The Vanishing Animals area at Buffalo Zoo has had quite the extreme decline in species total in recent years. I was doing some research on it recently, and at one point in the early 2000's, visitors could see both Japanese and Sulawesi macaques, ring-tailed and black-and-white ruffed lemurs, mandrills, serval, snow leopard, red panda, maned wolf, and Andean bear, with some of the species rotating on and off exhibit! While some of the larger species weren't really well-suited for the exhibits and I'm really not complaining that bears and maned wolves aren't kept there any more, today the series of six habitats only contains four species: Japanese macaque, ring-tailed lemur, snow leopard, and red panda. If only Buffalo Zoo wasn't plagued by the fact the main building is a registered historical building, as it is because of that fact much of the back side of the zoo is very space-limited and struggling.I saw a half-dozen Sulawesi Crested Macaques at Buffalo Zoo (USA) in 2010, now long gone.
Snowleopard's Mammals: A Lifetime List of Species Mammalian and Non-Mammalian
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This is going to sound like a silly question but that is the basis to have baboons (not lumping drill, gelada, and mandrill) listed separately? I assume they all have basically the same husbandry requirements similar to how all gibbons have similar husbandry requirements.
@MGolka I visited Omaha in 2008, 2012 and 2018 and I don't recall seeing Sulawesi Crested Macaques on any of my visits. Maybe there were some there, but I'm usually quite comprehensive with my reviews and I don't think I ever mentioned the species in any of my write-ups. Also, the gallery has only two photos of the macaques and those images are dated 2018 and 2021. But if someone convinces me that the species was there during one of my visits then I'll definitely add Omaha to my list. I'd love to do that.
@Neil chace Buffalo Zoo has been decimated in terms of species, whether it is via the old bear pits or the Vanishing Animals zone (which was always a bizarre, vague title). It's fascinating to see what was there 'back in the day' and thanks for the comments.
@PossumRoach Good point about the baboons! Since I've now finished looking at each baboon species, I should streamline my list and put them all together like I did with gibbons. Thanks for noticing that.
@Neil chace Buffalo Zoo has been decimated in terms of species, whether it is via the old bear pits or the Vanishing Animals zone (which was always a bizarre, vague title). It's fascinating to see what was there 'back in the day' and thanks for the comments.
@PossumRoach Good point about the baboons! Since I've now finished looking at each baboon species, I should streamline my list and put them all together like I did with gibbons. Thanks for noticing that.
KiwiBirb
Well-Known Member
I didn’t see any Colobus in Denver during my visit in August of 2023 and that exhibit held Tufted Capuchin.
Ah, so I've done some searching through my photos and the earliest I can find of Sulawesi Crested Macaque is from 2014, and I'm 100% sure I saw them in 2013 as well.
Searching through the galleries here on ZC, every time I look at the grouping of exhibit photos from Gorilla Valley, they all omit the indoor exhibits of the old Gorilla House. Except for this photo from @Baldur in 2010. The macaques would be in that original indoor gorilla holding on the left side of the image.
Credit: @Baldur
@TinoPup's 2018 species list also shows that Omaha held Sulawesi Crested Macaque, which would be in the same exhibit as shown above, so I'm pretty sure they were on exhibit from 2013-2020 for sure, so instead of your 2008 and 2012 visits, you might have seen them in 2018!
I don't know if there actually was a net loss of species with the (much needed) demolition of the bear pits. Granted, I don't know how many bears were once there, but the Arctic's Edge, in addition to polar bears, also includes exhibits for arctic fox, Canadian lynx, and bald eagles. I'm also the type of person who doesn't normally consider a loss of species a bad thing, provided it is on welfare grounds, but the fact Buffalo Zoo has so many historic buildings and is in an economically struggling city makes it very difficult for the zoo to use its space effectively and create more innovative, modern solutions. Arctic's Edge, Otter Creek, Rainforest Falls, and the Asian Rhino yards are all fantastic- but then there are whole sections of the zoo with outdated exhibits and no plans to replace them as a result of the historical nature of buildings that surround them.
They were on exhibit in October of 2021 when I last visited. Are they no longer rotated in the Blue Monkey/Colobus Exhibit in Gorilla Valley?Ah, so I've done some searching through my photos and the earliest I can find of Sulawesi Crested Macaque is from 2014, and I'm 100% sure I saw them in 2013 as well.
Searching through the galleries here on ZC, every time I look at the grouping of exhibit photos from Gorilla Valley, they all omit the indoor exhibits of the old Gorilla House. Except for this photo from @Baldur in 2010. The macaques would be in that original indoor gorilla holding on the left side of the image.
