecidae (Old World monkeys)
54. Hylobatidae (gibbons)
55. Hominidae (apes)
Rodentia (rodents) 25/35
56. Aplodontiidae (Mountain Beaver)
57. Sciuridae (squirrels)
58. Gliridae (dormice)
59. Anomaluridae (gliding anomalures)
60. Zenkerellidae (non-gliding anomalure)
61. Pedetidae (springhaas)
62. Castoridae (beavers)
63. Geomyidae (pocket gophers)
64. Heteromyidae (kangaroo rats, pocket mice)
65. Zapodidae (jumping mice)
66. Diatomyidae (Laotian Rock Rat)
67. Ctenodactylidae (gundis)
68. Heterocephalidae (Naked Mole-rat)
69. Bathyergidae (African Mole-rats)
70. Hystricidae (Old World porcupines)
71. Petromuridae (Dassie Rat)
72. Thryonomyidae (cane rats)
73. Erethizontidae (New World porcupines)
74. Chinchillidae (chinchillas, viscachas)
75. Dinomyidae (Pacarana)
76. Caviidae (cavies)
77. Dasyproctidae (agoutis)
78. Cuniculidae (pacas)
79. Ctenomyidae (tuco-tucos)
80. Octodontidae (octodonts)
81. Abrocomidae (chinchilla rats)
82. Echimyidae (New World Spiny rats, Coypu and hutias)
83. Dipodidae (jerboas)
84. Sminthidae (birch mice)
85. Platacanthomyidae (spiny dormice)
86. Spalacidae (Muroid mole rats)
87. Calomyscidae (mouse-like hamsters)
88. Nesomyidae (Madagascan and African rats and mice)
89. Cricetidae (voles, hamsters, New World rats and mice)
90. Muridae (Old World rats and mice)
Lagomorpha (lagomorphs) 2/2
91. Ochotonidae (pikas) - WILD ONLY (several times while hiking)
92. Leporidae (rabbits)
Eulipotyphla (hedgehogs, gymnures, shrews, moles etc.) 3/4
93. Erinaceidae (hedgehogs, gymnures)
94. Solenodontidae (solenodons)
95. Soricidae (shrews)
96. Talpidae (moles, desmans) - WILD ONLY (a mole surfaced twice in my backyard)
Chiroptera (bats) 6/21
97. Pteropodidae (Old World fruit bats)
98. Megadermatidae (false vampire bats)
99. Rhinopomatidae (mouse-tailed bats)
100. Craseonycteridae (Kitti's Hog-nosed Bat)
101. Rhinolophidae (horseshoe bats)
102. Hipposideridae (Old World leaf-nosed bats)
103. Rhinonycteridae (trident bats)
104. Furipteridae (Smokey Bat and Thumbless Bat)
105. Thyropteridae (disc-winged bats)
106. Mormoopidae (moustached bats and ghost-faced bats)
107. Noctilionidae (bulldog bats)
108. Phyllostomidae (New World leaf-nosed bats)
109. Mystacinidae (New Zealand Short-tailed Bat)
110. Myzopodidae (Madagascan sucker-footed bats)
111. Natalidae (funnel-eared bats)
112. Molossidae (free-tailed bats)
113. Emballonuridae (sheath-tailed or sac-winged bats)
114. Nycteridae (slit-faced bats)
115. Cistugidae (wing-gland bats)
116. Vespertilionidae (vesper bats)
117. Miniopteridae (bent-winged or long-fingered bats)
Pholidota (pangolins) 1/1
118. Manidae (pangolins)
Carnivora (carnivores) 16/16
119. Felidae (cats)
120. Viverridae (civets, genets)
121. Prionodontidae (Asian linsangs)
122. Eupleridae (Madagascan mongooses)
123. Nandiniidae (African Palm Civet)
124. Herpestidae (mongooses)
125. Hyaenidae (hyaenas)
126. Canidae (dogs)
127. Ursidae (bears)
128. Odobenidae (Walrus)
129. Otariidae (eared seals)
130. Phocidae (earless seals)
131. Mustelidae (weasels, badgers, otters)
132. Procyonidae (raccoons, ringtails, coatis)
133. Ailuridae (Red Panda)
134. Mephitidae (skunks, stink badger)
Perissodactyla (perissodactyls) 3/3
135. Equidae (horses)
136. Tapiridae (tapirs)
137. Rhinocerotidae (rhinoceroses)
Cetartiodactyla (artiodactyls 10/10 and cetaceans 5/12) 15/22
138. Suidae (pigs)
139. Tayassuidae (peccaries)
140. Hippopotamidae (hippopotamuses)
141. Camelidae (camelids)
142. Tragulidae (mouse deer)
143. Moschidae (musk deer)
144. Cervidae (deer)
145. Antilocapridae (Pronghorn)
146. Giraffidae (Giraffe, Okapi)
147. Bovidae (bovids)
---
148. Balaenidae (right whales)
149. Cetotheriidae (Pygmy Right Whale)
150. Balaenopteridae (rorquals) - WILD ONLY (Humpback Whale)
151. Delphinidae (dolphins)
152. Monodontidae (Narwhal, Beluga)
153. Phocoenidae (porpoises)
154. Kogiidae (pygmy sperm whales)
155. Physeteridae (Sperm Whale)
156. Iniidae (Amazon river dolphins)
157. Pontoporiidae (La Plata Dolphin)
158. Platanistidae (Ganges Dolphin)
159. Ziphiidae (beaked whales)
For a long time, Sengis were actually commonly known as Elephant Shrews and so just to have some fun I'll muddle the taxonomic orders a tad and combine my sightings of the family Macroscelididae with the family Tupaiidae so I can bang them all off in one post. They are all 'shrews', right? (Don't send the taxonomic police after me)
Guaranteed I've probably come across a few more than what I've listed below, but this list is as accurate as I can achieve today. I've seen members of both families at 39 zoos and in 48 exhibits representing a minimum of 5 species (26 Northern Tree Shrew, 11 Elephant Shrew aka Black-and-rufous Sengi, 9 Short-eared Sengi, 2 Common Tree Shrew, 1 Rufous Elephant Shrew)
The Short-eared Shrews are sometimes called Round-eared Shrews at some zoos, and I don't know the exact species for each zoo. For example: Karoo Round-eared Sengi, Rufous Elephant Shrew, etc.
Funnily enough, visiting 60 zoos in Asia in August 2024 gave me exactly ZERO captive shrews or sengis of any kind, which seems odd. Although when I toured Bangkok Butterfly Garden (Thailand), I saw EIGHT wild tree shrews (of some type) inside Wachirabenchathat Park which was a cool experience.
7 zoos in bold = more than one species
2019 = 16 zoos
1- Perth Zoo (Australia) – Common Tree Shrew – 1987
2- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2005
3- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2008
4- Smithsonian’s National Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2008
5- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2008
6- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2010
7- Philadelphia Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew, Short-eared Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2010
8- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2010
9- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2010
10- Zoo Boise (USA) – Elephant Shrew – 2010
11- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2012
12- Virginia Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2012
13- Denver Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2012
14- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2012
15- Peoria Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2014
16- Miller Park Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2014
17- Lincoln Children’s Zoo - Nebraska (USA) – Common Tree Shrew – 2014
18- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew – 2017
19- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Elephant Shrew – 2018
20- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
21- Diergaarde Blijdorp (Netherlands) – Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
22- Berkenhof’s Tropical Zoo (Netherlands) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
23- Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) – Elephant Shrew – 2019
24- Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
25- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
26- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Elephant Shrew, Short-eared Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
27- Zoo Neuwied (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
28- Cologne Zoo (Germany) – Rufous Elephant Shrew – 2019
29- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
30- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
31- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
32- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
33- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
34- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
35- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
36- Randers Regnskov (Denmark) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2022
37- Terrariet Reptile Zoo (Denmark) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2022
38- Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2022
39- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2025
I saw Northern Tree Shrews at Oregon Zoo (USA) on several occasions, before the exhibit was demolished as part of the Primate House overhaul.
Smithsonian's National Zoo (USA) has had a legendary Small Mammal House for decades, often in the past with 30+ species at one time. Here's a superb photo of an Elephant Shrew from that complex:
@Andrew_NZP
For the last 15 years, and perhaps even longer, Elephant Shrews have been mixed with White-faced Sakis at Philadelphia Zoo (USA).
@Baldur
Just like the photo from Philly Zoo, you can see an Elephant Shrew in my shot from Peoria Zoo (USA).
Here is a small enclosure for two species (Northern Tree Shrew and Three-banded Armadillo) at Miller Park Zoo (USA) with a poor-quality mural as a backdrop.
Shrews and sengis are very difficult to photograph, so even to get a full body shot is amazing. This one was taken inside the Lied Jungle at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA).
@DesertTortoise
I saw Northern Tree Shrews, sometimes labeled as Belanger's Tree Shrews, at Berkenhof's Tropical Zoo (Netherlands).
@vogelcommando
Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) has Elephant Shrews and here's a brilliant image of one. I remember them well from my European jaunt in 2019.
@KevinB
I recall this darkened area having Northern Tree Shrews in 2019, although the building has been refurbished since then. This image is from Planckendael Zoo (Belgium):
@KevinB
Aaahhh, the Grzimek House, one of the most legendary zoo buildings in all of Europe if not the world. Frankfurt Zoo's (Germany) apex of zoo nerd paradise. If you take the Bronx Zoo's World of Darkness (21 exhibits) and double it, then you get this structure although some of the enclosures are in full light rather than complete darkness. I saw three types of 'shrews' there in 2019, although this is a Rufous Elephant Shrew in the photo.
@Baringogiraffe12
Rufous Elephant Shrew (Elephantulus rufescens) aka Rufous Sengi at Cologne Zoo (Germany) in 2019.
@Sicarius
Another cute photo, this time of a Karoo Short-eared (or Round-eared) Elephant Shrew (Macroscelides proboscideus) at Wuppertal Zoo (Germany).
@Glutton
ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) has an exhibit for Round-eared Elephant Shrews and I recall seeing them in the African House.
@KevinB
At Berlin Tierpark (Germany), I saw this trio of small mammal exhibits, containing Chinese Striped Hamsters, Short-eared Elephant Shrews and Zebra Mice.
Within the Asia Dome at Randers Regnskov (Denmark), these copulating Northern Tree Shrews hardly paused from their exertions in order for me to get this slightly blurry image. The shrews roam free in the jungle here and there was a lot of them during my visit in 2022.
Just last week, while inside the Mouse House at the Bronx Zoo (USA), I saw this exhibit and two scurrying Northern Tree Shrews.
That same building has an Elephant Shrew exhibit that is essentially a row of 5 former individual enclosures combined into one long one for the Sengis. In truth, it's quite narrow and a tad tight on space for such active creatures.
