Impressive number. However I am braced for the (probably) massive number of another group of beasties that American roadside zoos just can’t live without having them.
Snowleopard's Mammals: A Lifetime List of Species Mammalian and Non-Mammalian
- Thread starter snowleopard
- Start date
Mandrills are large, impressive looking primates, especially the big males when they bare their teeth. Yet, I've found that there aren't many truly great exhibits for this species. I've seen many crappy ones, some good ones, but not a lot of classics.
Some of these zoos are ones I’ve visited on many occasions, but I’ve listed them only once and that is based on the first time I ever saw Mandrills at each zoo. I'm guessing that at least 10 of these zoos don't even have the species any longer.
1- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2005
2- San Francisco Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2006
3- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2006
4- Denver Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2006
5- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Mandrill – 2006
6- Adelaide Zoo (Australia) – Mandrill – 2007
7- Melbourne Zoo (Australia) – Mandrill – 2007
8- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
9- Detroit Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
10- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Mandrill – 2008
11- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
12- Pittsburgh Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
13- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
14- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
15- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
16- Emperor Valley Zoo (Trinidad & Tobago) – Mandrill – 2008
17- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
18- Jacksonville Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
19- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
20- Buffalo Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
21- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
22- Houston Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
23- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
24- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
25- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
26- Reid Park Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2011
27- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2012
28- Franklin Park Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2012
29- Virginia Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2012
30- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Mandrill – 2012
31- Rolling Hills Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2012
32- Peoria Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2014
33- Tanganyika Wildlife Park (USA) – Mandrill – 2014
34- G W Exotic Animal Park (USA) – Mandrill – 2015
35- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Mandrill – 2018
36- Artis Royal Zoo Amsterdam (Netherlands) – Mandrill – 2019
37- Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) – Mandrill – 2019
38- Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands) – Mandrill – 2019
39- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – Mandrill – 2019
40- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Mandrill – 2019
41- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Mandrill – 2019
Here's a Mandrill and a Diana Monkey together at Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) in 2010:
I saw a Mandrill inside this diabolical little cage (thankfully no longer around) at Utah's Hogle Zoo (USA) in 2010:
Here's a small, sparse enclosure at Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) in 2018:
A big male was all alone at the now defunct GW Exotic Animal Park (USA) in this cage in 2015:
A converted old grotto held Mandrills in 2019 at Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands):
But of course there is the stunning Congo Gorilla Forest complex at Bronx Zoo (USA), with is exemplary Mandrill exhibit that also contains other primates and Red River Hogs.
@Dhole dude
The spacious Mandrill exhibit at San Diego Zoo (USA) can be seen via two levels:
@pachyderm pro
Peoria Zoo (USA) is a relatively obscure zoo with a decent Mandrill exhibit:
It's too bad that not more than a handful of the 41 zoos I've seen Mandrills at could honestly say that they keep those primates in large, modern habitats with climbing opportunities and an environment full of natural enrichment items. Mandrills are stunning animals and deserve better if they are to be adequately maintained in captivity.
@Green_mamba
@betsy
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 obviously having multiple types of gibbon)
Elephants - 105 zoos (62 Asian, 53 African, including some zoos with both)
Gorillas - 74
Orangutans - 74
Chimpanzees - 64
Mandrills - 41
Bonobos - 14
Some of these zoos are ones I’ve visited on many occasions, but I’ve listed them only once and that is based on the first time I ever saw Mandrills at each zoo. I'm guessing that at least 10 of these zoos don't even have the species any longer.
1- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2005
2- San Francisco Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2006
3- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2006
4- Denver Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2006
5- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Mandrill – 2006
6- Adelaide Zoo (Australia) – Mandrill – 2007
7- Melbourne Zoo (Australia) – Mandrill – 2007
8- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
9- Detroit Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
10- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Mandrill – 2008
11- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
12- Pittsburgh Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
13- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
14- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
15- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
16- Emperor Valley Zoo (Trinidad & Tobago) – Mandrill – 2008
17- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
18- Jacksonville Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2008
19- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
20- Buffalo Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
21- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
22- Houston Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
23- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
24- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
25- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2010
26- Reid Park Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2011
27- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2012
28- Franklin Park Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2012
29- Virginia Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2012
30- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Mandrill – 2012
31- Rolling Hills Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2012
32- Peoria Zoo (USA) – Mandrill – 2014
33- Tanganyika Wildlife Park (USA) – Mandrill – 2014
34- G W Exotic Animal Park (USA) – Mandrill – 2015
35- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Mandrill – 2018
36- Artis Royal Zoo Amsterdam (Netherlands) – Mandrill – 2019
37- Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) – Mandrill – 2019
38- Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands) – Mandrill – 2019
39- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – Mandrill – 2019
40- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Mandrill – 2019
41- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Mandrill – 2019
Here's a Mandrill and a Diana Monkey together at Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) in 2010:
I saw a Mandrill inside this diabolical little cage (thankfully no longer around) at Utah's Hogle Zoo (USA) in 2010:
Here's a small, sparse enclosure at Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) in 2018:
A big male was all alone at the now defunct GW Exotic Animal Park (USA) in this cage in 2015:
A converted old grotto held Mandrills in 2019 at Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands):
But of course there is the stunning Congo Gorilla Forest complex at Bronx Zoo (USA), with is exemplary Mandrill exhibit that also contains other primates and Red River Hogs.
@Dhole dude
The spacious Mandrill exhibit at San Diego Zoo (USA) can be seen via two levels:
@pachyderm pro
Peoria Zoo (USA) is a relatively obscure zoo with a decent Mandrill exhibit:
It's too bad that not more than a handful of the 41 zoos I've seen Mandrills at could honestly say that they keep those primates in large, modern habitats with climbing opportunities and an environment full of natural enrichment items. Mandrills are stunning animals and deserve better if they are to be adequately maintained in captivity.
@Green_mamba
@betsy
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 obviously having multiple types of gibbon)
Elephants - 105 zoos (62 Asian, 53 African, including some zoos with both)
Gorillas - 74
Orangutans - 74
Chimpanzees - 64
Mandrills - 41
Bonobos - 14
I'd be curious to see how many of these zoos still keep mandrills, as it is a species I know a fair number of zoos have gone out of in recent years, luckily often in favor of smaller, more space-appropriate primates. I know I didn't see any sign of mandrills at either Toronto or Detroit this year, while Franklin Park Zoo has replaced them with Debrazza's monkeys, and Buffalo Zoo phased them out as well (along with over half the species once in Vanishing Animals).
The Reid Park Zoo and Oregon Zoo have phased them out also.
The mandrill number is also quite shocking for me. I thought of over 500 zoos that has been visited, the number would have passed 50 but that doesn’t seem to be the case. And with changing holding numbers they might not be as common as I thought they were.
Glancing through zoo websites, it's possible that Oregon, Melbourne, Brookfield, Detroit, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Fort Worth, Milwaukee County, Buffalo, Baton Rouge, Houston, Dallas, Utah's Hogle, Reid Park, Potter Park, Franklin Park, Virginia, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, Rolling Hills and GW Exotic Animal Park have ALL gone out of Mandrills in recent years. Wow.
That means 20 out of the 41 zoos where I've seen Mandrills no longer even have the species! That's an extraordinary statistic and my research has revealed an alarming trend. Is the species gradually fading away or are there still plenty of zoos on the East Coast with Mandrills? Although I don't have any hard data on zoos that have added Mandrills in the last 15 years, my guess is that it's not very many.
That means 20 out of the 41 zoos where I've seen Mandrills no longer even have the species! That's an extraordinary statistic and my research has revealed an alarming trend. Is the species gradually fading away or are there still plenty of zoos on the East Coast with Mandrills? Although I don't have any hard data on zoos that have added Mandrills in the last 15 years, my guess is that it's not very many.
