Snowleopard's Mammals: A Lifetime List of Species Mammalian and Non-Mammalian

[Philipine eagle]

There are several zoos that spend a lot of money on in-situ conservation, but this doesn't negate the opinion that spending lots of money on a zoo exhibit for animals that are common in captivity is not true conservation

Sumatran tigers are not that common in zoos, are they? I suspect there are not many purebreds among those thousands of tigers in US roadside zoos.
108 zoos worldwide with Sumatran tigers, that means 200-250 specimen? That's half the world's population, and not even enough to ensure the long-term survival of the species in captivity.

Furthermore, many nature parks in which they occur appear to have only paper protection. Many national parks in Sumatra are experiencing severe deforestation. Even when they are privately run, such as the Hutan Harapain rainforest, they experience great difficulty in preserving the forest.

Would that $20 million provide definitive security for the conservation of this species in the wild? I doubt it.

 

[birdsandbats]

There are several zoos that spend a lot of money on in-situ conservation, but this doesn't negate the opinion that spending lots of money on a zoo exhibit for animals that are common in captivity is not true conservation

And, does everything a zoo does have to further conservation? Because there is not a single zoo in the world that can claim that truthfully.

 

[15399]

There are several zoos that spend a lot of money on in-situ conservation, but this doesn't negate the opinion that spending lots of money on a zoo exhibit for animals that are common in captivity is not true conservation

And not every dollar a zoo makes needs to (or even should, debatably) go directly into "true" conservation. Displaying Sumatran tigers can still have enormous benefits in the realm of conservation education, especially if the signage and overall exhibit are designed in a way to easily facilitate this. Furthermore, new exhibits, especially for popular species like tigers, can bring more people into the gates of the zoo, in turn enabling the zoo to raise more money for conservation in the long run. Zoo exhibits are expensive this days, the zoo couldn't have built a good tiger exhibit unless they wanted to spend a hefty sum of money on it.

 

[Dassie rat]

And not every dollar a zoo makes needs to (or even should, debatably) go directly into "true" conservation. Displaying Sumatran tigers can still have enormous benefits in the realm of conservation education, especially if the signage and overall exhibit are designed in a way to easily facilitate this. Furthermore, new exhibits, especially for popular species like tigers, can bring more people into the gates of the zoo, in turn enabling the zoo to raise more money for conservation in the long run. Zoo exhibits are expensive this days, the zoo couldn't have built a good tiger exhibit unless they wanted to spend a hefty sum of money on it.

Having heard various aguments over the years, it seems that many vistors would want to see a tiger regardless orf the enclosure or whether it is a pure-bred subspecies or has no subspecies status. Many visitors would prefer to see a white tiger, regardless of what Zoochatters think. Similarly many like to see meerkats, even though the species is over-represented in zoos. I doubt if any zoo keeps meerkats for conservation purposes, but why is there an aim to keep tigers with 'no subspecies status', as well as hundreds of pure-bred subspecies that will never be released into the wild? There are several endangered species of small cats and other carnivores that are kept in few, if any zoos, and could be saved from extinction. The $20 million would have been better spent saving some of those. As snowleopard said, tigers tend to breed easily in captivity, regardless of the enclosure.

 

[snowleopard]

After Tigers, Lions and Bobcats, the next feline that I've seen in the most zoos is another from my neck of the woods. I've seen Cougars in 118 zoos. It's a bit shocking to me to look at the huge numbers of zoos that I've seen many cats at and when I added up all the totals months ago the final statistics exceeded my expectations. Cougars are everywhere in North American zoos, but only 5 of the zoos are outside North America and I've typed those ones out in bold.

There are FOUR summer road trips where I saw a heck of a lot of Cougars:

2010 = 16 new zoos with Cougars
2014 = 17 new zoos with Cougars
2015 = 20 new zoos with Cougars
2018 = 15 new zoos with Cougars

** Another revelation was that I've seen 17 open-topped Cougar exhibits, which is genuinely surprising considering this cat's notoriety for great leaps and bounds.