(Don't send the taxonomic police after me)Guaranteed I've probably come across a few more than what I've listed below, but this list is as accurate as I can achieve today. I've seen members of both families at 39 zoos and in 48 exhibits representing a minimum of 5 species (26 Northern Tree Shrew, 11 Elephant Shrew aka Black-and-rufous Sengi, 9 Short-eared Sengi, 2 Common Tree Shrew, 1 Rufous Elephant Shrew)
The Short-eared Shrews are sometimes called Round-eared Shrews at some zoos, and I don't know the exact species for each zoo. For example: Karoo Round-eared Sengi, Rufous Elephant Shrew, etc.
Funnily enough, visiting 60 zoos in Asia in August 2024 gave me exactly ZERO captive shrews or sengis of any kind, which seems odd. Although when I toured Bangkok Butterfly Garden (Thailand), I saw EIGHT wild tree shrews (of some type) inside Wachirabenchathat Park which was a cool experience.
7 zoos in bold = more than one species
2019 = 16 zoos
1- Perth Zoo (Australia) – Common Tree Shrew – 1987
2- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2005
3- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2008
4- Smithsonian’s National Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2008
5- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2008
6- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2010
7- Philadelphia Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew, Short-eared Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2010
8- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2010
9- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2010
10- Zoo Boise (USA) – Elephant Shrew – 2010
11- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2012
12- Virginia Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2012
13- Denver Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2012
14- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2012
15- Peoria Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2014
16- Miller Park Zoo (USA) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2014
17- Lincoln Children’s Zoo - Nebraska (USA) – Common Tree Shrew – 2014
18- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew – 2017
19- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Elephant Shrew – 2018
20- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
21- Diergaarde Blijdorp (Netherlands) – Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
22- Berkenhof’s Tropical Zoo (Netherlands) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
23- Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) – Elephant Shrew – 2019
24- Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
25- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
26- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Elephant Shrew, Short-eared Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
27- Zoo Neuwied (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
28- Cologne Zoo (Germany) – Rufous Elephant Shrew – 2019
29- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
30- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
31- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
32- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
33- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2019
34- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
35- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Short-eared Elephant Shrew – 2019
36- Randers Regnskov (Denmark) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2022
37- Terrariet Reptile Zoo (Denmark) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2022
38- Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Northern Tree Shrew – 2022
39- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Elephant Shrew, Northern Tree Shrew – 2025
I saw Northern Tree Shrews at Oregon Zoo (USA) on several occasions, before the exhibit was demolished as part of the Primate House overhaul.
Smithsonian's National Zoo (USA) has had a legendary Small Mammal House for decades, often in the past with 30+ species at one time. Here's a superb photo of an Elephant Shrew from that complex:
@Andrew_NZP
For the last 15 years, and perhaps even longer, Elephant Shrews have been mixed with White-faced Sakis at Philadelphia Zoo (USA).
@Baldur
Just like the photo from Philly Zoo, you can see an Elephant Shrew in my shot from Peoria Zoo (USA).
Here is a small enclosure for two species (Northern Tree Shrew and Three-banded Armadillo) at Miller Park Zoo (USA) with a poor-quality mural as a backdrop.
Shrews and sengis are very difficult to photograph, so even to get a full body shot is amazing. This one was taken inside the Lied Jungle at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA).
@DesertTortoise
I saw Northern Tree Shrews, sometimes labeled as Belanger's Tree Shrews, at Berkenhof's Tropical Zoo (Netherlands).
@vogelcommando
Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) has Elephant Shrews and here's a brilliant image of one. I remember them well from my European jaunt in 2019.
@KevinB
I recall this darkened area having Northern Tree Shrews in 2019, although the building has been refurbished since then. This image is from Planckendael Zoo (Belgium):
@KevinB
Aaahhh, the Grzimek House, one of the most legendary zoo buildings in all of Europe if not the world. Frankfurt Zoo's (Germany) apex of zoo nerd paradise. If you take the Bronx Zoo's World of Darkness (21 exhibits) and double it, then you get this structure although some of the enclosures are in full light rather than complete darkness. I saw three types of 'shrews' there in 2019, although this is a Rufous Elephant Shrew in the photo.
@Baringogiraffe12
Rufous Elephant Shrew (Elephantulus rufescens) aka Rufous Sengi at Cologne Zoo (Germany) in 2019.
@Sicarius
Another cute photo, this time of a Karoo Short-eared (or Round-eared) Elephant Shrew (Macroscelides proboscideus) at Wuppertal Zoo (Germany).
@Glutton
ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) has an exhibit for Round-eared Elephant Shrews and I recall seeing them in the African House.
@KevinB
At Berlin Tierpark (Germany), I saw this trio of small mammal exhibits, containing Chinese Striped Hamsters, Short-eared Elephant Shrews and Zebra Mice.
Within the Asia Dome at Randers Regnskov (Denmark), these copulating Northern Tree Shrews hardly paused from their exertions in order for me to get this slightly blurry image. The shrews roam free in the jungle here and there was a lot of them during my visit in 2022.
Just last week, while inside the Mouse House at the Bronx Zoo (USA), I saw this exhibit and two scurrying Northern Tree Shrews.
That same building has an Elephant Shrew exhibit that is essentially a row of 5 former individual enclosures combined into one long one for the Sengis. In truth, it's quite narrow and a tad tight on space for such active creatures.
Last edited:
biggest_dreamer
Well-Known Member
When I was at Philadelphia last month, they had black-and-rufous sengis cohabiting with three or four other species (mostly monkeys, but I believe also sloths) across different exhibits. I guess they’re just generally agreeable.
In April 2024, when I finalized my primate numbers on this thread, here is what I ended up with when it came to great apes.
Gorillas - 74 zoos (2 species: Western Lowland, plus 1 Eastern Lowland at Antwerp Zoo)
Orangutans - 74 zoos (2 species: Bornean, Sumatran)
Chimpanzees - 64 zoos
Bonobos - 14 zoos
After my trip to almost 60 Southeast Asian zoos in August 2024, and now here we are a year later, here are my updated present-day numbers.
Orangutans - 96 zoos (2 species: Bornean, Sumatran)
Chimpanzees - 77 zoos
Gorillas - 76 zoos (2 species: Western Lowland, plus 1 Eastern Lowland at Antwerp Zoo)
Bonobos - 14 zoos
I added 22 zoos with Orangutans, 13 with Chimpanzees, 2 with Gorillas and 0 with Bonobos. Gorillas have been effectively knocked from their perch.
Bonobos are incredibly rare, and I didn't visit any new zoos with that species, and I only saw two new zoos with Gorillas. It was the best of times and the worst of times, with the notorious Pata Zoo (Thailand) having a single Gorilla in a godawful cage.
On the other hand, Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) has a jaw-dropping Gorilla complex.
It's approximately 5 acres/2 hectares in size and with barely any hotwire in the rapidly growing jungle rainforest.
I added 13 new zoos with Chimpanzees in Asia and they've now overtaken Gorillas by one zoo in my all-time statistics.
1- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand) – 2024
2- Lopburi Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
3- Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
4- Songkhla Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
5- Safari World Bangkok (Thailand) – 2024
6- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – 2024
7- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – 2024
8- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – 2024
9- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – 2024
10- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – 2024
11- Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
12- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – 2024
13- Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
Khao Kheow Open Zoo (Thailand) has a very lush Chimpanzee exhibit, where @twilighter and I saw a huge wild monitor lizard swimming in the moat.
Chimpanzees can be found across from Orangutans at Zoo Negara (Malaysia):
Singapore Zoo (Singapore) has had Chimpanzees for many years.
You can see one of the Chimpanzees up the tree (on the left) at Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia).
Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) has a solitary, elderly female Chimpanzee in this exhibit:
Orangutans zoomed upwards in my totals, not surprising as I was trekking my way through Southeast Asian zoos by the dozen, and I saw 22 zoos with Orangutans last August. I know that I saw at least 40 exhibits with orangs in those zoos and it is no wonder that the red-haired ape has now been seen by me in just shy of 100 different zoos.
1- Pata Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
2- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand) – 2024
3- Lopburi Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
4- Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
5- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
6- Songkhla Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
7- Safari World Bangkok (Thailand) – 2024
8- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – 2024
9- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – 2024
10- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – 2024
11- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – 2024
12- Bali Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
13- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – 2024
14- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
15- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – 2024
16- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
17- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – 2024
18- Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
19- Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
20- Lembang Park & Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
21- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – 2024
22- Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
The accommodation ranged from a ghastly, cement, barred prison at the dreadful Lopburi Zoo (Thailand)...
To the sublime at Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia). Here's a sneak peek into the 5-acre/2-hectare Orangutan jungle at that gargantuan zoo. This is a zoo with many outdated sections, but incredibly there is just about the best Gorilla exhibit, and the best Orangutan exhibit I've ever come across here.
Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) has at least 8 more Orangutan exhibits on top of the 5-acre one, although many look similar to this:
Many of the Orangutan exhibits in Southeast Asia are very basic, as for example Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) has 4 Orangutan enclosures, and this one is perhaps the worst as there's nothing for an ape to do!
Some zoos, such as Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia), bring out juvenile Orangutans at certain times of the day to interact near where the public views the animals.
I saw Bornean Orangutans, Pileated Gibbons and Small-clawed Otters all together, with Sumatran Orangutans "free-roaming" up in the treetops, at Singapore Zoo (Singapore).
Orangutans are very common in Southeast Asian zoos, with many zoos having multiple exhibits with the species and there are signs and statues everywhere.
Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) poster:
Orangutans are an iconic Southeast Asian species, showcased in this sculpture at Bali Zoo (Indonesia).
Quick Recap:
Orangutans = 96 zoos
Chimpanzees = 77 zoos
Gorillas = 76 zoos
Bonobos = 14 zoos
Gorillas - 74 zoos (2 species: Western Lowland, plus 1 Eastern Lowland at Antwerp Zoo)
Orangutans - 74 zoos (2 species: Bornean, Sumatran)
Chimpanzees - 64 zoos
Bonobos - 14 zoos
After my trip to almost 60 Southeast Asian zoos in August 2024, and now here we are a year later, here are my updated present-day numbers.
Orangutans - 96 zoos (2 species: Bornean, Sumatran)
Chimpanzees - 77 zoos
Gorillas - 76 zoos (2 species: Western Lowland, plus 1 Eastern Lowland at Antwerp Zoo)
Bonobos - 14 zoos
I added 22 zoos with Orangutans, 13 with Chimpanzees, 2 with Gorillas and 0 with Bonobos. Gorillas have been effectively knocked from their perch.
Bonobos are incredibly rare, and I didn't visit any new zoos with that species, and I only saw two new zoos with Gorillas. It was the best of times and the worst of times, with the notorious Pata Zoo (Thailand) having a single Gorilla in a godawful cage.
On the other hand, Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) has a jaw-dropping Gorilla complex.
It's approximately 5 acres/2 hectares in size and with barely any hotwire in the rapidly growing jungle rainforest.