Southwicks and Bronx are the only two places I've seen the species. While they may be losing holders, that doesn't always equate to losing individuals. Some zoos have transitioned to larger, more naturalistic social groupings for mandrills, which is great to see, even if it comes at the loss of some holders.Glancing through zoo websites, it's possible that Oregon, Melbourne, Brookfield, Detroit, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Fort Worth, Milwaukee County, Buffalo, Baton Rouge, Houston, Dallas, Utah's Hogle, Reid Park, Potter Park, Franklin Park, Virginia, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, Rolling Hills and GW Exotic Animal Park have ALL gone out of Mandrills in recent years. Wow.
That means 20 out of the 41 zoos where I've seen Mandrills no longer even have the species! That's an extraordinary statistic and my research has revealed an alarming trend. Is the species gradually fading away or are there still plenty of zoos on the East Coast with Mandrills? Although I don't have any hard data on zoos that have added Mandrills in the last 15 years, my guess is that it's not very many.
Looking just at AZA holders, there are some that have larger groups of mandrills, which is great to see! Here are the AZA zoos with the most mandrills (as of 2022):
- Disney's Animal Kingdom- 10
- Bronx Zoo, Jacksonville Zoo- 8
- Granby Zoo (Canada)- 7
- Gladys Porter Zoo, Denver Zoo, San Francisco Zoo- 6
Tampa should still have mandrills unless something changed very recently. Regardless, your post really put into perspective just how far this species has fallen. It's a shame too, they are absolutely striking animals who usually make for an interesting exhibit. At the same time their decline makes sense in some ways; they are too big for traditional primate houses and most AZA zoos would rather put space for a larger non-ape primate towards hamadryas baboons or Japanese macaques.Glancing through zoo websites, it's possible that Oregon, Melbourne, Brookfield, Detroit, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Fort Worth, Milwaukee County, Buffalo, Baton Rouge, Houston, Dallas, Utah's Hogle, Reid Park, Potter Park, Franklin Park, Virginia, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, Rolling Hills and GW Exotic Animal Park have ALL gone out of Mandrills in recent years. Wow.
That means 20 out of the 41 zoos where I've seen Mandrills no longer even have the species! That's an extraordinary statistic and my research has revealed an alarming trend. Is the species gradually fading away or are there still plenty of zoos on the East Coast with Mandrills? Although I don't have any hard data on zoos that have added Mandrills in the last 15 years, my guess is that it's not very many.
I could count the number of zoos I've seen mandrills at on one hand and only half of those still hold the species. Makes me cherish seeing them all the more. It was quite the treat to see a full-grown adult looking down at guests at San Diego earlier this month. There was a scatter-feed just before I came by and both the mandrills and their red-tailed monkey roommates were dodging all around the enclosure searching for snacks.
This is in fact untrue - sticking to NA AZA only 9 facilities hold Hamadryas and 11 hold Japanese Macaque, compared to 20 holding Mandrills. The former two are generally kept in larger groups however, and are a bit more stable than Mandrill population-wise. Indeed Hamadryas I believe stands at more than double the current Mandrill population. Additionally, Japanese Macaque is completely restricted to the north central and north east - the other two are much more widespread.
You're right that mandrills have more holders, but that's not exactly what I was getting at. When looking at general trends over the last 10-15 years, hamadryas baboons and Japanese macaques have become increasingly popular in the AZA with a number of new holders and substantial investment. Meanwhile it's not an exaggeration to say the number of mandrill holders has been approximately cut in half in that same time frame and I struggle to think of a single mandrill exhibit that's been built over the last decade plus - just Peoria I think, technically Memphis also even if it opened with a different species.
It's not really an accurate statement though - AZA wise Hamadryas is up one holder in the last decade, that being San Diego, and the population is up by about 20 animals. The US/Canada AZA population is roughly equivalent to the Mandrill population; I forgot to note more than half the AZA Hamadryas population is in Mexico/overseas and thus harder to manage.
Japanese Macaque has lost three AZA holders in the last decade and the population remains about the same but continues to be in gradual decline. They remain confined to the same general area of the country as well.
A bit of an exaggeration, they have lost 6 or 7 holders in the past decade but their population has held fairly well considering. They certainly continue to be in decline however as they have been for many years.