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Cougar – 1975
2- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 1994
3- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 1998**
4- Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2005**
5- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2006
6- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2006
7- Denver Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2006
8- B.C. Wildlife Park (Canada) – Cougar – 2006**
9- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2007
10- Melbourne Zoo (Australia) – Cougar – 2007
11- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
12- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Cougar – 2008
13- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2008
14- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Cougar – 2008
15- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Cougar – 2008
16- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
17- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
18- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) – Cougar – 2008**
19- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
20- Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Cougar – 2008
21- White Oak Conservation Center (USA) – Cougar – 2008**
22- Cougar Mountain Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2009**
23- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2010
24- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
25- Sedgwick County Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
26- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
27- Louisville Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
28- Philadelphia Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
29- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
30- Chattanooga Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010**
31- Nashville Zoo at Grassmere (USA) – Cougar – 2010
32- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
33- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
34- Houston Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
35- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
36- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
37- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
38- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
39- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Cougar – 2011**
40- CALM (California Living Museum) (USA) – Cougar – 2011
41- John Ball Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
42- Busch Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2012
43- Naples Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
44- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Cougar – 2012
45- Jackson Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
46- Dickerson Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
47- Topeka Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
48- Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure (USA) – Cougar – 2012
49- Pocatello Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
50- Cat Tales Zoological Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014
51- Bear Country U.S.A. (USA) – Cougar – 2014
52- Dakota Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
53- Chahinkapa Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
54- Pine Grove Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
55- Lake Superior Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
56- Como Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
57- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014
58- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
59- Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
60- Lincoln Park Zoo - Wisconsin (USA) – Cougar – 2014
61- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014
62- Phillips Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
63- Wildlife Prairie Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
64- Henson Robinson Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
65- Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo (USA) – Cougar– 2014
66- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
67- Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2015
68- Tiger Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2015
69- G W Exotic Animal Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015
70- In Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center (USA) – Cougar – 2015
71- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
72- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2015
73- Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (USA) – Cougar – 2015
74- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
75- Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge (USA) – Cougar – 2015
76- Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
77- Austin Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
78- Abilene Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
79- Spring River Park & Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
80- Living Desert Zoo – New Mexico (USA) – Cougar – 2015
81- Alameda Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
82- Wildlife West Nature Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015
83- Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2015
84- Keepers of the Wild Nature Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015**
85- Great Cats World Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015
86- West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2015
87- Olympic Game Farm (USA) – Cougar – 2016
88- Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (USA) – Cougar – 2017
89- Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2017
90- Applegate Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2017
91- Project Survival’s Cat Haven (USA) – Cougar – 2017
92- Feline Conservation Center (USA) – Cougar – 2017
93- Orange County Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2017
94- Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2017
95- America’s Teaching Zoo: Moorpark College (USA) – Cougar – 2017
96- Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2018
97- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2018
98- Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
99- GarLyn Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018**
100- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
101- Toledo Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
102- Creature Conservancy Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2018
103- Washington Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
104- Summerfield Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
105- Jo-Don Farms (USA) – Cougar – 2018
106- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018**
107- Animal Haven Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
108- Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2018
109- Wildwood Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
110- Zollman Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
111- Landgoed Hoenderdaell (Netherlands) – Cougar – 2019
112- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Cougar – 2019
113- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Cougar – 2019**
114- Tierpark Strohen (Germany) – Cougar – 2019
115- Monterey Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2023
116- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Cougar – 2023
117- Big Bear Alpine Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2023
118- Oakland Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2023

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) has an excellent open-topped Cougar exhibit that is essentially a slice of Pacific Northwest forest.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) has a Cougar exhibit with a sandstone backdrop, and an open-topped approach to containing the cats.

I had an extraordinary day at White Oak Conservation Center (USA) in 2008, including seeing two Cougars (technically 'Florida Panthers') up a tree in this photo. Can you spot them?

It could be a bit bigger, but the Cougar exhibit at Oregon Zoo (USA) certainly looks impressive:

All aboard the Cougar Express! This train doesn't move, but it is the visitor viewing platform for the open-topped Cougar exhibit at Chattanooga Zoo (USA).

It's possible to just make out a couple of brown and white Cougars (in the center of this image) on the ground in their massive exhibit at Wildlife Prairie Park (USA):

Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) opened a new Cougar exhibit in 2017 that's a bit on the barren side, but it's a huge enclosure and might look better now that the vegetation has had years to grow.

This photo shows approximately 50% of the enormous Cougar exhibit at Oakland Zoo (USA), part of the California Trail complex.

Of course, there are also some terrible Cougar exhibits that I've seen on my zoo travels. Pocatello Zoo (USA) is now known as Zoo Idaho and it would be interesting to find out if the zoo still has this small, rocky Cougar cage without a single blade of grass anywhere.

Every exhibit at Cat Tales Zoological Park (USA) is junky, just like this Cougar cage:

Tiny, boring, with a hanging tire. This is at Chahinkapa Zoo (USA), which was AZA accredited when I was there in 2014 but had its accreditation taken away in 2021.

Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) is a 'naff zoo' in Wisconsin and they had two Cougars together in this totally inappropriate exhibit when I was there in 2018. There's not even a log!

Spring River Park & Zoo (USA) also had two Cougars in a crap enclosure. It's all cement with a pool at the bottom. This one in New Mexico might well be the worst I've seen.

Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) had an itty-bitty cage that visitors could walk all the way around, giving the Cougar zero privacy.

Pairi Daiza (Belgium) has a Cougar exhibit in their British Columbia-themed complex called The Last Frontier. Grizzlies, Black Bears, Cougars, Beavers, Moose, Steller's Sea Lions...I felt right at home!

I was shocked to see a Cougar exhibit at Tierpark Strohen (Germany), a zoo I knew next to nothing about before visiting in 2019. Cougars in Europe are much more common than I realized, as I only saw 4 zoos out of 120 with them and assumed that they were rare. In fact, they are found in a wide range of European zoos.

I had a memorable visit to Project Survival’s Cat Haven (USA), because @Arizona Docent pre-booked a behind-the-scenes tour and the two of us had a photo shoot with a juvenile Cougar on a leash. He only took one swipe at my legs and the rest of the time there wasn't an issue whatsoever.

Felidae:

Tigers - 195 zoos
Lions - 179 zoos
Bobcats - 128 zoos
Cougars - 118 zoos

 

[toastrgophr]

After Tigers, Lions and Bobcats, the next feline that I've seen in the most zoos is another from my neck of the woods. I've seen Cougars in 118 zoos. It's a bit shocking to me to look at the huge numbers of zoos that I've seen many cats at and when I added up all the totals months ago the final statistics exceeded my expectations. Cougars are everywhere in North American zoos, but only 5 of the zoos are outside North America and I've typed those ones out in bold.

There are FOUR summer road trips where I saw a heck of a lot of Cougars:

2010 = 16 new zoos with Cougars
2014 = 17 new zoos with Cougars
2015 = 20 new zoos with Cougars
2018 = 15 new zoos with Cougars

** Another revelation was that I've seen 17 open-topped Cougar exhibits, which is genuinely surprising considering this cat's notoriety for great leaps and bounds.