I added 13 new zoos with Chimpanzees in Asia and they've now overtaken Gorillas by one zoo in my all-time statistics.
1- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand) – 2024
2- Lopburi Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
3- Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
4- Songkhla Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
5- Safari World Bangkok (Thailand) – 2024
6- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – 2024
7- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – 2024
8- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – 2024
9- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – 2024
10- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – 2024
11- Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
12- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – 2024
13- Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
Khao Kheow Open Zoo (Thailand) has a very lush Chimpanzee exhibit, where @twilighter and I saw a huge wild monitor lizard swimming in the moat.
Chimpanzees can be found across from Orangutans at Zoo Negara (Malaysia):
Singapore Zoo (Singapore) has had Chimpanzees for many years.
You can see one of the Chimpanzees up the tree (on the left) at Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia).
Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) has a solitary, elderly female Chimpanzee in this exhibit:
Orangutans zoomed upwards in my totals, not surprising as I was trekking my way through Southeast Asian zoos by the dozen, and I saw 22 zoos with Orangutans last August. I know that I saw at least 40 exhibits with orangs in those zoos and it is no wonder that the red-haired ape has now been seen by me in just shy of 100 different zoos.
1- Pata Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
2- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand) – 2024
3- Lopburi Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
4- Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
5- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
6- Songkhla Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
7- Safari World Bangkok (Thailand) – 2024
8- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – 2024
9- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – 2024
10- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – 2024
11- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – 2024
12- Bali Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
13- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – 2024
14- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
15- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – 2024
16- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
17- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – 2024
18- Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
19- Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
20- Lembang Park & Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
21- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – 2024
22- Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
The accommodation ranged from a ghastly, cement, barred prison at the dreadful Lopburi Zoo (Thailand)...
To the sublime at Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia). Here's a sneak peek into the 5-acre/2-hectare Orangutan jungle at that gargantuan zoo. This is a zoo with many outdated sections, but incredibly there is just about the best Gorilla exhibit, and the best Orangutan exhibit I've ever come across here.
Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) has at least 8 more Orangutan exhibits on top of the 5-acre one, although many look similar to this:
Many of the Orangutan exhibits in Southeast Asia are very basic, as for example Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) has 4 Orangutan enclosures, and this one is perhaps the worst as there's nothing for an ape to do!
Some zoos, such as Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia), bring out juvenile Orangutans at certain times of the day to interact near where the public views the animals.
I saw Bornean Orangutans, Pileated Gibbons and Small-clawed Otters all together, with Sumatran Orangutans "free-roaming" up in the treetops, at Singapore Zoo (Singapore).
Orangutans are very common in Southeast Asian zoos, with many zoos having multiple exhibits with the species and there are signs and statues everywhere.
Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) poster:
Orangutans are an iconic Southeast Asian species, showcased in this sculpture at Bali Zoo (Indonesia).
Quick Recap:
Orangutans = 96 zoos
Chimpanzees = 77 zoos
Gorillas = 76 zoos
Bonobos = 14 zoos
Nile Hippo Expert
Well-Known Member
Strange how gorillas are that uncommon in Asian zoos, would have expected a few more zoos there to have them.In April 2024, when I finalized my primate numbers on this thread, here is what I ended up with when it came to great apes.
Gorillas - 74 zoos (2 species: Western Lowland, plus 1 Eastern Lowland at Antwerp Zoo)
Orangutans - 74 zoos (2 species: Bornean, Sumatran)
Chimpanzees - 64 zoos
Bonobos - 14 zoos
After my trip to almost 60 Southeast Asian zoos in August 2024, and now here we are a year later, here are my updated present-day numbers.
Orangutans - 96 zoos (2 species: Bornean, Sumatran)
Chimpanzees - 77 zoos
Gorillas - 76 zoos (2 species: Western Lowland, plus 1 Eastern Lowland at Antwerp Zoo)
Bonobos - 14 zoos
I added 22 zoos with Orangutans, 13 with Chimpanzees, 2 with Gorillas and 0 with Bonobos. Gorillas have been effectively knocked from their perch.
Bonobos are incredibly rare, and I didn't visit any new zoos with that species, and I only saw two new zoos with Gorillas. It was the best of times and the worst of times, with the notorious Pata Zoo (Thailand) having a single Gorilla in a godawful cage.
On the other hand, Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) has a jaw-dropping Gorilla complex.
It's approximately 5 acres/2 hectares in size and with barely any hotwire in the rapidly growing jungle rainforest.
I added 13 new zoos with Chimpanzees in Asia and they've now overtaken Gorillas by one zoo in my all-time statistics.
1- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand) – 2024
2- Lopburi Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
3- Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
4- Songkhla Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
5- Safari World Bangkok (Thailand) – 2024
6- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – 2024
7- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – 2024
8- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – 2024
9- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – 2024
10- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – 2024
11- Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
12- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – 2024
13- Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
Khao Kheow Open Zoo (Thailand) has a very lush Chimpanzee exhibit, where @twilighter and I saw a huge wild monitor lizard swimming in the moat.
Chimpanzees can be found across from Orangutans at Zoo Negara (Malaysia):
Singapore Zoo (Singapore) has had Chimpanzees for many years.
You can see one of the Chimpanzees up the tree (on the left) at Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia).
Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) has a solitary, elderly female Chimpanzee in this exhibit:
Orangutans zoomed upwards in my totals, not surprising as I was trekking my way through Southeast Asian zoos by the dozen, and I saw 22 zoos with Orangutans last August. I know that I saw at least 40 exhibits with orangs in those zoos and it is no wonder that the red-haired ape has now been seen by me in just shy of 100 different zoos.
1- Pata Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
2- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand) – 2024
3- Lopburi Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
4- Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
5- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
6- Songkhla Zoo (Thailand) – 2024
7- Safari World Bangkok (Thailand) – 2024
8- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – 2024
9- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – 2024
10- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – 2024
11- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – 2024
12- Bali Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
13- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – 2024
14- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
15- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – 2024
16- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
17- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – 2024
18- Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
19- Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
20- Lembang Park & Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
21- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – 2024
22- Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) – 2024
The accommodation ranged from a ghastly, cement, barred prison at the dreadful Lopburi Zoo (Thailand)...
To the sublime at Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia). Here's a sneak peek into the 5-acre/2-hectare Orangutan jungle at that gargantuan zoo. This is a zoo with many outdated sections, but incredibly there is just about the best Gorilla exhibit, and the best Orangutan exhibit I've ever come across here.
Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) has at least 8 more Orangutan exhibits on top of the 5-acre one, although many look similar to this:
Many of the Orangutan exhibits in Southeast Asia are very basic, as for example Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) has 4 Orangutan enclosures, and this one is perhaps the worst as there's nothing for an ape to do!
Some zoos, such as Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia), bring out juvenile Orangutans at certain times of the day to interact near where the public views the animals.
I saw Bornean Orangutans, Pileated Gibbons and Small-clawed Otters all together, with Sumatran Orangutans "free-roaming" up in the treetops, at Singapore Zoo (Singapore).
Orangutans are very common in Southeast Asian zoos, with many zoos having multiple exhibits with the species and there are signs and statues everywhere.
Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) poster:
Orangutans are an iconic Southeast Asian species, showcased in this sculpture at Bali Zoo (Indonesia).
Quick Recap:
Orangutans = 96 zoos
Chimpanzees = 77 zoos
Gorillas = 76 zoos
Bonobos = 14 zoos
Hello.
Regarding your post about maras: I have only seen them twice in my life, both times in Europe. I saw a few at Zoo Santo Inácio in 2018 and a couple more at Fota Wildlife this year. They have been absent from Brazil for about fifteen years now.
At Fota, as with many other species, they are free-roaming, which explains why I uploaded some photos of random assorted fauna in their gallery.
Regarding your post about sengis and tree-shrews: I have never seen any. They are absent in South America. São Paulo might have had a Tasmanian devil and a tenrec in the 1970s, but I guess a tupaia was far too expensive for them.
Regarding your post about great apes: I have seen gorillas at three zoos: Lisbon (2018), Belo Horizonte (2020 and 2023, they didn't show up this year) and Dublin (2025). I think both Belo Horizonte and Dublin have good-looking enclosures, though the Irish zoo wins when it comes to the indoor quarters.
I have seen orangutans at five places (though I thought I would have seen them less times than gorillas): Rio de Janeiro (Sumatran), São Paulo (hybrid), Lisbon (Sumatran), Dublin (Bornean) and Paris JdP (Bornean). Surprisingly, the Parisian zoo had the worst exhibit for the species I had seen, though this is about to change.
Rio is home to a pair of F2 female orangutans, which is surprising for a South American zoo.
I have seen chimpanzees at more zoos than any other ape (gibbons included): Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo (central), Sorocaba (central), Belo Horizonte (central), Curitiba, Pomerode, Beto Carrero World, Sapucaia do Sul, Lisbon and Dublin (Western). The exhibits I have seen them vary from relatively small to great, with Dublin being home to the best one I have come across so far.
Why were chimps so common in Brazil? It can mostly be traced back to the fact paying poachers to hunt a chimpanzee in the African wilderness was way cheaper to circus owners than buying gorillas and orangutans from European dealers. There was also a Swiss man named Marco Schwarz who bred chimpanzees in his estate in Morretes, Paraná, which made buying these great apes in particular even cheaper to both zoos and circuses alike.
Regarding your post about maras: I have only seen them twice in my life, both times in Europe. I saw a few at Zoo Santo Inácio in 2018 and a couple more at Fota Wildlife this year. They have been absent from Brazil for about fifteen years now.
At Fota, as with many other species, they are free-roaming, which explains why I uploaded some photos of random assorted fauna in their gallery.
Regarding your post about sengis and tree-shrews: I have never seen any. They are absent in South America. São Paulo might have had a Tasmanian devil and a tenrec in the 1970s, but I guess a tupaia was far too expensive for them.
Regarding your post about great apes: I have seen gorillas at three zoos: Lisbon (2018), Belo Horizonte (2020 and 2023, they didn't show up this year) and Dublin (2025). I think both Belo Horizonte and Dublin have good-looking enclosures, though the Irish zoo wins when it comes to the indoor quarters.
I have seen orangutans at five places (though I thought I would have seen them less times than gorillas): Rio de Janeiro (Sumatran), São Paulo (hybrid), Lisbon (Sumatran), Dublin (Bornean) and Paris JdP (Bornean). Surprisingly, the Parisian zoo had the worst exhibit for the species I had seen, though this is about to change.
Rio is home to a pair of F2 female orangutans, which is surprising for a South American zoo.
I have seen chimpanzees at more zoos than any other ape (gibbons included): Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo (central), Sorocaba (central), Belo Horizonte (central), Curitiba, Pomerode, Beto Carrero World, Sapucaia do Sul, Lisbon and Dublin (Western). The exhibits I have seen them vary from relatively small to great, with Dublin being home to the best one I have come across so far.