Credit: @Baldur
@TinoPup's 2018 species list also shows that Omaha held Sulawesi Crested Macaque, which would be in the same exhibit as shown above, so I'm pretty sure they were on exhibit from 2013-2020 for sure, so instead of your 2008 and 2012 visits, you might have seen them in 2018!
They are not at the moment as that exhibit is currently temporary holding for various gibbon species waiting for their new homes in the new Orangutan area. It would be nice if however remaining individuals would get a new home in the orangutan area as well for as long as they are around, but we will see.
Given what I have witnessed myself and online, I somehow doubt that...
There is a difference between "generally behave perfectly intelligently" and "ALWAYS behave perfectly intelligently". The small number of people which don't act respectfully of animals are of course the ones which end up making the news for, say, getting attacked by a bison in Yellowstone National Park, or jumping over a fence at the Bronx Zoo's lion exhibit. That small number of cases is not indicative of the majority of Americans, and as someone who has spent a lot of time in American zoos I can confidently say there are plenty of responsible, respectful visitors who behave appropriately around animals. It isn't all visitors, but it is the majority of them.
That said, suppose we say 99% of Americans behave intelligently and respectfully around animals (I don't know the exact statistic for this, but for sake of the argument let's just pick this arbitrary number). Many major zoos welcome over a million visitors a year. Would it be responsible for a zoo that welcomes a million visitors a year to design a walk-through that requires visitors to act responsibly, knowing that, even if 99% behave correctly then every year there will be 10,000 visitors that don't behave appropriately, and risk a dangerous situation as a result? Personally, I don't think it's worth that risk, as when dealing with animals it is important to design exhibits that consider not just the average visitor, but all visitors- including the rule-breaking ones.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
I’d make the counter suggestion that when dealing with risk you also have to look at the evidence.
There are many visitors to zoos in Europe with walkthroughs and there aren’t the incidents that bear out the argument that it’s too risky to the animals or people in itself to have walkthroughs. While you have to take a view on what might happen you also have to take a view of what has happened.
As a result it’s hard to see what the problem would actually be (vs the hypothetical).
Having lived in the US and worked alongside US colleagues I can’t say I noticed Americans being less or more idiotic generally than anyone else. Now I’m only a sample of one but I can’t imagine that Americans would be more prone to poor behaviour in walkthroughs than any other nationality.
There is a different culture in terms of acceptance of risk and liability though and the more litigious nature of things in the US could make it more risky for the zoo and their insurance (not the animals). So I could imagine that being a factor as affordability of insurance is going to be important for any public attraction.
But not doing it because someone might break the rules or it would be unsafe for animals or humans doesn’t seem that logical really given the hard evidence that walkthroughs aren’t full of rule breakers and disease.
Equally what about bird feeding and walkthroughs. Don’t they exist in the US? If they do then it’s pretty much an equivalence and if they aren’t leading to people murdering the birds or catching disease they offer a good example of how things can be designed with safety in mind.
And some US zoos have tropical houses with free flying birds etc again it doesn’t seem those have lots of visitors wrecking the place or disease. In wakthroughs there are often / usually defined pathways and areas to go in and even in poorly behaved visitors there’s not much path straying or animal contact. Disinfectant mats and handwashing areas are common.
I do get how important risk management is to zoos but there doesn’t seem to be a high risk of animal or visitor harm to have a walkthrough, if designed and managed properly. I believe the risk of being sued in the US would however be more real than it is in Europe and the insurance costs could be a valid reason for not putting them in.
They're not too bad... feeding aviaries are the worst ones. People suddenly think they're entitled to be allowed to do whatever they wish to the birds. There was also an excessive amount of leaving the paths to try and reach other birds. I do know for the aviary I worked with we did lose a couple birds to trampling over the years, but with staff vigilance that was kept pretty low. It could be a real challenge at times to keep the guests behaving appropriately.
The only place with more guest misbehavior than the feeding aviary was the animal programs.
It depends on the locality and the people involved. City slickers tend to react differently to animals than country bumpkins.
I am aware of at least one example in the US of a duck being straight up killed intentionally by a visitor in a walk-through aviary.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
That’s grim and hopefully someone called the police. Some people are shits!
But it wouldn’t be a reason to stop everyone going into walkthroughs in my view.
Lafone
Well-Known Member
It seems really odd that people go to the zoo and then hurt the animals! Makes you wonder.