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Cougar – 1975
2- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 1994
3- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 1998**
4- Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2005**
5- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2006
6- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2006
7- Denver Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2006
8- B.C. Wildlife Park (Canada) – Cougar – 2006**
9- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2007
10- Melbourne Zoo (Australia) – Cougar – 2007
11- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
12- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Cougar – 2008
13- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2008
14- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Cougar – 2008
15- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Cougar – 2008
16- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
17- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
18- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) – Cougar – 2008**
19- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
20- Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Cougar – 2008
21- White Oak Conservation Center (USA) – Cougar – 2008**
22- Cougar Mountain Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2009**
23- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2010
24- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
25- Sedgwick County Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
26- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
27- Louisville Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
28- Philadelphia Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
29- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
30- Chattanooga Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010**
31- Nashville Zoo at Grassmere (USA) – Cougar – 2010
32- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
33- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
34- Houston Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
35- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
36- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
37- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
38- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
39- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Cougar – 2011**
40- CALM (California Living Museum) (USA) – Cougar – 2011
41- John Ball Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
42- Busch Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2012
43- Naples Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
44- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Cougar – 2012
45- Jackson Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
46- Dickerson Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
47- Topeka Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
48- Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure (USA) – Cougar – 2012
49- Pocatello Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
50- Cat Tales Zoological Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014
51- Bear Country U.S.A. (USA) – Cougar – 2014
52- Dakota Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
53- Chahinkapa Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
54- Pine Grove Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
55- Lake Superior Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
56- Como Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
57- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014
58- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
59- Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
60- Lincoln Park Zoo - Wisconsin (USA) – Cougar – 2014
61- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014
62- Phillips Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
63- Wildlife Prairie Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
64- Henson Robinson Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
65- Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo (USA) – Cougar– 2014
66- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
67- Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2015
68- Tiger Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2015
69- G W Exotic Animal Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015
70- In Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center (USA) – Cougar – 2015
71- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
72- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2015
73- Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (USA) – Cougar – 2015
74- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
75- Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge (USA) – Cougar – 2015
76- Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
77- Austin Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
78- Abilene Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
79- Spring River Park & Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
80- Living Desert Zoo – New Mexico (USA) – Cougar – 2015
81- Alameda Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
82- Wildlife West Nature Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015
83- Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2015
84- Keepers of the Wild Nature Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015**
85- Great Cats World Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015
86- West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2015
87- Olympic Game Farm (USA) – Cougar – 2016
88- Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (USA) – Cougar – 2017
89- Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2017
90- Applegate Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2017
91- Project Survival’s Cat Haven (USA) – Cougar – 2017
92- Feline Conservation Center (USA) – Cougar – 2017
93- Orange County Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2017
94- Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2017
95- America’s Teaching Zoo: Moorpark College (USA) – Cougar – 2017
96- Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2018
97- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2018
98- Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
99- GarLyn Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018**
100- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
101- Toledo Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
102- Creature Conservancy Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2018
103- Washington Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
104- Summerfield Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
105- Jo-Don Farms (USA) – Cougar – 2018
106- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018**
107- Animal Haven Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
108- Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2018
109- Wildwood Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
110- Zollman Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
111- Landgoed Hoenderdaell (Netherlands) – Cougar – 2019
112- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Cougar – 2019
113- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Cougar – 2019**
114- Tierpark Strohen (Germany) – Cougar – 2019
115- Monterey Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2023
116- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Cougar – 2023
117- Big Bear Alpine Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2023
118- Oakland Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2023

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) has an excellent open-topped Cougar exhibit that is essentially a slice of Pacific Northwest forest.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) has a Cougar exhibit with a sandstone backdrop, and an open-topped approach to containing the cats.

I had an extraordinary day at White Oak Conservation Center (USA) in 2008, including seeing two Cougars (technically 'Florida Panthers') up a tree in this photo. Can you spot them?

It could be a bit bigger, but the Cougar exhibit at Oregon Zoo (USA) certainly looks impressive:

All aboard the Cougar Express! This train doesn't move, but it is the visitor viewing platform for the open-topped Cougar exhibit at Chattanooga Zoo (USA).

It's possible to just make out a couple of brown and white Cougars (in the center of this image) on the ground in their massive exhibit at Wildlife Prairie Park (USA):

Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) opened a new Cougar exhibit in 2017 that's a bit on the barren side, but it's a huge enclosure and might look better now that the vegetation has had years to grow.

This photo shows approximately 50% of the enormous Cougar exhibit at Oakland Zoo (USA), part of the California Trail complex.

Of course, there are also some terrible Cougar exhibits that I've seen on my zoo travels. Pocatello Zoo (USA) is now known as Zoo Idaho and it would be interesting to find out if the zoo still has this small, rocky Cougar cage without a single blade of grass anywhere.

Every exhibit at Cat Tales Zoological Park (USA) is junky, just like this Cougar cage:

Tiny, boring, with a hanging tire. This is at Chahinkapa Zoo (USA), which was AZA accredited when I was there in 2014 but had its accreditation taken away in 2021.

Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) is a 'naff zoo' in Wisconsin and they had two Cougars together in this totally inappropriate exhibit when I was there in 2018. There's not even a log!

Spring River Park & Zoo (USA) also had two Cougars in a crap enclosure. It's all cement with a pool at the bottom. This one in New Mexico might well be the worst I've seen.

Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) had an itty-bitty cage that visitors could walk all the way around, giving the Cougar zero privacy.

Pairi Daiza (Belgium) has a Cougar exhibit in their British Columbia-themed complex called The Last Frontier. Grizzlies, Black Bears, Cougars, Beavers, Moose, Steller's Sea Lions...I felt right at home!