Why were chimps so common in Brazil? It can mostly be traced back to the fact paying poachers to hunt a chimpanzee in the African wilderness was way cheaper to circus owners than buying gorillas and orangutans from European dealers. There was also a Swiss man named Marco Schwarz who bred chimpanzees in his estate in Morretes, Paraná, which made buying these great apes in particular even cheaper to both zoos and circuses alike.
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It's simple.
Like South America, most of Asia in general is still considered part of the Third World, so paraphrasing Steve Robinson, their zoos aren't that flush!
Many zoos in emerging countries are state-owned (so their budget is at the mercy of city-halls), which means they will mostly be running really low on cash. Also, taking into account gorillas are by no means an easily-obtainable species, they prefer sticking to the locally-available orangs and the cheaper chimpanzees.
EDIT: to any Asian users reading this: correct me if I am wrong.
When I visited 4 Southeast Asian nations with @twilighter last August, touring 59 zoos in the process, my final count was 58 mammal species that I'd never seen before. It was amazing to hit that total, as I am a seasoned zoo nerd who had already visited hundreds of different zoos, but to see almost 3 new mammal species every single day on my Asian trip kept me going. 
The crazy thing about it is that exactly 20 of those new species were primates and here's the list:
Gursky's Spectral Tarsier = 3 zoos
Horsfield’s Tarsier = 1 zoo
Proboscis Monkey = 8 zoos
Black-shanked Douc Langur = 1 zoo
Laotian Langur = 1 zoo
Indochinese Silvered Langur = 1 zoo
West Javan Langur = 2 zoos
Javan Surili = 3 zoos
Mitered Surili = 3 zoos
Natuna Island Surili = 1 zoo
White-thighed Surili = 1 zoo
Guianan Red Howler Monkey = 1 zoo
Assam Macaque = 1 zoo
Moor Macaque = 4 zoos
Heck's Macaque = 2 zoos
Northern Pig-tailed Macaque = 1 zoo
Siberut Macaque = 1 zoo
Gorontalo Macaque = 1 zoo
Bornean White-bearded Gibbon = 2 zoos
Kloss's Gibbon = 2 zoos
As you can see, there are certainly some ultra-rare species to see in captivity and 11 of the primates were seen by me in only a single zoo! In case anyone was wondering, Red-shanked Douc Langurs weren't new to me as I saw them at Philadelphia Zoo (2010) and Cologne Zoo (2019), before viewing them at 7 zoos in Asia.
20 photos of 20 species:
A truly exciting moment was at Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) when a Gursky's Spectral Tarsier leapt out into its outdoor exhibit, and I snapped this shot.
I then saw Tarsiers at 3 more zoos (!!), all in Indonesia, including Horsfield's Tarsier at Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia).
@Sicarius
One of my bucket list mammals was to see a Proboscis Monkey and I did for the first time at Singapore Zoo and then at a further 7 zoos in Indonesia. They are relatively common in that nation, even apparently free roaming at Surabaya Zoo and here's a choice specimen at Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia).
I only saw Black-shanked Douc Langurs at a single zoo and that was Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand), a new facility that just opened a couple of years ago. These are gorgeous monkeys and at times this zoo has held Black-shanked, Gray-shanked and Red-shanked all at once.
The same goes for Laotian Langurs, only at a single zoo and it was at Lanna Mini Zoo (Thailand), an establishment that is near the Chiang Mai pair of zoos in the northern part of the country.
The horrible Lopburi Zoo (Thailand) was home to an Indochinese Silvered Langur, the only one I've ever seen.
I saw West Javan Langurs at two zoos, including this individual at Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia).
@twilighter
Javan Surilis were seen by me at 3 zoos, all in Indonesia, including Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia).
Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) is home to this rather rude Mitered Surili, one of 3 Indonesian zoos where I saw the species. Nothing like getting the middle finger from a fellow primate!
At another new zoo, this time Lembang Park & Zoo (Indonesia), I saw Natuna Island Surilis for the first and last time in my life. Another stunning primate.
Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) has an exhibit with White-thighed Surilis, the only facility perhaps in the world with the species. However, here's my photo of a wild White-thighed Surili at Zoo Negara (Malaysia) that jumped into one of that zoo's many porcupine exhibits for food.
There's only a handful of zoos on the planet with Guianan Red Howler Monkeys, but I saw two of the animals in dense foliage at River Wonders (Singapore) while on the Amazon Quest boat ride.
I added SIX new macaque species to my all-time list while in Southeast Asia, including this Assam Macaque at Wildlife Rescue Centre No. 1 (Thailand). This is the place that has more than 1,200 Crab-eating Macaques in a row of cages, an astonishing total. Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) also has an Assam Macaque exhibit, but I didn't see any animals there and it appeared to be empty.
I saw Moor Macaques at 4 different zoos on the trip, with Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) having two exhibits for the species.
Here's my image of a Heck's Macaque at Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia), one of only two zoos where I saw this species and both were in Indonesia which is obviously a rich source of rare primates.
I saw wild Southern Pig-tailed Macaques inside zoos, but only at Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) did I come across captive Northern Pig-tailed Macaques. There was at least two of the primates in this outdated enclosure.
Is Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) the only zoo on the planet with Siberut Macaques? Not only that, but arguably Indonesia's best zoo has two exhibits for the species in different sections of the park.
And I'm not sure how many zoos other than Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) have Gorontalo Macaques. It's just too bad this zoo has many shoddy primate cages.
@twilighter
I saw a Bornean White-bearded Gibbon at Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) and at Lembang Park & Zoo (Indonesia), plus Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) had the species signed but I didn't count them as I think all 4 gibbon exhibits there were Agile Gibbons.
I also had sightings of Kloss's Gibbons at two zoos, including this one at Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia).
The crazy thing about it is that exactly 20 of those new species were primates and here's the list:
Gursky's Spectral Tarsier = 3 zoos
Horsfield’s Tarsier = 1 zoo
Proboscis Monkey = 8 zoos
Black-shanked Douc Langur = 1 zoo
Laotian Langur = 1 zoo
Indochinese Silvered Langur = 1 zoo
West Javan Langur = 2 zoos
Javan Surili = 3 zoos
Mitered Surili = 3 zoos
Natuna Island Surili = 1 zoo
White-thighed Surili = 1 zoo
Guianan Red Howler Monkey = 1 zoo
Assam Macaque = 1 zoo
Moor Macaque = 4 zoos
Heck's Macaque = 2 zoos
Northern Pig-tailed Macaque = 1 zoo
Siberut Macaque = 1 zoo
Gorontalo Macaque = 1 zoo
Bornean White-bearded Gibbon = 2 zoos
Kloss's Gibbon = 2 zoos
As you can see, there are certainly some ultra-rare species to see in captivity and 11 of the primates were seen by me in only a single zoo! In case anyone was wondering, Red-shanked Douc Langurs weren't new to me as I saw them at Philadelphia Zoo (2010) and Cologne Zoo (2019), before viewing them at 7 zoos in Asia.
20 photos of 20 species:
A truly exciting moment was at Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) when a Gursky's Spectral Tarsier leapt out into its outdoor exhibit, and I snapped this shot.
I then saw Tarsiers at 3 more zoos (!!), all in Indonesia, including Horsfield's Tarsier at Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia).
@Sicarius
One of my bucket list mammals was to see a Proboscis Monkey and I did for the first time at Singapore Zoo and then at a further 7 zoos in Indonesia. They are relatively common in that nation, even apparently free roaming at Surabaya Zoo and here's a choice specimen at Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia).
I only saw Black-shanked Douc Langurs at a single zoo and that was Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand), a new facility that just opened a couple of years ago. These are gorgeous monkeys and at times this zoo has held Black-shanked, Gray-shanked and Red-shanked all at once.
The same goes for Laotian Langurs, only at a single zoo and it was at Lanna Mini Zoo (Thailand), an establishment that is near the Chiang Mai pair of zoos in the northern part of the country.
The horrible Lopburi Zoo (Thailand) was home to an Indochinese Silvered Langur, the only one I've ever seen.
I saw West Javan Langurs at two zoos, including this individual at Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia).
@twilighter
Javan Surilis were seen by me at 3 zoos, all in Indonesia, including Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia).
Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) is home to this rather rude Mitered Surili, one of 3 Indonesian zoos where I saw the species. Nothing like getting the middle finger from a fellow primate!
At another new zoo, this time Lembang Park & Zoo (Indonesia), I saw Natuna Island Surilis for the first and last time in my life. Another stunning primate.
Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) has an exhibit with White-thighed Surilis, the only facility perhaps in the world with the species. However, here's my photo of a wild White-thighed Surili at Zoo Negara (Malaysia) that jumped into one of that zoo's many porcupine exhibits for food.
There's only a handful of zoos on the planet with Guianan Red Howler Monkeys, but I saw two of the animals in dense foliage at River Wonders (Singapore) while on the Amazon Quest boat ride.
I added SIX new macaque species to my all-time list while in Southeast Asia, including this Assam Macaque at Wildlife Rescue Centre No. 1 (Thailand). This is the place that has more than 1,200 Crab-eating Macaques in a row of cages, an astonishing total. Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) also has an Assam Macaque exhibit, but I didn't see any animals there and it appeared to be empty.
I saw Moor Macaques at 4 different zoos on the trip, with Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) having two exhibits for the species.
Here's my image of a Heck's Macaque at Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia), one of only two zoos where I saw this species and both were in Indonesia which is obviously a rich source of rare primates.
I saw wild Southern Pig-tailed Macaques inside zoos, but only at Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) did I come across captive Northern Pig-tailed Macaques. There was at least two of the primates in this outdated enclosure.
Is Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) the only zoo on the planet with Siberut Macaques? Not only that, but arguably Indonesia's best zoo has two exhibits for the species in different sections of the park.
And I'm not sure how many zoos other than Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) have Gorontalo Macaques. It's just too bad this zoo has many shoddy primate cages.
@twilighter
I saw a Bornean White-bearded Gibbon at Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) and at Lembang Park & Zoo (Indonesia), plus Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) had the species signed but I didn't count them as I think all 4 gibbon exhibits there were Agile Gibbons.
I also had sightings of Kloss's Gibbons at two zoos, including this one at Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia).
biggest_dreamer
Well-Known Member
Great to see your Asian primate additions highlighted! Next week I'll be visiting Japan, and while zoos unfortunately won't be the primary purpose of the trip, I still intend to work in 5 or so. This should allow me to see proboscis monkey, red-shanked douc, and Philippine tarsier, among a handful of slightly less exciting species (woolly monkey, Tibetan macaque, Rhesus macaque, black lemur). Of all of the incredible new species I'm hoping to see, somehow I keep coming back to the proboscis monkey as the most exciting one.
I wasn't familiar with the Laotian langur prior to this post. That's a really striking species, and a great picture!