Feeding illicitly is a problem all over even in general though I was at a collection last weekend where the signs on not feeding were the largest and most numerous I’ve ever seen and they didn’t have a walkthrough at all). So not walkthrough specific I suppose.
The next most common macaque species that I've come across in all my zoo visits is the Pig-tailed Macaque at only 10 zoos. There's quite the contrast on my list, because the first 4 establishments are American facilities that are not AZA-accredited and none of those zoos are ones I would recommend. The last 6 zoos are all excellent European zoos and I would highly recommend them. Each is a gem. This list summarizes the macaque situation between the two continents, with North American zoos phasing every single species out (except for Japanese) while in Europe macaques seem to flourish at reputable, EAZA zoos. However, the level of exhibitry is all over the map.
1- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2014
2- Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo (USA) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2015
3- Keepers of the Wild Nature Park (USA) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2015
4- Indian Creek Zoo (USA) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2018
5- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2019
6- Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2019
7- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2019
8- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2019
9- Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2019
10- Odense Zoo (Denmark) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2022
In 2014, while at DeYoung Family Zoo (USA), I saw a single Pig-tailed Macaque and a Bonnet Macaque in the same tiny cage...complete with a little red children's slide!
At Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo (USA) in 2015, I saw a couple of Pig-tailed Macaques in this corn-crib cage. Apparently the monkeys (and hopefully the enclosure!) are both gone:
At Keepers of the Wild (USA) in 2015, this member of the 'American Sanctuary Association' had two exhibits for Pig-tailed Macaques. They were standard small cages.
Indian Creek Zoo (USA) had this cage for Pig-tailed Macaques in 2018:
At that point, I'd visited 400+ zoos and only come across Pig-tailed Macaques at 4 locations, with all 4 being roadside zoos scattered across the USA. Then I went to Europe.
ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) is a zoo that I'd probably rank as an 8 out of 10 in terms of exhibit quality, as the whole zoo has been built in the past 20 years and there are some exemplary animal habitats to be found there. The troop of Pig-tailed Macaques has a holding area that is themed as a ruined temple, but a naturalistic exhibit is in the foreground. This is the second best exhibit for the species that I've personally seen.
@RonBurrgundy
Visitors even have side views from the building's 'portals':
@RonBurrgundy
Then there's Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands), with Pig-tailed Macaques sharing the same space as the following species: Siamang, Javan Banteng, Hog Deer and Eld's Deer. Spectacular...and a treasure for zoo nerds to enjoy.
@vogelcommando
@KevinB
Berlin Tierpark (Germany) has Pig-tailed Macaques in a long, spacious enclosure.
@Kaelio
@twilighter
I was disappointed when I saw the 'Angkor Wat' ruined temple-themed Asian complex at Osnabruck Zoo (Germany), a zoo that I otherwise really liked. These temple-styled animal exhibits so frequently do not work for captive animals, with a lot of 'fakeness' in the Pig-tailed Macaque exhibit.
Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands), another impressive zoo, also has ruined-temple decor surrounding its exhibit for Pig-tailed Macaques. Not cool.
@Mr Gharial
The same zoo also used to house its Japanese Macaques in this themed island enclosure. Here's a 2018 photo, although I believe that the exhibit sits empty as of 2024.
@KevinB
Lastly, I saw Pig-tailed Macaques at Odense Zoo (Denmark) in 2022. This is a superb zoo, one that I called "the Nashville Zoo of Scandinavia" because it's a 3-hour zoo but one that is packed with fantastic exhibits. However, as seems to be the case everywhere, Pig-tailed Macaques are not in one of those terrific exhibits.
The visitor area is heavily themed, although there are some effective conservation messages here. Look at those macaque bums!
Playground in foreground, macaque outdoor exhibit on the right:
The indoor exhibit is quite nice, with a lot of height:
Mammal Lists:
Gibbons - 143 zoos (64 White-handed, 62 Siamang, 36 White-cheeked, 12 Yellow-cheeked, 7 Southern Grey, 5 Pileated, 3 Silvery, 2 Agile, 1 Eastern Hoolock, with some zoos having multiple species)
Elephants - 105 zoos (62 Asian, 53 African, including some zoos with both)
Gorillas - 74
Orangutans - 74
Chimpanzees - 64
Baboons - 41 zoos (31 Hamadryas, 11 Olive, 6 Guinea, 1 Yellow, with some zoos having multiple species)
Mandrills - 41
Lion-tailed Macaques - 25
Japanese Macaques - 23
Barbary Macaques - 16
Bonobos - 14
Sulawesi Crested Macaques - 13
Pig-tailed Macaques - 10
Drills - 8
Geladas - 6
1- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2014
2- Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo (USA) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2015
3- Keepers of the Wild Nature Park (USA) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2015
4- Indian Creek Zoo (USA) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2018
5- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2019
6- Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2019
7- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2019
8- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2019
9- Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2019
10- Odense Zoo (Denmark) – Pig-tailed Macaque – 2022
In 2014, while at DeYoung Family Zoo (USA), I saw a single Pig-tailed Macaque and a Bonnet Macaque in the same tiny cage...complete with a little red children's slide!