I was shocked to see a Cougar exhibit at Tierpark Strohen (Germany), a zoo I knew next to nothing about before visiting in 2019. Cougars in Europe are much more common than I realized, as I only saw 4 zoos out of 120 with them and assumed that they were rare. In fact, they are found in a wide range of European zoos.

I had a memorable visit to Project Survival’s Cat Haven (USA), because @Arizona Docent pre-booked a behind-the-scenes tour and the two of us had a photo shoot with a juvenile Cougar on a leash. He only took one swipe at my legs and the rest of the time there wasn't an issue whatsoever.

Felidae:

Tigers - 195 zoos
Lions - 179 zoos
Bobcats - 128 zoos
Cougars - 118 zoos

I am glad to see someone refer to these cats by their ONLY CORRECT NAME.
These are cougars
end of story

 

[NNM.]

I recognize some of these from @Neil chace ’s series of the best exhibits for mammals in the US.

Also, why are so many of the really bad zoos with terrible exhibits ones that call themselves “sanctuaries” or have the word “wilderness” in their name? It’s surprising how common that seems to be.

 

[birdsandbats]

I recognize some of these from @Neil chace ’s series of the best exhibits for mammals in the US.

Also, why are so many of the really bad zoos with terrible exhibits ones that call themselves “sanctuaries” or have the word “wilderness” in their name? It’s surprising how common that seems to be.

Because calling themselves a sanctuary gets everyone off their backs for the sketchy husbandry.

 

[15399]

After Tigers, Lions and Bobcats, the next feline that I've seen in the most zoos is another from my neck of the woods. I've seen Cougars in 118 zoos. It's a bit shocking to me to look at the huge numbers of zoos that I've seen many cats at and when I added up all the totals months ago the final statistics exceeded my expectations. Cougars are everywhere in North American zoos, but only 5 of the zoos are outside North America and I've typed those ones out in bold.

There are FOUR summer road trips where I saw a heck of a lot of Cougars:

2010 = 16 new zoos with Cougars
2014 = 17 new zoos with Cougars
2015 = 20 new zoos with Cougars
2018 = 15 new zoos with Cougars

** Another revelation was that I've seen 17 open-topped Cougar exhibits, which is genuinely surprising considering this cat's notoriety for great leaps and bounds.

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Cougar – 1975
2- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 1994
3- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 1998**
4- Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2005**
5- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2006
6- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2006
7- Denver Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2006
8- B.C. Wildlife Park (Canada) – Cougar – 2006**
9- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2007
10- Melbourne Zoo (Australia) – Cougar – 2007
11- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
12- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Cougar – 2008
13- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2008
14- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Cougar – 2008
15- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Cougar – 2008
16- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
17- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
18- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) – Cougar – 2008**
19- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2008
20- Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Cougar – 2008
21- White Oak Conservation Center (USA) – Cougar – 2008**
22- Cougar Mountain Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2009**
23- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2010
24- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
25- Sedgwick County Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
26- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
27- Louisville Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
28- Philadelphia Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
29- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
30- Chattanooga Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010**
31- Nashville Zoo at Grassmere (USA) – Cougar – 2010
32- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
33- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
34- Houston Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
35- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
36- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
37- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
38- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2010
39- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Cougar – 2011**
40- CALM (California Living Museum) (USA) – Cougar – 2011
41- John Ball Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
42- Busch Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2012
43- Naples Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
44- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Cougar – 2012
45- Jackson Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
46- Dickerson Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
47- Topeka Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
48- Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure (USA) – Cougar – 2012
49- Pocatello Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2012
50- Cat Tales Zoological Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014
51- Bear Country U.S.A. (USA) – Cougar – 2014
52- Dakota Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
53- Chahinkapa Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
54- Pine Grove Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
55- Lake Superior Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
56- Como Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
57- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014
58- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
59- Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
60- Lincoln Park Zoo - Wisconsin (USA) – Cougar – 2014
61- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014
62- Phillips Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
63- Wildlife Prairie Park (USA) – Cougar – 2014**
64- Henson Robinson Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
65- Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo (USA) – Cougar– 2014
66- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2014
67- Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2015
68- Tiger Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2015
69- G W Exotic Animal Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015
70- In Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center (USA) – Cougar – 2015
71- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
72- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2015
73- Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (USA) – Cougar – 2015
74- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
75- Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge (USA) – Cougar – 2015
76- Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
77- Austin Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
78- Abilene Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
79- Spring River Park & Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
80- Living Desert Zoo – New Mexico (USA) – Cougar – 2015
81- Alameda Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2015
82- Wildlife West Nature Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015
83- Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2015
84- Keepers of the Wild Nature Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015**
85- Great Cats World Park (USA) – Cougar – 2015
86- West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) – Cougar – 2015
87- Olympic Game Farm (USA) – Cougar – 2016
88- Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (USA) – Cougar – 2017
89- Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2017
90- Applegate Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2017
91- Project Survival’s Cat Haven (USA) – Cougar – 2017
92- Feline Conservation Center (USA) – Cougar – 2017
93- Orange County Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2017
94- Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2017
95- America’s Teaching Zoo: Moorpark College (USA) – Cougar – 2017
96- Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2018
97- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Cougar – 2018
98- Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
99- GarLyn Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018**
100- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
101- Toledo Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
102- Creature Conservancy Wildlife Park (USA) – Cougar – 2018
103- Washington Park Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
104- Summerfield Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
105- Jo-Don Farms (USA) – Cougar – 2018
106- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018**
107- Animal Haven Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
108- Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Cougar – 2018
109- Wildwood Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
110- Zollman Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2018
111- Landgoed Hoenderdaell (Netherlands) – Cougar – 2019
112- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Cougar – 2019
113- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Cougar – 2019**
114- Tierpark Strohen (Germany) – Cougar – 2019
115- Monterey Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2023
116- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Cougar – 2023
117- Big Bear Alpine Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2023
118- Oakland Zoo (USA) – Cougar – 2023

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) has an excellent open-topped Cougar exhibit that is essentially a slice of Pacific Northwest forest.