I wasn't familiar with the Laotian langur prior to this post. That's a really striking species, and a great picture!
I had a post detailing the changes in the statistics for great apes, another post showcasing the new primate species I saw while touring Asian zoos, and now here's my 3rd and final post on primates with my updated totals to the present day.
Final species lists for 15/16 PRIMATE families: 168 total species in captivity
Cheirogaleeidae: 3 species (6 zoos with Grey Mouse Lemur, 3 Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur, 1 Goodman's Mouse Lemur)
Lepilemuridae: 0 species
Lemuridae: 14 species (202 zoos with Ring-tailed Lemur, 87 Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, 78 Red Ruffed Lemur, 15 Black Lemur, 12 Mongoose Lemur, 11 Red-collared Brown Lemur, 10 Brown Lemur, 10 Crowned Lemur, 10 Red-fronted Brown Lemur, 9 Blue-eyed Black Lemur, 7 Red-bellied Lemur, 7 White-fronted Brown Lemur, 4 Lac Alaotra Bamboo Lemur, 1 Greater Bamboo Lemur)
Indriidae: 2 species (9 zoos with Coquerel's Sifaka, 1 Crowned Sifaka)
Daubentoniidae: 1 species (7 zoos with Aye-aye)
Galagidae: 4 species (21 zoos with either Garnett's Greater Galago, Northern Lesser Galago, Southern Lesser Galago or Thick-tailed Greater Galago)
Lorisidae: 6 species (32 zoos with either Bengal Slow Loris, Gray Slender Loris, Javan Slow Loris, Pygmy Slow Loris, Hiller's/Sumatran Slow Loris or West African Potto)
Tarsiidae: 2 species (4 zoos with either Gursky's Spectral Tarsier or Horsfield’s Tarsier)
Callitrichidae: 21 species (94 zoos with Cotton-top Tamarin, 64 Golden Lion Tamarin, 44 Common Marmoset, 42 Northern & Southern Pygmy Marmoset, 38 Goeldi's Monkey, 26 Emperor Tamarin, 23 Golden-headed Lion Tamarin, 22 White-headed/Geoffroy's Marmoset, 18 Red-handed Tamarin, 9 Pied Bare-faced Tamarin, 7 Black-tufted-ear Marmoset, 7 White-lipped Tamarin, 6 Geoffroy’s Tamarin, 5 Silvery Marmoset, 3 Wied's Marmoset, 1 Black Lion Tamarin, 1 Black-mantled Tamarin, 1 Brown-mantled Tamarin, 1 Moustached Tamarin, 1 Weddell’s Saddle-back Tamarin)
Aotidae: 5 species (24 zoos with "Night Monkeys" - Grey-legged Night Monkey, Humboldt's Night Monkey, Ma's Night Monkey, Southern Bolivian Night Monkey, Three-striped Night Monkey)
Cebidae: 10 species (91 zoos with Squirrel Monkeys of 3 species, 53 Brown/Tufted Capuchin, 19 White-faced Capuchin, 9 Yellow-breasted Capuchin, 6 White-fronted Capuchin, 2 Crested Capuchin, 1 Guianan Weeper Capuchin, 1 Hooded Capuchin)
Pitheciidae: 7 species (60 zoos with White-faced Saki, 14 White-eared Titi, 7 Coppery Titi, 4 Bearded Saki (Guianan, Red-backed), 1 Bald Uakari, 1 Red-bellied Titi)
Atelidae: 9 species (91 zoos with "Spider Monkeys" - 5 species, 36 Black-and-gold Howler Monkey, 6 Red Howler Monkey, 2 Common Woolly Monkey, 1 Guianan Red Howler Monkey)
Cercopithecidae: 67 species (78 zoos with "Colobus Monkeys" - 3 species = Angolan, Guereza, King, 48 Mandrill, 35 Hamadryas Baboon, 33 De Brazza's Monkey, 27 Japanese Macaque, 27 Lion-tailed Macaque, 21 Sulawesi Crested Macaque, 20 Patas Monkey, 20 zoos with "Chlorocebus Monkeys" - 3 species = Green, Grivet, Vervet, 17 Francois' Langur, 16 Barbary Macaque, 16 Southern Pig-tailed Macaque, 15 Diana Monkey, 14 Crab-eating Macaque, 14 East Javan Langur, 13 Red-tailed Monkey, 13 Wolf's Mona Monkey, 12 Red-capped Mangabey, 12 Rhesus Macaque, 10 Allen's Swamp Monkey, 10 Black Crested Mangabey, 10 Dusky Leaf Langur, 10 Mona Monkey, 10 Olive Baboon, 9 Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey, 9 Red-shanked Douc Langur, 8 Drill, 8 Proboscis Monkey, 8 Silvery Lutung, 8 Stump-tailed Macaque, 7 Golden-bellied Mangabey, 6 Gelada, 6 Guinea Baboon, 6 Hanuman Langur, 5 Blue Monkey, 5 Bonnet Macaque, 5 Northern Talapoin Monkey, 4 Heck's Macaque, 4 Moor Macaque, 3 Javan Surili, 3 Mitered Surili, 3 Tonkean Macaque, 3 White-naped Mangabey, 2 Booted Macaque, 2 Greater Spot-nosed Monkey, 2 L'Hoest's Monkey, 2 Owl-faced Monkey, 2 Roloway Monkey, 2 Sykes' Monkey, 2 Toque Macaque, 2 West Javan Langur, 1 Assam Macaque, 1 Black-shanked Douc Langur, 1 Gorontalo Macaque 1, Indochinese Silvered Langur, 1 Laotian Langur, 1 Moustached Monkey, 1 Natuna Island Surili, 1 Northern Pig-tailed Macaque, 1 Siberut Macaque, 1 Sooty Mangabey, 1 White-thighed Surili, 1 Yellow Baboon)
Hylobatidae: 11 species (79 zoos with Siamang, 74 White-handed Gibbon, 39 Northern White-cheeked Gibbon, 13 Agile Gibbon, 13 Yellow-cheeked Gibbon, 11 Silvery Gibbon, 10 Southern Grey Gibbon, 8 Pileated Gibbon, 2 Bornean White-bearded Gibbon, 2 Kloss's Gibbon, 1 Eastern Hoolock Gibbon)
Hominidae: 6 species (96 zoos with "Orangutans" - 2 species = Bornean, Sumatran, 77 Chimpanzee, 76 Western Gorilla, 14 Bonobo, 1 Eastern Gorilla)
Next: Carnivore updates!
Final species lists for 15/16 PRIMATE families: 168 total species in captivity
Cheirogaleeidae: 3 species (6 zoos with Grey Mouse Lemur, 3 Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur, 1 Goodman's Mouse Lemur)
Lepilemuridae: 0 species
Lemuridae: 14 species (202 zoos with Ring-tailed Lemur, 87 Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, 78 Red Ruffed Lemur, 15 Black Lemur, 12 Mongoose Lemur, 11 Red-collared Brown Lemur, 10 Brown Lemur, 10 Crowned Lemur, 10 Red-fronted Brown Lemur, 9 Blue-eyed Black Lemur, 7 Red-bellied Lemur, 7 White-fronted Brown Lemur, 4 Lac Alaotra Bamboo Lemur, 1 Greater Bamboo Lemur)
Indriidae: 2 species (9 zoos with Coquerel's Sifaka, 1 Crowned Sifaka)
Daubentoniidae: 1 species (7 zoos with Aye-aye)
Galagidae: 4 species (21 zoos with either Garnett's Greater Galago, Northern Lesser Galago, Southern Lesser Galago or Thick-tailed Greater Galago)
Lorisidae: 6 species (32 zoos with either Bengal Slow Loris, Gray Slender Loris, Javan Slow Loris, Pygmy Slow Loris, Hiller's/Sumatran Slow Loris or West African Potto)
Tarsiidae: 2 species (4 zoos with either Gursky's Spectral Tarsier or Horsfield’s Tarsier)
Callitrichidae: 21 species (94 zoos with Cotton-top Tamarin, 64 Golden Lion Tamarin, 44 Common Marmoset, 42 Northern & Southern Pygmy Marmoset, 38 Goeldi's Monkey, 26 Emperor Tamarin, 23 Golden-headed Lion Tamarin, 22 White-headed/Geoffroy's Marmoset, 18 Red-handed Tamarin, 9 Pied Bare-faced Tamarin, 7 Black-tufted-ear Marmoset, 7 White-lipped Tamarin, 6 Geoffroy’s Tamarin, 5 Silvery Marmoset, 3 Wied's Marmoset, 1 Black Lion Tamarin, 1 Black-mantled Tamarin, 1 Brown-mantled Tamarin, 1 Moustached Tamarin, 1 Weddell’s Saddle-back Tamarin)
Aotidae: 5 species (24 zoos with "Night Monkeys" - Grey-legged Night Monkey, Humboldt's Night Monkey, Ma's Night Monkey, Southern Bolivian Night Monkey, Three-striped Night Monkey)
Cebidae: 10 species (91 zoos with Squirrel Monkeys of 3 species, 53 Brown/Tufted Capuchin, 19 White-faced Capuchin, 9 Yellow-breasted Capuchin, 6 White-fronted Capuchin, 2 Crested Capuchin, 1 Guianan Weeper Capuchin, 1 Hooded Capuchin)
Pitheciidae: 7 species (60 zoos with White-faced Saki, 14 White-eared Titi, 7 Coppery Titi, 4 Bearded Saki (Guianan, Red-backed), 1 Bald Uakari, 1 Red-bellied Titi)
Atelidae: 9 species (91 zoos with "Spider Monkeys" - 5 species, 36 Black-and-gold Howler Monkey, 6 Red Howler Monkey, 2 Common Woolly Monkey, 1 Guianan Red Howler Monkey)
Cercopithecidae: 67 species (78 zoos with "Colobus Monkeys" - 3 species = Angolan, Guereza, King, 48 Mandrill, 35 Hamadryas Baboon, 33 De Brazza's Monkey, 27 Japanese Macaque, 27 Lion-tailed Macaque, 21 Sulawesi Crested Macaque, 20 Patas Monkey, 20 zoos with "Chlorocebus Monkeys" - 3 species = Green, Grivet, Vervet, 17 Francois' Langur, 16 Barbary Macaque, 16 Southern Pig-tailed Macaque, 15 Diana Monkey, 14 Crab-eating Macaque, 14 East Javan Langur, 13 Red-tailed Monkey, 13 Wolf's Mona Monkey, 12 Red-capped Mangabey, 12 Rhesus Macaque, 10 Allen's Swamp Monkey, 10 Black Crested Mangabey, 10 Dusky Leaf Langur, 10 Mona Monkey, 10 Olive Baboon, 9 Lesser Spot-nosed Monkey, 9 Red-shanked Douc Langur, 8 Drill, 8 Proboscis Monkey, 8 Silvery Lutung, 8 Stump-tailed Macaque, 7 Golden-bellied Mangabey, 6 Gelada, 6 Guinea Baboon, 6 Hanuman Langur, 5 Blue Monkey, 5 Bonnet Macaque, 5 Northern Talapoin Monkey, 4 Heck's Macaque, 4 Moor Macaque, 3 Javan Surili, 3 Mitered Surili, 3 Tonkean Macaque, 3 White-naped Mangabey, 2 Booted Macaque, 2 Greater Spot-nosed Monkey, 2 L'Hoest's Monkey, 2 Owl-faced Monkey, 2 Roloway Monkey, 2 Sykes' Monkey, 2 Toque Macaque, 2 West Javan Langur, 1 Assam Macaque, 1 Black-shanked Douc Langur, 1 Gorontalo Macaque 1, Indochinese Silvered Langur, 1 Laotian Langur, 1 Moustached Monkey, 1 Natuna Island Surili, 1 Northern Pig-tailed Macaque, 1 Siberut Macaque, 1 Sooty Mangabey, 1 White-thighed Surili, 1 Yellow Baboon)
Hylobatidae: 11 species (79 zoos with Siamang, 74 White-handed Gibbon, 39 Northern White-cheeked Gibbon, 13 Agile Gibbon, 13 Yellow-cheeked Gibbon, 11 Silvery Gibbon, 10 Southern Grey Gibbon, 8 Pileated Gibbon, 2 Bornean White-bearded Gibbon, 2 Kloss's Gibbon, 1 Eastern Hoolock Gibbon)
Hominidae: 6 species (96 zoos with "Orangutans" - 2 species = Bornean, Sumatran, 77 Chimpanzee, 76 Western Gorilla, 14 Bonobo, 1 Eastern Gorilla)
Next: Carnivore updates!