All that said, Hamadryas, Japanese Macaque, and Mandrill are certainly the AZA flagships for the larger monkeys - it will be interesting to see where things stand in another decade...
This is correct, but misleading. Over half of the AZA Hamadryas baboon population is at zoos outside the AZA that typically don't contribute to the SSP to the same extent as US zoos (including one zoo with over fifty Hamadryas baboons). Judging only the US and Canadian populations, the mandrill and Hamadryas baboon populations are actually very similar in size.
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
Given how large the group sizes these animals would be found in the wild is, 6 or 7 really doesn’t seem like that much. At one point, Colchester in England had an enormous group of 23, I believe, but now they are down to just ten, only three of which breeding individuals. Chester have 13 at the moment, which are very entertaining, but I would love to see a zoo attempt a large, landscaped enclosure with a large family group. I have seen this done many times with closely related baboons and geladas, but never with mandrills, and snowleopard’s comments regarding the poor exhibitry standards for the species seem true aa well.
I agree it isn't really "that much" given how massive wild groups of mandrills are. However, it is a lot considering how mandrills would've historically been displayed only in pairs. Six or seven mandrills is a huge improvement after two mandrills, and given that in the wild many of the cercopithecines primarily interact with individuals in a smaller sub-group of their massive groups, it doesn't seem unreasonably low to be exhibited six to eight individuals as a social grouping.
Kalaw
Well-Known Member
Of course. My post was by no means a criticism of the zoos in question, who have certainly done more than what other places have to provide a large group of mandrills, and they certainly deserve credit for that.
Rather, it was a criticism of how, in general, mandrills seem to be underused, both in terms of group numbers and exhibit quality. An irrelevant point, but, as I have mentioned elsewhere, with any other zoo-related matter, I don't think that the whole 'it used to be much worse' argument is a sufficient justification for poor standards today, although of course, as you mentioned, in this case the standards of today aren't exactly 'poor.' 
Sorry for going off-topic. This is an excellent thread and I look forward to the next post!
Tampa as well, but you bring up some good points. My initial comment was based on the lack of interest in new mandrill exhibits as of late more so than a dramatic rise in new hamadryas/macaque holders. As you mentioned all three have roughly similar population sizes, so I similarly wonder what the future will look like for these species in the US.
The discussion around Mandrills has been fascinating, with a lot of great information. Tampa has been mentioned a couple of times, but I don't see that species listed on the zoo's website or on the zoo's online map. Either way, it was a shock to me to find out that approximately 50% of the zoos where I've seen Mandrills no longer hold the species. A real shame. However, it's great to hear of several zoos that still showcase that type of primate in larger groups, which is nice to read about. Sometimes less is more. 
A species that a lot of zoo nerds love to see is the Drill, as they are equally impressive primates but much rarer than their relatives. In all my years, I've only ever seen Drills at 8 zoos.
1- Lincoln Park Zoo (USA) – Drill – 2008
2- Columbus Zoo (USA) – Drill – 2008
3- Zoo Atlanta (USA) – Drill – 2008
4- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Drill – 2010
5- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Drill – 2019
6- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Drill – 2019
7- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Drill – 2019
8- Parken Zoo (Sweden) – Drill – 2022
I should remind readers that my all-time total of 551 zoological facilities does include a whole whack of puny little places and also 115 aquariums. Knocking off the aquatic establishments, that leaves 436 'zoos' and only 8 have ever had Drills.
Here is the only photo of a Drill at Lincoln Park Zoo (USA) on this site and it was taken by me in the summer of 2008. Does anyone know when the species left that Chicago city?
There are only 4 ZooChat photos of Drills at Columbus Zoo (USA), two by me and two by @Buckeye092:
The only two ZooChat photos under the search 'Drill' for Audubon Zoo (USA) were both taken by me in the summer of 2010:
I also saw Drills at Zoo Atlanta (USA):
Their netted exhibit still exists today:
@AndyJ08
As you can tell, Drills are RARE and almost extinct in North American zoos. I saw them at Lincoln Park, Columbus and Audubon a long time ago and none of those zoos carry the species any longer. There are still Drills at Zoo Atlanta...and where else in North America? There can't be many places left.