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) has a Cougar exhibit with a sandstone backdrop, and an open-topped approach to containing the cats.

I had an extraordinary day at White Oak Conservation Center (USA) in 2008, including seeing two Cougars (technically 'Florida Panthers') up a tree in this photo. Can you spot them?

It could be a bit bigger, but the Cougar exhibit at Oregon Zoo (USA) certainly looks impressive:

All aboard the Cougar Express! This train doesn't move, but it is the visitor viewing platform for the open-topped Cougar exhibit at Chattanooga Zoo (USA).

It's possible to just make out a couple of brown and white Cougars (in the center of this image) on the ground in their massive exhibit at Wildlife Prairie Park (USA):

Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) opened a new Cougar exhibit in 2017 that's a bit on the barren side, but it's a huge enclosure and might look better now that the vegetation has had years to grow.

This photo shows approximately 50% of the enormous Cougar exhibit at Oakland Zoo (USA), part of the California Trail complex.

Of course, there are also some terrible Cougar exhibits that I've seen on my zoo travels. Pocatello Zoo (USA) is now known as Zoo Idaho and it would be interesting to find out if the zoo still has this small, rocky Cougar cage without a single blade of grass anywhere.

Every exhibit at Cat Tales Zoological Park (USA) is junky, just like this Cougar cage:

Tiny, boring, with a hanging tire. This is at Chahinkapa Zoo (USA), which was AZA accredited when I was there in 2014 but had its accreditation taken away in 2021.

Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) is a 'naff zoo' in Wisconsin and they had two Cougars together in this totally inappropriate exhibit when I was there in 2018. There's not even a log!

Spring River Park & Zoo (USA) also had two Cougars in a crap enclosure. It's all cement with a pool at the bottom. This one in New Mexico might well be the worst I've seen.

Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) had an itty-bitty cage that visitors could walk all the way around, giving the Cougar zero privacy.

Pairi Daiza (Belgium) has a Cougar exhibit in their British Columbia-themed complex called The Last Frontier. Grizzlies, Black Bears, Cougars, Beavers, Moose, Steller's Sea Lions...I felt right at home!

I was shocked to see a Cougar exhibit at Tierpark Strohen (Germany), a zoo I knew next to nothing about before visiting in 2019. Cougars in Europe are much more common than I realized, as I only saw 4 zoos out of 120 with them and assumed that they were rare. In fact, they are found in a wide range of European zoos.

I had a memorable visit to Project Survival’s Cat Haven (USA), because @Arizona Docent pre-booked a behind-the-scenes tour and the two of us had a photo shoot with a juvenile Cougar on a leash. He only took one swipe at my legs and the rest of the time there wasn't an issue whatsoever.

Felidae:

Tigers - 195 zoos
Lions - 179 zoos
Bobcats - 128 zoos
Cougars - 118 zoos

While I probably won't post as often in this carnivorans section, as I don't have as much valuable insight into carnivorans as I do into primates, I've always found it interesting how common a lot of these non-releasable species are in zoos. Given that reputable zoos seldom, if ever, breed cougars, bobcats, American black bears, grizzly bears, and bald eagles, it concerns me just how widespread these animals are in zoos. While it is absolutely admirable to dedicate space to non-releasable wildlife, I question whether there are root causes to the prevalence of non-releasable wildlife that aren't being addressed, as doing so would do wonders at improving the well-being of their wild counterparts. Obviously there will always be non-releasable individuals, that will never change, but something needs to be done to reduce this number as much as possible.

I am glad to see someone refer to these cats by their ONLY CORRECT NAME.
These are cougars
end of story

Like most species with as widespread a range as Puma concolour, the common names are heavily dependent on where in the world you are. In many places in Central and South America, for instance, the term "puma" is used almost exclusively to refer to this species. While cougar might be the overwhelmingly most popular name where you live, that doesn't mean others are wrong to call it something else, and insinuating that your name for the species is the only correct one is cultural superiority.

Also, why are so many of the really bad zoos with terrible exhibits ones that call themselves “sanctuaries” or have the word “wilderness” in their name? It’s surprising how common that seems to be.

Yeah, this is unfortunately something really common. In real practice, the term "sanctuary" is essentially meaningless, as places using this term range from reputable, GFAS-accredited organizations to institutions with completely deplorable standards of care. By far the worst zoo I've ever visited calls themselves a "Rescue Center", when in actuality all of their residents are probably wishing they'd be rescued.

 

[PossumRoach]

Because calling themselves a sanctuary gets everyone off their backs for the sketchy husbandry.

More so if they attack the trade that gave them the chance to open up their facilities in the first place :/

edit: and deny the fact that they are simply, private collectors.

 

[NNM.]

By far the worst zoo I've ever visited calls themselves a "Rescue Center", when in actuality all of their residents are probably wishing they'd be rescued.

Would that be Animal Adventures Family Zoo in MA, by any chance?

 

[15399]

Would that be Animal Adventures Family Zoo in MA, by any chance?

Indeed it is!

 

[snowleopard]

Going through my lifetime list of zoos, I've been to 13 zoos with the word 'Sanctuary' in their name. Healesville Sanctuary in Australia is a brilliant place, really top-notch, but many of these others are poor quality facilities. Without a doubt, the word 'sanctuary' doesn't guarantee quality.