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Yesterday I posted that I'd seen 15/16 primate families and 168 total primate species in captivity. It's actually mind-boggling how time-consuming it is to come up with all these numbers on this thread, as each time I visit a new zoo there might be 55 mammal species and that means 55 different word documents need to be updated. Insane, but also quite rewarding when it's all done.
Today, I've got my final carnivore numbers, and I've seen every single family and 149 total species. Here you go:
Final species lists for CARNIVORA includes 16/16 families: 149 total species (excluding two bonus carnivores in the shape of Dingoes and New Guinea Singing Dogs)
Ailuridae: 2 species (113 zoos with either Eastern Red Panda or Western Red Panda)
Canidae: 20 species (129 zoos with Grey Wolf (including Mexican and Eurasian subspecies), 76 Red Fox, 55 Fennec Fox, 52 African Wild Dog, 49 Arctic Fox, 49 Coyote, 39 Maned Wolf, 35 Northern Grey Fox, 29 Bat-eared Fox, 23 Red Wolf, 19 Swift Fox, 16 Bush Dog, 15 Dhole, 10 Raccoon Dog, 6 Corsac Fox, 6 Island Fox, 6 Kit Fox, 6 Black-backed Jackal, 6 Golden Jackal, 1 Tanuki...AND bonus animals are 18 zoos with New Guinea Singing Dog, 6 Dingo)
Eupleridae: 3 species (27 zoos with Fossa, 3 Ring-tailed Vontsira, 1 Fanaloka)
Felidae: 32 species (222 zoos with Tiger, 203 Lion, 128 Bobcat, 123 Cougar, 115 Leopard, 93 Serval, 79 Cheetah, 75 Snow Leopard, 71 Jaguar, 52 Ocelot, 51 Eurasian Lynx, 46 Canada Lynx, 41 Caracal, 39 Mainland Clouded Leopard, 29 Fishing Cat, 29 Pallas's Cat, 19 Sand Cat, 17 Black-footed Cat, 15 'Wildcats' (2 species: African, European), 11 Leopard Cat, 9 Asiatic Golden Cat, 8 Geoffroy's Cat, 7 Margay, 5 Jaguarundi, 3 Jungle Cat, 2 Marbled Cat, 2 Rusty-spotted Cat, 2 Sunda Clouded Leopard, 1 Flat-headed Cat, 1 Southern Tigrina, 1 Sunda Leopard Cat)
Herpestidae: 6 species (150 zoos with Meerkat, 34 Dwarf Mongoose, 25 Banded Mongoose, 9 Yellow Mongoose, 5 Common Kusimanse, 2 Javan Mongoose)
Hyaenidae: 4 species (53 zoos with Spotted Hyena, 22 Striped Hyena, 1 Brown Hyena, 1 Southern Aardwolf)
Mephitidae: 3 species (53 zoos with Striped Skunks, 2 Western Spotted, 1 American Hog-nosed)
Mustelidae: 31 species (116 zoos with North American River Otter, 108 Small-clawed Otter, 31 American Badger, 17 Wolverine, 15 Giant Otter, 15 Sea Otter, 13 Fisher, 13 Tayra, 10 European Otter, 10 Spotted-necked Otter, 9 Yellow-throated Marten, 7 Black-footed Ferret, 6 American Mink, 6 European Mink, 5 European Badger, 5 Ratel, 4 American Marten, 4 Siberian Weasel, 4 Smooth-coated Otter, 2 European Pine Marten, 2 European Polecat, 2 Long-tailed Weasel, 1 African Clawless Otter, 1 African Striped Weasel, 1 Greater Grison, 1 Greater Hog Badger, 1 Indonesian Mountain Weasel, 1 Javan Ferret Badger, 1 Neotropical Otter, 1 Stone Marten, 1 Sumatran Hog Badger)
Nandiniidae: 1 species (1 zoo with African Palm Civet)
Odobenidae: 1 species (9 zoos with Walrus)
Otariidae: 9 species (80 zoos with California Sea Lion, 10 Afro-Australian Fur Seal, 8 Northern Fur Seal, 6 Steller Sea Lion, 5 South American Fur Seal, 3 Australian Sea Lion, 3 South American Sea Lion, 1 Guadalupe Fur Seal, 1 New Zealand Fur Seal)
Phocidae: 6 species (73 zoos with Harbour Seal, 19 Grey Seal, 3 Northern Elephant Seal, 1 Baikal Seal, 1 Harp Seal, 1 Leopard Seal)
Prionodontidae: 1 species (1 zoo with Banded Linsang)
Procyonidae: 7 species (122 zoos with Coati (South American & White-nosed), 108 Northern Raccoon, 30 Kinkajou, 22 Ringtail & Cacomistle, 2 Crab-eating Raccoon)
Ursidae: 8 species (102 zoos with American Black, 97 Brown, 47 Polar, 47 Sun, 33 Andean, 26 Asiatic Black, 25 Sloth, 11 Giant Panda)
Viverridae: 15 species (64 zoos with Binturong, 16 Common Palm Civet, 8 Cape Genet, 7 Masked Palm Civet, 5 Common Genet, 4 Northern Palm Civet, 3 Small-toothed Palm Civet, 2 Small Indian Civet, 1 African Civet, 1 Banded Palm Civet, 1 Large Indian Civet, 1 Malayan Civet, 1 Philippine Palm Civet, 1 Rusty-spotted Genet, 1 Three-striped Palm Civet)
Notable additions would be 4 new felines that are now on my all-time list via my Southeast Asian zoo trip. Here's a Sunda Clouded Leopard at Faunaland (Indonesia) and I also saw that species at Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia).
I saw a couple of Flat-headed Cats, some Sunda Leopard Cats and some Marbled Cats as well. A bounty of rare felines! This Marbled Cat was seen by @twilighter and I at Wildlife Rescue Centre No. 1 (Thailand), which is a facility that is open to the general public. Anyone can go there, but it is in a rural area far away from the city.
I saw Javan Mongooses for the first time ever (at two zoos in Asia) and this image was shot by me at Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia).
It took me more than 600+ zoos to finally see my first Brown Hyena, and the same goes for Banded Linsang at a privately-owned zoo in Indonesia.
There are civets galore in Southeast Asian zoos, many that were new to me, including this gorgeous Large Indian Civet at Songkhla Zoo (Thailand).
A number of zoos labeled these guys as 'Golden' Palm Civets, such as here at Monsters World Aquarium (Thailand).
I had seen Sun Bears at 28 zoos, then after my Asian zoo jaunt I was at 47 zoos with Sun Bears. The astonishing Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) had 14 Sun Bear exhibits (!!), many of them quite poor and with lots of concrete and everywhere I turned in Southeast Asia I saw heaps of Sun Bears. It's shocking, as they are so rare in North American and European collections.
That same massive establishment, Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia), which is one of the world's largest zoological gardens, has 18 Tiger exhibits! Tigers are up there with Sun Bears, Orangutans and various gibbons as the most commonly seen mammals in Southeast Asian zoos.