At Animal World & Snake Farm Zoo (USA) in 2015, I saw a couple of Pig-tailed Macaques in this corn-crib cage. Apparently the monkeys (and hopefully the enclosure!) are both gone:
At Keepers of the Wild (USA) in 2015, this member of the 'American Sanctuary Association' had two exhibits for Pig-tailed Macaques. They were standard small cages.
Indian Creek Zoo (USA) had this cage for Pig-tailed Macaques in 2018:
At that point, I'd visited 400+ zoos and only come across Pig-tailed Macaques at 4 locations, with all 4 being roadside zoos scattered across the USA. Then I went to Europe.
ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) is a zoo that I'd probably rank as an 8 out of 10 in terms of exhibit quality, as the whole zoo has been built in the past 20 years and there are some exemplary animal habitats to be found there. The troop of Pig-tailed Macaques has a holding area that is themed as a ruined temple, but a naturalistic exhibit is in the foreground. This is the second best exhibit for the species that I've personally seen.
@RonBurrgundy
Visitors even have side views from the building's 'portals':
@RonBurrgundy
Then there's Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands), with Pig-tailed Macaques sharing the same space as the following species: Siamang, Javan Banteng, Hog Deer and Eld's Deer. Spectacular...and a treasure for zoo nerds to enjoy.
@vogelcommando
@KevinB
Berlin Tierpark (Germany) has Pig-tailed Macaques in a long, spacious enclosure.
@Kaelio
@twilighter
I was disappointed when I saw the 'Angkor Wat' ruined temple-themed Asian complex at Osnabruck Zoo (Germany), a zoo that I otherwise really liked. These temple-styled animal exhibits so frequently do not work for captive animals, with a lot of 'fakeness' in the Pig-tailed Macaque exhibit.
Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands), another impressive zoo, also has ruined-temple decor surrounding its exhibit for Pig-tailed Macaques. Not cool.
@Mr Gharial
The same zoo also used to house its Japanese Macaques in this themed island enclosure. Here's a 2018 photo, although I believe that the exhibit sits empty as of 2024.
@KevinB
Lastly, I saw Pig-tailed Macaques at Odense Zoo (Denmark) in 2022. This is a superb zoo, one that I called "the Nashville Zoo of Scandinavia" because it's a 3-hour zoo but one that is packed with fantastic exhibits. However, as seems to be the case everywhere, Pig-tailed Macaques are not in one of those terrific exhibits.
The visitor area is heavily themed, although there are some effective conservation messages here. Look at those macaque bums!
Playground in foreground, macaque outdoor exhibit on the right:
The indoor exhibit is quite nice, with a lot of height:
Mammal Lists:
Gibbons - 143 zoos (64 White-handed, 62 Siamang, 36 White-cheeked, 12 Yellow-cheeked, 7 Southern Grey, 5 Pileated, 3 Silvery, 2 Agile, 1 Eastern Hoolock, with some zoos having multiple species)
Elephants - 105 zoos (62 Asian, 53 African, including some zoos with both)
Gorillas - 74
Orangutans - 74
Chimpanzees - 64
Baboons - 41 zoos (31 Hamadryas, 11 Olive, 6 Guinea, 1 Yellow, with some zoos having multiple species)
Mandrills - 41
Lion-tailed Macaques - 25
Japanese Macaques - 23
Barbary Macaques - 16
Bonobos - 14
Sulawesi Crested Macaques - 13
Pig-tailed Macaques - 10
Drills - 8
Geladas - 6
Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands), another impressive zoo, also has ruined-temple decor surrounding its exhibit for Pig-tailed Macaques. Not cool.
Yea, this is easily the worst enclosure in the whole zoo, right after the Chimpanzee enclosure. Luckily, Amersfoort is building a new Chimp enclosure which should hopefully also clear up some space in the old part of the zoo, so this horrid enclosure will probably be coming down either this or next year..
The Japanese macaques moved away in late 2023. Red ruffed lemurs now inhabit the island
Not surprised. At all. I've seen too much.