Healesville Sanctuary (Healesville, Australia) (2007)
Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary (Mylor, Australia) (2007)
Busch Wildlife Sanctuary (Jupiter, FL) (2012)
World Bird Sanctuary (Valley Park, MO) (2014)
Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary (Red Lodge, MT) (2015)
Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary (McKinney, TX) (2015)
Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary (Prescott, AZ) (2015)
Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (Folsom, CA) (2017)
Free Flight: Exotic Bird Sanctuary (Del Mar, CA) (2017)
Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (Phelan, CA) (2017)
Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary (Athens, MI) (2018)
Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary (Green Bay, WI) (2018)
Parrot Island Sanctuary (Peachland, BC) (2018)

And @NNM. made a comment about the word 'Wilderness' and I've been to 4 American zoos with that name somewhere in the zoo's title. Are any of these zoos great ones? Nope, they are not.

Arbuckle Wilderness Park (Davis, OK) (2015)
Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (Gentry, AR) (2015)
Wilderness Walk Zoo (Hayward, WI) (2018)
Wilderness Trails Zoo (Birch Run, MI) (2018)

 

[birdsandbats]

Of course, a zoo being called a sanctuary does not guarantee a zoo is bad, either. I've only been to two "sanctuaries" and honestly I'd say they're both great facilities (Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary and World Bird Sanctuary).

But certainly a zoo being called a sanctuary does seem to make it more likely to be a not very good place.

 

[jwer]

Putting a word in a name is usually done to make people think it is. The more you are not, the more necessity you have to make people think you are.

Best examples include countries that have the word “democratic” in their names (all are not) and software whose name ends with “…made easy” (like we have at my workplace).

But @snowleopard, I smell male bovid manure on your Pairi Daiza remark. According to zootierliste, you missed their arrival by 1 year. It’s also not on the list of zoos where you have seen puma’s/florida panthers/panthers/mountain lions/cougars/boring rugs, but still they made you feel right at home?

excellent thread though. No idea where you find the time to write all this, but keep it up

 

[MRJ]

Going through my lifetime list of zoos, I've been to 13 zoos with the word 'Sanctuary' in their name. Healesville Sanctuary in Australia is a brilliant place, really top-notch, but many of these others are poor quality facilities. Without a doubt, the word 'sanctuary' doesn't guarantee quality.

Healesville Sanctuary (Healesville, Australia) (2007)
Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary (Mylor, Australia) (2007)
Busch Wildlife Sanctuary (Jupiter, FL) (2012)
World Bird Sanctuary (Valley Park, MO) (2014)
Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary (Red Lodge, MT) (2015)
Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary (McKinney, TX) (2015)
Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary (Prescott, AZ) (2015)
Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (Folsom, CA) (2017)
Free Flight: Exotic Bird Sanctuary (Del Mar, CA) (2017)
Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (Phelan, CA) (2017)
Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary (Athens, MI) (2018)
Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary (Green Bay, WI) (2018)
Parrot Island Sanctuary (Peachland, BC) (2018)

And @NNM. made a comment about the word 'Wilderness' and I've been to 4 American zoos with that name somewhere in the zoo's title. Are any of these zoos great ones? Nope, they are not.

Arbuckle Wilderness Park (Davis, OK) (2015)
Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (Gentry, AR) (2015)
Wilderness Walk Zoo (Hayward, WI) (2018)
Wilderness Trails Zoo (Birch Run, MI) (2018)

In Australia, historically the term sanctuary has applied to collections with only native animals (although feral species are also sometimes exibited). This use dates from tne 1920’s.
A zoo has to have exotics.
The concept of a sanctuary as known in the USA is virtually unknown in Australia.

 

[toastrgophr]

While I probably won't post as often in this carnivorans section, as I don't have as much valuable insight into carnivorans as I do into primates, I've always found it interesting how common a lot of these non-releasable species are in zoos. Given that reputable zoos seldom, if ever, breed cougars, bobcats, American black bears, grizzly bears, and bald eagles, it concerns me just how widespread these animals are in zoos. While it is absolutely admirable to dedicate space to non-releasable wildlife, I question whether there are root causes to the prevalence of non-releasable wildlife that aren't being addressed, as doing so would do wonders at improving the well-being of their wild counterparts. Obviously there will always be non-releasable individuals, that will never change, but something needs to be done to reduce this number as much as possible.


Like most species with as widespread a range as Puma concolour, the common names are heavily dependent on where in the world you are. In many places in Central and South America, for instance, the term "puma" is used almost exclusively to refer to this species. While cougar might be the overwhelmingly most popular name where you live, that doesn't mean others are wrong to call it something else, and insinuating that your name for the species is the only correct one is cultural superiority.


Yeah, this is unfortunately something really common. In real practice, the term "sanctuary" is essentially meaningless, as places using this term range from reputable, GFAS-accredited organizations to institutions with completely deplorable standards of care. By far the worst zoo I've ever visited calls themselves a "Rescue Center", when in actuality all of their residents are probably wishing they'd be rescued.

It was a joke
I don't actually think any name for these cats is inherently better. I apologize if that wasn't properly communicated.

 

[Lori Patton]

It was a joke
I don't actually think any name for these cats is inherently better. I apologize if that wasn't properly communicated.

In California these large cats are always referred to as mountain lions, but when I lived in Oregon they were called cougars. It's funny how people in different places call them different names. Speaking for myself, I could tell your original comment was said in jest because of the emoji at the end. Online communication can be tricky because it lacks the facial cues and voice tones we get from in-person communication, but I wouldn't let any misunderstandings get to you. ZooChat should be fun after all!