Today, I've got my final carnivore numbers, and I've seen every single family and 149 total species. Here you go:
Final species lists for CARNIVORA includes 16/16 families: 149 total species (excluding two bonus carnivores in the shape of Dingoes and New Guinea Singing Dogs)
Ailuridae: 2 species (113 zoos with either Eastern Red Panda or Western Red Panda)
Canidae: 20 species (129 zoos with Grey Wolf (including Mexican and Eurasian subspecies), 76 Red Fox, 55 Fennec Fox, 52 African Wild Dog, 49 Arctic Fox, 49 Coyote, 39 Maned Wolf, 35 Northern Grey Fox, 29 Bat-eared Fox, 23 Red Wolf, 19 Swift Fox, 16 Bush Dog, 15 Dhole, 10 Raccoon Dog, 6 Corsac Fox, 6 Island Fox, 6 Kit Fox, 6 Black-backed Jackal, 6 Golden Jackal, 1 Tanuki...AND bonus animals are 18 zoos with New Guinea Singing Dog, 6 Dingo)
Eupleridae: 3 species (27 zoos with Fossa, 3 Ring-tailed Vontsira, 1 Fanaloka)
Felidae: 32 species (222 zoos with Tiger, 203 Lion, 128 Bobcat, 123 Cougar, 115 Leopard, 93 Serval, 79 Cheetah, 75 Snow Leopard, 71 Jaguar, 52 Ocelot, 51 Eurasian Lynx, 46 Canada Lynx, 41 Caracal, 39 Mainland Clouded Leopard, 29 Fishing Cat, 29 Pallas's Cat, 19 Sand Cat, 17 Black-footed Cat, 15 'Wildcats' (2 species: African, European), 11 Leopard Cat, 9 Asiatic Golden Cat, 8 Geoffroy's Cat, 7 Margay, 5 Jaguarundi, 3 Jungle Cat, 2 Marbled Cat, 2 Rusty-spotted Cat, 2 Sunda Clouded Leopard, 1 Flat-headed Cat, 1 Southern Tigrina, 1 Sunda Leopard Cat)
Herpestidae: 6 species (150 zoos with Meerkat, 34 Dwarf Mongoose, 25 Banded Mongoose, 9 Yellow Mongoose, 5 Common Kusimanse, 2 Javan Mongoose)
Hyaenidae: 4 species (53 zoos with Spotted Hyena, 22 Striped Hyena, 1 Brown Hyena, 1 Southern Aardwolf)
Mephitidae: 3 species (53 zoos with Striped Skunks, 2 Western Spotted, 1 American Hog-nosed)
Mustelidae: 31 species (116 zoos with North American River Otter, 108 Small-clawed Otter, 31 American Badger, 17 Wolverine, 15 Giant Otter, 15 Sea Otter, 13 Fisher, 13 Tayra, 10 European Otter, 10 Spotted-necked Otter, 9 Yellow-throated Marten, 7 Black-footed Ferret, 6 American Mink, 6 European Mink, 5 European Badger, 5 Ratel, 4 American Marten, 4 Siberian Weasel, 4 Smooth-coated Otter, 2 European Pine Marten, 2 European Polecat, 2 Long-tailed Weasel, 1 African Clawless Otter, 1 African Striped Weasel, 1 Greater Grison, 1 Greater Hog Badger, 1 Indonesian Mountain Weasel, 1 Javan Ferret Badger, 1 Neotropical Otter, 1 Stone Marten, 1 Sumatran Hog Badger)
Nandiniidae: 1 species (1 zoo with African Palm Civet)
Odobenidae: 1 species (9 zoos with Walrus)
Otariidae: 9 species (80 zoos with California Sea Lion, 10 Afro-Australian Fur Seal, 8 Northern Fur Seal, 6 Steller Sea Lion, 5 South American Fur Seal, 3 Australian Sea Lion, 3 South American Sea Lion, 1 Guadalupe Fur Seal, 1 New Zealand Fur Seal)
Phocidae: 6 species (73 zoos with Harbour Seal, 19 Grey Seal, 3 Northern Elephant Seal, 1 Baikal Seal, 1 Harp Seal, 1 Leopard Seal)
Prionodontidae: 1 species (1 zoo with Banded Linsang)
Procyonidae: 7 species (122 zoos with Coati (South American & White-nosed), 108 Northern Raccoon, 30 Kinkajou, 22 Ringtail & Cacomistle, 2 Crab-eating Raccoon)
Ursidae: 8 species (102 zoos with American Black, 97 Brown, 47 Polar, 47 Sun, 33 Andean, 26 Asiatic Black, 25 Sloth, 11 Giant Panda)
Viverridae: 15 species (64 zoos with Binturong, 16 Common Palm Civet, 8 Cape Genet, 7 Masked Palm Civet, 5 Common Genet, 4 Northern Palm Civet, 3 Small-toothed Palm Civet, 2 Small Indian Civet, 1 African Civet, 1 Banded Palm Civet, 1 Large Indian Civet, 1 Malayan Civet, 1 Philippine Palm Civet, 1 Rusty-spotted Genet, 1 Three-striped Palm Civet)
Notable additions would be 4 new felines that are now on my all-time list via my Southeast Asian zoo trip. Here's a Sunda Clouded Leopard at Faunaland (Indonesia) and I also saw that species at Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia).
I saw a couple of Flat-headed Cats, some Sunda Leopard Cats and some Marbled Cats as well. A bounty of rare felines! This Marbled Cat was seen by @twilighter and I at Wildlife Rescue Centre No. 1 (Thailand), which is a facility that is open to the general public. Anyone can go there, but it is in a rural area far away from the city.
I saw Javan Mongooses for the first time ever (at two zoos in Asia) and this image was shot by me at Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia).
It took me more than 600+ zoos to finally see my first Brown Hyena, and the same goes for Banded Linsang at a privately-owned zoo in Indonesia.
There are civets galore in Southeast Asian zoos, many that were new to me, including this gorgeous Large Indian Civet at Songkhla Zoo (Thailand).
A number of zoos labeled these guys as 'Golden' Palm Civets, such as here at Monsters World Aquarium (Thailand).
I had seen Sun Bears at 28 zoos, then after my Asian zoo jaunt I was at 47 zoos with Sun Bears. The astonishing Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) had 14 Sun Bear exhibits (!!), many of them quite poor and with lots of concrete and everywhere I turned in Southeast Asia I saw heaps of Sun Bears. It's shocking, as they are so rare in North American and European collections.
That same massive establishment, Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia), which is one of the world's largest zoological gardens, has 18 Tiger exhibits! Tigers are up there with Sun Bears, Orangutans and various gibbons as the most commonly seen mammals in Southeast Asian zoos.
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biggest_dreamer
Well-Known Member
I'm sure you've addressed this before at some point or another, but how exactly do you organize your lists? Having a separate document for each species feels unthinkable to me, but obviously you're operating on a level far beyond most people here.
Incredibly jealous of those obscure carnivorans. Flat-headed cat and linsang in particular would be an absolute dream.
It's kind of crazy @biggest_dreamer but I do have a separate word document for each species (I'm guessing I'm old school?) and it's quite the task to update them all. I do also have a number of documents for multiple species (macaques, macropods, rhinos, etc.), which makes for an intriguing time comparing and contrasting the various animals.
Moving on, I wonder how many captive mammal species I've actually seen? On this thread I've been very transparent, and I've listed all of the 168 primate species and the 149 carnivore species in the past couple of days. I also had posts on Perissodactyla (15 species), Artiodactyla (155 species), Macropodidae (21 species), Marsupials/Monotremes (17 species), Rodents (23 species) and miscellaneous other mammals (12 species). By my count, I've covered exactly 560 mammal species via photos and text on this thread. Phew!
I wonder how many types of bats I've come across over the years. Maybe 20 species? How many rats and mice have I seen? I saw more than a dozen species within the Bronx Zoo's Mouse House this month that I never mentioned whatsoever on this thread, plus other zoos have had big collections of rodents which I never discussed. I didn't make any species lists at the time but just imagine all of the delightful mammals I saw in the Nocturnal Houses within the space of 6 weeks in 2007 while touring Australia. Healesville Sanctuary, Taronga Zoo, Adelaide Zoo and especially the one at Alice Springs Desert Park are all terrific buildings and genuine highlights of each zoo. Back then, I remember going back and forth seeing opossums, bats, rodents, a Kowari or two, mulgaras, quolls, phasogales, dunnarts and other strange Aussie creatures of the night. I've seen Bilbies and bandicoots, bettongs and many other critters that I cannot even recall. Loads of ground squirrels, chipmunks, hyraxes, sloths and 'regular' squirrels would all add up if I had comprehensive species lists from many moons ago, and so my best guess is that maybe I've seen 700 mammal species in total but then again maybe not quite that high a number. I'll never truly know.
So...I'm done with mammals, and I'm finished with mammal updates, but this thread is definitely not over. Just like the situation when I tossed up a curveball with PENGUINS right before last Christmas, I'm going to do the same right now and assess KOMODO DRAGONS!
I've seen Komodo Dragons at 67 zoos and here is a species that was practically unheard of in North American zoos back in the 1990s. They were a little like Giant Pandas in that zoos would pick up a couple of the world's largest lizards on a temporary, seasonal loan and crowds would flock to see the rarities. But on my first large scale Snowleopard Road Trip, in 2008, I saw Komodo Dragons at a dozen zoos just that summer and then more than a dozen zoos on my next road trip in 2010. Suddenly, Komodos were everywhere! These days, I find them to be relatively common in captivity and of course I saw a plethora of dragons while in Southeast Asia last summer.
2008 = 12 zoos
2010 = 13 zoos
2024 = 13 zoos
1- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2000
2- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2006
3- Denver Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2006
4- Taronga Zoo (Australia) – Komodo Dragon – 2007
5- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
6- Shedd Aquarium (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
7- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
8- Smithsonian’s National Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
9- Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
10- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
11- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
12- Zoo Atlanta (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
13- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
14- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
15- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
16- Zoo Miami (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
17- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
18- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
19- Louisville Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
20- Akron Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
21- Birmingham Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
22- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
23- Houston Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
24- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
25- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
26- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
27- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
28- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
29- Zoo Boise (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
30- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2011
31- John Ball Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
32- Virginia Aquarium (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
33- St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
34- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
35- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
36- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
37- Reptile Gardens (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2014
38- Ellen Trout Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2015
39- Moody Gardens (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2015
40- Shark Reef Aquarium (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2015
41- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Komodo Dragon – 2016
42- San Francisco Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2017
43- Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2017
44- Great Plains Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2018
45- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2018
46- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Komodo Dragon – 2019
47- Diergaarde Blijdorp (Netherlands) – Komodo Dragon – 2019
48- Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) – Komodo Dragon – 2019
49- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Komodo Dragon – 2019
50- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Komodo Dragon – 2019
51- Randers Regnskov/Randers Tropical Zoo (Denmark) – Komodo Dragon – 2022
52- Terrariet Reptile Zoo (Denmark) – Komodo Dragon – 2022
53- Parken Zoo (Sweden) – Komodo Dragon – 2022
54- Monsters Aquarium (Thailand) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
55- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
56- Bali Zoo (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
57- Bali Reptile Park (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
58- Bali Bird Park (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
59- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
60- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
61- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
62- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
63- Lembang Park & Zoo (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
64- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
65- Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
66- Taman Mini Indonesia Indah: Reptile Park (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
67- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2025
When Woodland Park Zoo (USA) opened its Komodo Dragon exhibit in 2000, called Dragons of Komodo, it was a really popular addition to the Adaptations building (which was the old 1950s Feline House). Now 25 years old, the exhibit has not changed very much since then.
San Diego Zoo (USA) has had Komodo Dragons for as long as I can remember, but Komodo Kingdom is an excellent, fairly new addition to the zoo.
It was a big deal for me to see Komodo Dragons at Taronga Zoo (Australia), as of the 20 zoos I've visited in that nation, I think this was the only one with dragons back in 2007.
@Baldur
Shedd Aquarium (USA) had a temporary exhibit with Komodo Dragons in the summer of 2008, and my image below is the only one on ZooChat of that seasonal attraction. It was called Lizards and the Komodo King and featured between 20-25 species. Did anyone else on this site visit that exhibit?
Here is the Komodo Dragon outdoor exhibit at Columbus Zoo (USA) back in the day when I toured the facility.
@geomorph
Of course, MOLA at Fort Worth Zoo (USA) has an indoor/outdoor Komodo Dragon complex in that world-class Reptile House.
Quite a few American zoos have had Komodo Dragon enclosures that have been tight on space, with some zoos having the lizards indoors 24/7 and occasionally only keeping juvenile dragons. Here's an average-sized exhibit (for an American zoo) for a Komodo Dragon at Houston Zoo (USA) and you can see a lizard on the right.
There's no doubt what species lives in this exhibit at San Antonio Zoo (USA):
Phoenix Zoo (USA) has the hot climate to allow the outdoor showcasing of Komodo Dragons year-round.