Then almost a decade of nothing, even though I visited hundreds of zoos in that period. I then saw Drills at three zoos in a month on my epic European 2019 zoo tour. Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) has the species:
@Joker1706
@Maguari
Hannover (Germany) had Drills with De Brazza's Monkeys when I was there:
@Daniel Sörensen
Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) had Drills with Diana Monkeys and Forest Buffalo, keeping alive the wonderful European tradition of mixed-species exhibits that would horrify North American zoo directors.
The last place I saw Drills was my favourite, as they have a nice slice of a mini-forest at Parken Zoo (Sweden), a typical Scandinavian zoo heavy on mammals. The large enclosure has many trees and there's also a 'Drill House' with indoor viewing of two rooms.
@twilighter
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 obviously having multiple types of gibbon)
Elephants - 105 zoos (62 Asian, 53 African, including some zoos with both)
Gorillas - 74
Orangutans - 74
Chimpanzees - 64
Mandrills - 41
Bonobos - 14
Drills - 8
A species that a lot of zoo nerds love to see is the Drill, as they are equally impressive primates but much rarer than their relatives. In all my years, I've only ever seen Drills at 8 zoos.
1- Lincoln Park Zoo (USA) – Drill – 2008
2- Columbus Zoo (USA) – Drill – 2008
3- Zoo Atlanta (USA) – Drill – 2008
4- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Drill – 2010
5- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Drill – 2019
6- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Drill – 2019
7- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Drill – 2019
8- Parken Zoo (Sweden) – Drill – 2022
I should remind readers that my all-time total of 551 zoological facilities does include a whole whack of puny little places and also 115 aquariums. Knocking off the aquatic establishments, that leaves 436 'zoos' and only 8 have ever had Drills.
Here is the only photo of a Drill at Lincoln Park Zoo (USA) on this site and it was taken by me in the summer of 2008. Does anyone know when the species left that Chicago city?
There are only 4 ZooChat photos of Drills at Columbus Zoo (USA), two by me and two by @Buckeye092:
The only two ZooChat photos under the search 'Drill' for Audubon Zoo (USA) were both taken by me in the summer of 2010:
I also saw Drills at Zoo Atlanta (USA):
Their netted exhibit still exists today:
@AndyJ08
As you can tell, Drills are RARE and almost extinct in North American zoos. I saw them at Lincoln Park, Columbus and Audubon a long time ago and none of those zoos carry the species any longer. There are still Drills at Zoo Atlanta...and where else in North America? There can't be many places left.
Then almost a decade of nothing, even though I visited hundreds of zoos in that period. I then saw Drills at three zoos in a month on my epic European 2019 zoo tour. Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) has the species:
@Joker1706
@Maguari
Hannover (Germany) had Drills with De Brazza's Monkeys when I was there:
@Daniel Sörensen
Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) had Drills with Diana Monkeys and Forest Buffalo, keeping alive the wonderful European tradition of mixed-species exhibits that would horrify North American zoo directors.
The last place I saw Drills was my favourite, as they have a nice slice of a mini-forest at Parken Zoo (Sweden), a typical Scandinavian zoo heavy on mammals. The large enclosure has many trees and there's also a 'Drill House' with indoor viewing of two rooms.
@twilighter
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 obviously having multiple types of gibbon)
Elephants - 105 zoos (62 Asian, 53 African, including some zoos with both)
Gorillas - 74
Orangutans - 74
Chimpanzees - 64
Mandrills - 41
Bonobos - 14
Drills - 8
Look directly above the siamangs: https://zootampa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ZooTampa-Map.png
EDIT: I just found this other map that's more recent (even though at first I was directed to the above link) and the mandrill icon is absent. Perhaps they are no longer at the zoo after all. @SwampDonkey can you confirm?
I have no memory of drills at Lincoln Park, so they likely departed within a year or two following your visit. Did you ever see the ones that were mixed with the gorillas at Detroit?