 

[PossumRoach]

Going through my lifetime list of zoos, I've been to 13 zoos with the word 'Sanctuary' in their name. Healesville Sanctuary in Australia is a brilliant place, really top-notch, but many of these others are poor quality facilities. Without a doubt, the word 'sanctuary' doesn't guarantee quality.

Healesville Sanctuary (Healesville, Australia) (2007)
Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary (Mylor, Australia) (2007)
Busch Wildlife Sanctuary (Jupiter, FL) (2012)
World Bird Sanctuary (Valley Park, MO) (2014)
Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary (Red Lodge, MT) (2015)
Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary (McKinney, TX) (2015)
Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary (Prescott, AZ) (2015)
Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (Folsom, CA) (2017)
Free Flight: Exotic Bird Sanctuary (Del Mar, CA) (2017)
Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (Phelan, CA) (2017)
Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary (Athens, MI) (2018)
Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary (Green Bay, WI) (2018)
Parrot Island Sanctuary (Peachland, BC) (2018)

And @NNM. made a comment about the word 'Wilderness' and I've been to 4 American zoos with that name somewhere in the zoo's title. Are any of these zoos great ones? Nope, they are not.

Arbuckle Wilderness Park (Davis, OK) (2015)
Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (Gentry, AR) (2015)
Wilderness Walk Zoo (Hayward, WI) (2018)
Wilderness Trails Zoo (Birch Run, MI) (2018)

I don’t want to drive away from the current topic of the thread which are felines you have seen throughout your life but I do want to ask how many facilities did you see have the word rescue slapped on the name?

 

[snowleopard]

Tigers, Lions, Bobcats and Cougars were all fairly straightforward, but things get a little tricky with the next feline. I have seen Leopards at 98 zoos and the various subspecies are not always known by reputable zoos and substandard zoos often have no clue what type of Leopard they have in their collection. Most of the 'African' Leopards that I've seen are generic 'zoo' Leopards, in much the same way that there are many 'Bengal' Tigers listed in captivity that are generic 'zoo' Tigers.

Leopards were very common in Europe for me, as I saw Leopards at 23 different zoos on two European trips, so percentage wise in comparison to my overall zoo total, that continent is rich in captive Leopards.

This is what I managed to come up with, and I can tweak it if necessary:

Amur Leopard – 54 zoos
‘African’ Leopard – 29 zoos (including loads of black panthers here)
Persian Leopard – 10 zoos
North Chinese Leopard – 7 zoos
Sri Lankan Leopard – 4 zoos
Indian Leopard – 1 zoo (Wuppertal Zoo – 2019)
Javan Leopard – 1 zoo (Pairi Daiza – 2019)

There are THREE summer road trips where I saw a heck of a lot of Leopards:

2010 = 15 new zoos with Leopards
2015 = 15 new zoos with Leopards
2019 = 19 new zoos with Leopards

Zoos with 2 types of Leopard listed at one time = 6 zoos

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – North Chinese Leopard – 1975
2- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – African Leopard – 1986
3- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – North Chinese Leopard – 1998
4- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2005
5- San Diego Zoo (USA) – North Chinese Leopard (2006) & Amur Leopard (2008)
6- Denver Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2006
7- Crocodylus Park (Australia) – Persian Leopard – 2007
8- Melbourne Zoo (Australia) – Persian Leopard – 2007
9- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2008
10- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Amur Leopard, Persian Leopard – 2008
11- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2008
12- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2008
13- Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2008
14- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – African Leopard – 2008
15- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2008
16- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2008
17- Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (USA) – African Leopard – 2008
18- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
19- Sedgwick County Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
20- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
21- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
22- Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
23- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Persian Leopard – 2010
24- Philadelphia Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
25- Maryland Zoo (USA) – African Leopard – 2010
26- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
27- Houston Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
28- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
29- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
30- El Paso Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
31- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
32- Zoo Boise (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2010
33- Santa Barbara Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2011
34- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – African Leopard – 2011
35- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2011
36- Potawatomi Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2012
37- Erie Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2012
38- Franklin Park Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2012
39- Naples Zoo (USA) – African Leopard – 2012
40- Jackson Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2012
41- Topeka Zoo (USA) – African Leopard – 2012
42- Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2012
43- Cat Tales Zoological Park (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2014
44- Roosevelt Park Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2014
45- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – African Leopard – 2014
46- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – African Leopard – 2014
47- Niabi Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2014
48- Lincoln Children’s Zoo - Nebraska (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2014
49- Clay Center Zoo (USA) – African Leopard – 2014
50- Tanganyika Wildlife Park (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2014
51- Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo (USA) – African Leopard – 2014
52- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2014
53- Riverside Discovery Center (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2015
54- Tiger Safari (USA) – African Leopard – 2015
55- C.A.R.E. Center for Animal Research & Education (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2015
56- In Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center (USA) – African Leopard – 2015
57- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – African Leopard – 2015
58- Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (USA) – African Leopard – 2015
59- Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2015
60- Austin Zoo (USA) – African Leopard – 2015
61- Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) – African Leopard – 2015
62- Out of Africa (USA) – African Leopard – 2015
63- Keepers of the Wild Nature Park (USA) – African Leopard – 2015
64- Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat (USA) – Amur Leopard, African Leopard – 2015
65- Sierra Safari Zoo (USA) – African Leopard – 2015
66- Great Cats World Park (USA) – Amur Leopard, African Leopard – 2015
67- West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) – African Leopard – 2015
68- Monterey Zoo (USA) – African Leopard (2017) & Amur Leopard (2023)
69- Project Survival’s Cat Haven (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2017
70- Feline Conservation Center (USA) – Amur Leopard, North Chinese Leopard – 2017
71- Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (USA) – African Leopard – 2017
72- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – Amur Leopard – 2018
73- Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue (USA) – African Leopard – 2018
74- Animal Haven Zoo (USA) – African Leopard – 2018
75- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – African Leopard – 2018
76- Landgoed Hoenderdaell (Netherlands) – Persian Leopard, North Chinese Leopard – 2019
77- Diergaarde Blijdorp (Netherlands) – Amur Leopard – 2019
78- Maubeuge Zoo (France) – Sri Lankan Leopard – 2019
79- Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) – Amur Leopard – 2019
80- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – African Leopard – 2019
81- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Javan Leopard – 2019
82- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Amur Leopard – 2019
83- Mondo Verde (Netherlands) – Sri Lankan Leopard – 2019
84- Cologne Zoo (Germany) – Persian Leopard – 2019
85- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Indian Leopard – 2019
86- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Amur Leopard – 2019
87- BestZOO (Netherlands) – Sri Lankan Leopard – 2019
88- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Persian Leopard – 2019
89- Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) – Sri Lankan Leopard – 2019
90- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – North Chinese Leopard – 2019
91- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Amur Leopard – 2019
92- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Amur Leopard – 2019
93- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Persian Leopard – 2019
94- Nordhorn Zoo (Germany) – Persian Leopard – 2019
95- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – North Chinese Leopard – 2022
96- Parken Zoo (Sweden) – Amur Leopard – 2022
97- Nordens Ark (Sweden) – Amur Leopard, Persian Leopard – 2022
98- Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Amur Leopard – 2022