Seeing a Komodo Dragon resting on a slab of cement is what all visitors see at Shark Reef Aquarium (USA) in Las Vegas. Not the best exhibit for this species.
@Coelacanth18
It's a little industrial looking, but at least Calgary Zoo (Canada) recognizes its location in a cold climate, and they provide their Komodo Dragons with a decent indoor exhibit.
In the summer of 2019, I toured 95 zoos in 4 European nations on my biggest and best zoo trip ever. It's interesting that I only saw Komodo Dragons at FIVE zoos on that vacation. Why so few Komodos??? Here's a nice indoor exhibit for the species at Antwerp Zoo (Belgium).
@KevinB
The legendary Grzimek House at Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) has a Komodo Dragon exhibit.
@JigerofLemuria
I did see Komodo Dragons at 3 zoos on my Scandinavian trip in 2022, including this large exhibit at Parken Zoo (Sweden).
But it was in Southeast Asia, at 13 zoos, where I truly appreciated the Komodo Dragon exhibits on display. In total, 11 of those zoos were found in Indonesia. The large exhibit at Singapore Zoo (Singapore) has glass viewing windows on the left and lots of viewing space for visitors outdoors.
A Komodo Dragon is in the center of this photo at Bali Reptile Park (Indonesia).
A pair of Komodo Dragons can be seen lounging on the grass at Solo Safari (Indonesia), a zoo that just opened a couple of years ago. Or technically reopened, as it was originally an old, crappy zoo and was then overhauled under new management.
Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) is perhaps the epicenter of Komodo Dragon captive sightings. The zoo has EIGHT Komodo Dragon exhibits, all very large and all outdoors. My photo below shows one of the enclosures, complete with a handful of adult lizards, and I saw at least 50 Komodo Dragons between all of the various exhibits and I was told by a curator at another zoo that Surabaya has more than 100 Komodo Dragons in total including off-show animals. All of the exhibits are together in one section of the zoo and it's kind of surreal to walk around and see so many massive lizards when at other zoos you are lucky to see one or two animals.
At Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (Indonesia), the entire indoor area of the Reptile Park is located within an enormous Komodo Dragon shaped building. I saw a trio of Komodo Dragon exhibits here, all outdoors in the brilliant sunshine.
Just this month, I saw the very nice indoor and outdoor Komodo Dragon complex at the Bronx Zoo (USA), in the historic Zoo Center building. It's the old pachyderm house and there's still at least one White Rhino in residence.
Next: Back on Monday with an analysis of...SEA TURTLES!
Moving on, I wonder how many captive mammal species I've actually seen? On this thread I've been very transparent, and I've listed all of the 168 primate species and the 149 carnivore species in the past couple of days. I also had posts on Perissodactyla (15 species), Artiodactyla (155 species), Macropodidae (21 species), Marsupials/Monotremes (17 species), Rodents (23 species) and miscellaneous other mammals (12 species). By my count, I've covered exactly 560 mammal species via photos and text on this thread. Phew!
I wonder how many types of bats I've come across over the years. Maybe 20 species? How many rats and mice have I seen? I saw more than a dozen species within the Bronx Zoo's Mouse House this month that I never mentioned whatsoever on this thread, plus other zoos have had big collections of rodents which I never discussed. I didn't make any species lists at the time but just imagine all of the delightful mammals I saw in the Nocturnal Houses within the space of 6 weeks in 2007 while touring Australia. Healesville Sanctuary, Taronga Zoo, Adelaide Zoo and especially the one at Alice Springs Desert Park are all terrific buildings and genuine highlights of each zoo. Back then, I remember going back and forth seeing opossums, bats, rodents, a Kowari or two, mulgaras, quolls, phasogales, dunnarts and other strange Aussie creatures of the night. I've seen Bilbies and bandicoots, bettongs and many other critters that I cannot even recall. Loads of ground squirrels, chipmunks, hyraxes, sloths and 'regular' squirrels would all add up if I had comprehensive species lists from many moons ago, and so my best guess is that maybe I've seen 700 mammal species in total but then again maybe not quite that high a number. I'll never truly know.
So...I'm done with mammals, and I'm finished with mammal updates, but this thread is definitely not over. Just like the situation when I tossed up a curveball with PENGUINS right before last Christmas, I'm going to do the same right now and assess KOMODO DRAGONS!
I've seen Komodo Dragons at 67 zoos and here is a species that was practically unheard of in North American zoos back in the 1990s. They were a little like Giant Pandas in that zoos would pick up a couple of the world's largest lizards on a temporary, seasonal loan and crowds would flock to see the rarities. But on my first large scale Snowleopard Road Trip, in 2008, I saw Komodo Dragons at a dozen zoos just that summer and then more than a dozen zoos on my next road trip in 2010. Suddenly, Komodos were everywhere! These days, I find them to be relatively common in captivity and of course I saw a plethora of dragons while in Southeast Asia last summer.
2008 = 12 zoos
2010 = 13 zoos
2024 = 13 zoos
1- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2000
2- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2006
3- Denver Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2006
4- Taronga Zoo (Australia) – Komodo Dragon – 2007
5- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
6- Shedd Aquarium (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
7- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
8- Smithsonian’s National Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
9- Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
10- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
11- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
12- Zoo Atlanta (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
13- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
14- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
15- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
16- Zoo Miami (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2008
17- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
18- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
19- Louisville Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
20- Akron Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
21- Birmingham Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
22- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
23- Houston Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
24- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
25- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
26- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
27- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
28- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
29- Zoo Boise (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2010
30- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2011
31- John Ball Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
32- Virginia Aquarium (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
33- St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
34- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
35- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
36- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2012
37- Reptile Gardens (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2014
38- Ellen Trout Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2015
39- Moody Gardens (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2015
40- Shark Reef Aquarium (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2015
41- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Komodo Dragon – 2016
42- San Francisco Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2017
43- Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2017
44- Great Plains Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2018
45- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2018
46- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Komodo Dragon – 2019
47- Diergaarde Blijdorp (Netherlands) – Komodo Dragon – 2019
48- Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) – Komodo Dragon – 2019
49- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Komodo Dragon – 2019
50- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Komodo Dragon – 2019
51- Randers Regnskov/Randers Tropical Zoo (Denmark) – Komodo Dragon – 2022
52- Terrariet Reptile Zoo (Denmark) – Komodo Dragon – 2022
53- Parken Zoo (Sweden) – Komodo Dragon – 2022
54- Monsters Aquarium (Thailand) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
55- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
56- Bali Zoo (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
57- Bali Reptile Park (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
58- Bali Bird Park (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
59- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
60- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
61- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
62- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
63- Lembang Park & Zoo (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
64- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
65- Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
66- Taman Mini Indonesia Indah: Reptile Park (Indonesia) – Komodo Dragon – 2024
67- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Komodo Dragon – 2025
When Woodland Park Zoo (USA) opened its Komodo Dragon exhibit in 2000, called Dragons of Komodo, it was a really popular addition to the Adaptations building (which was the old 1950s Feline House). Now 25 years old, the exhibit has not changed very much since then.
San Diego Zoo (USA) has had Komodo Dragons for as long as I can remember, but Komodo Kingdom is an excellent, fairly new addition to the zoo.
It was a big deal for me to see Komodo Dragons at Taronga Zoo (Australia), as of the 20 zoos I've visited in that nation, I think this was the only one with dragons back in 2007.
@Baldur
Shedd Aquarium (USA) had a temporary exhibit with Komodo Dragons in the summer of 2008, and my image below is the only one on ZooChat of that seasonal attraction. It was called Lizards and the Komodo King and featured between 20-25 species. Did anyone else on this site visit that exhibit?
Here is the Komodo Dragon outdoor exhibit at Columbus Zoo (USA) back in the day when I toured the facility.
@geomorph
Of course, MOLA at Fort Worth Zoo (USA) has an indoor/outdoor Komodo Dragon complex in that world-class Reptile House.
Quite a few American zoos have had Komodo Dragon enclosures that have been tight on space, with some zoos having the lizards indoors 24/7 and occasionally only keeping juvenile dragons. Here's an average-sized exhibit (for an American zoo) for a Komodo Dragon at Houston Zoo (USA) and you can see a lizard on the right.
There's no doubt what species lives in this exhibit at San Antonio Zoo (USA):
Phoenix Zoo (USA) has the hot climate to allow the outdoor showcasing of Komodo Dragons year-round.
Seeing a Komodo Dragon resting on a slab of cement is what all visitors see at Shark Reef Aquarium (USA) in Las Vegas. Not the best exhibit for this species.
@Coelacanth18
It's a little industrial looking, but at least Calgary Zoo (Canada) recognizes its location in a cold climate, and they provide their Komodo Dragons with a decent indoor exhibit.
In the summer of 2019, I toured 95 zoos in 4 European nations on my biggest and best zoo trip ever. It's interesting that I only saw Komodo Dragons at FIVE zoos on that vacation. Why so few Komodos??? Here's a nice indoor exhibit for the species at Antwerp Zoo (Belgium).
@KevinB
The legendary Grzimek House at Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) has a Komodo Dragon exhibit.
@JigerofLemuria
I did see Komodo Dragons at 3 zoos on my Scandinavian trip in 2022, including this large exhibit at Parken Zoo (Sweden).
But it was in Southeast Asia, at 13 zoos, where I truly appreciated the Komodo Dragon exhibits on display. In total, 11 of those zoos were found in Indonesia. The large exhibit at Singapore Zoo (Singapore) has glass viewing windows on the left and lots of viewing space for visitors outdoors.
A Komodo Dragon is in the center of this photo at Bali Reptile Park (Indonesia).
A pair of Komodo Dragons can be seen lounging on the grass at Solo Safari (Indonesia), a zoo that just opened a couple of years ago. Or technically reopened, as it was originally an old, crappy zoo and was then overhauled under new management.
Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) is perhaps the epicenter of Komodo Dragon captive sightings. The zoo has EIGHT Komodo Dragon exhibits, all very large and all outdoors. My photo below shows one of the enclosures, complete with a handful of adult lizards, and I saw at least 50 Komodo Dragons between all of the various exhibits and I was told by a curator at another zoo that Surabaya has more than 100 Komodo Dragons in total including off-show animals. All of the exhibits are together in one section of the zoo and it's kind of surreal to walk around and see so many massive lizards when at other zoos you are lucky to see one or two animals.
At Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (Indonesia), the entire indoor area of the Reptile Park is located within an enormous Komodo Dragon shaped building. I saw a trio of Komodo Dragon exhibits here, all outdoors in the brilliant sunshine.
Just this month, I saw the very nice indoor and outdoor Komodo Dragon complex at the Bronx Zoo (USA), in the historic Zoo Center building. It's the old pachyderm house and there's still at least one White Rhino in residence.
Next: Back on Monday with an analysis of...SEA TURTLES!