When I toured Melbourne Zoo (Australia) in 2007, there was a series of cat enclosures at the back of the zoo. Persian Leopards, Cougars, Jaguars, Fishing Cats, etc., were all there probably into the early 2010s. None of those species are left now.

@Triffle

I loved visiting Russia's Grizzly Coast at Minnesota Zoo (USA) and seeing a trio of Amur Leopard exhibits in that brand-new part of the zoo in 2008.

The Amur Leopard exhibit inside JungleWorld at the Bronx Zoo (USA) has, at times, been controversial amongst zoo nerds due to the fact that there isn't an outdoor enclosure for the big cats. I took this photo in 2008 and there's 37 comments on it...quite a little debate broke out back then!

Looking through the list of AZA accredited zoos that I've been to, it's a bit of a struggle to find some top-notch Leopard exhibits to showcase here. Both Leopards and Bobcats have not always done well in zoos, while other felines have had better quality exhibits. However, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (USA) has a well-furnished Amur Leopard exhibit:

@MGolka

Saint Louis Zoo (USA) opened its Big Cat Country series of exhibits approximately 45 years ago and it could do with an update in the future. Nevertheless, the enclosures are still of a decent size and the Amur Leopard exhibit has an aviary-style roof on it.

Maryland Zoo (USA) had some fame amongst AZA zoos back when I visited in 2010 because they had a genuine African Leopard in an exhibit with a huge tree. Since around 2016 or so, the zoo switched to an Amur Leopard in its African Journey area, and it is normal for many U.S. zoos to have Amur Leopards in African zones because that is the only subspecies that the AZA manages.

I was really impressed with Asian Highlands at Utah's Hogle Zoo (USA), with its series of feline exhibits that allowed for rotational possibilities. Amur Leopards were one of the cats there:

The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) has had Amur Leopards substituting for African Leopards on their African loop for years.

Then there are the poor quality Leopard exhibits at many roadside American zoos. Here's an Amur Leopard enclosure at Cat Tales Zoological Park (USA). Yikes!

This atrocious cage at Clay Center Zoo (USA) says 'Black Leopard' on it and it has the iconic image of a swinging tire.

Out of Africa Wildlife Park (USA) had a 'Bengal' Tiger, an African Lion and a Melanistic 'African' Leopard all TOGETHER in this large exhibit when I was there in 2015. The owner, Dean Harrison, died a couple of years ago, but he and his wife lived with a variety of big cats in their home for decades.

Here's a Lion and Leopard together in 2022:

@SusScrofa

Here's two branches and a wooden platform for a Leopard at Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (USA):

Look at how disgusting this Leopard exhibit is at Animal Haven Zoo (USA). Nothing but a layer of cement (and one log on the left) for this melanistic specimen.

This cage at Special Memories Zoo (USA), another god-awful Wisconsin attraction, is not much better.

Loads of Western European zoos have Leopards, with none of the roadside crap that I've seen in America. Blijdorp Zoo (Netherlands) has Amur Leopards:

@Mr Gharial

Cologne Zoo (Germany) has Persian Leopards in a natural-looking exhibit:

@twilighter

Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) is a haven for zoo nerds for many reasons, but one of them is that they apparently sourced a pair of genuine Indian Leopards (rescued cats maybe?) many years ago. I saw one of them in 2019.

@Joker1706

One of the outdoor cat exhibits at the Feline House in Wuppertal:

@FunkyGibbon

I'll end off with a 20th photo (which is the maximum in one post) showcasing the incredibly steep Persian Leopard exhibit at Nordens Ark (Sweden). That huge rock face on the left is the habitat for the zoo's Leopards, and visitors can walk across that very high boardwalk and get some closer views of the big cats. It's rather extraordinary and @twilighter and I were super successful by teaming up and together we were able to locate the feline species at this zoo.

Felidae:

Tigers - 195 zoos
Lions - 179 zoos
Bobcats - 128 zoos
Cougars - 118 zoos
Leopards - 98 zoos