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

Jaguar Post, Part Two:

I'll end off with the extraordinary Randers Regnskov (Denmark), a zoo with three big domes (Africa, Asia, South America) and an outdoor section that has been added to over the last 15 years. I had a terrific several hours at this place in 2022 and they really promote their breeding Jaguars. Here's the zoo's stunning glass entrance:

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The Jaguar complex at Randers consists of two exhibits that are spacious and with many elevation points for the big cats. There's also a theme of a construction site in a South American jungle, which is kind of crazy but also truly memorable. I'm tempted to call the whole thing world-class and it opened in 2014. Look at the climbing opportunities, seen via the high visitor viewing boardwalk. Exhibit #1:

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@Hvedekorn

Exhibit #2:

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That big piece of bulldozer machinery is inside the first Jaguar exhibit:

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This pretend outdoor toilet is inside the second Jaguar exhibit:

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This shows a visitor seating area, but the picnic table on the other side of the glass is inside the Jaguar exhibit and the zoo occasionally puts the cat's meals on that structure. Construction workers having lunch with Jaguars!

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Here is an overview of the spacious second exhibit, complete with underwater viewing on the right:

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While a toilet in a jaguar exhibit is an admittedly odd choice, I do conceptually like the idea of including human elements in large carnivore exhibits- especially if it is done in the context of educational messaging on human-wildlife conflict/coexistence. Jaguars are one of the main HWC species in Central America, so that could be a really compelling educational message to pair with a jaguar exhibit.
 
Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) has a lot of textured, human-made rockwork in its Snow Leopard exhibit. All of that adds significant costs to a new build.

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I do want to report that this exhibit tends to be much more lushly planted today (at least during summer and fall) offering the animals more room to hide (as they often do) and giving it a more naturalistic appearance... in fact, I initially did not recognize it in this photo, as I usually see the snow leopards hanging around the waterfall area which is just outside of frame on the left. I do think some modifications were made when the Red Panda exhibit was being constructed nearby, but I can't recall as that renovation was one of the less publicized types.

Saint Louis Zoo (USA) also had an open-topped Jaguar exhibit when I was there in 2010 and 2014. If I'm not mistaken, since the Little Rock incident the Saint Louis Zoo has either put up mesh netting around this enclosure or contained the Jaguars elsewhere in Big Cat Country. It's too risky to have these type of exhibits for Jaguars.

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I think to my memory that this exhibit was still open-topped when I visited in September, although I did not see a Jaguar at the time and could be mixing up with the nearby lion enclosure.
 
I've seen Eurasian Lynx at exactly 50 zoos, more than Canadian Lynx, which will show up later in this thread. I saw Eurasian Lynx at 19 zoos in a single month in the summer of 2019, and 28 of these zoos are located in Western Europe. I'm not sure what subspecies of Eurasian Lynx I've seen over the years, as for example two of the Danish zoos have their Lynx noted as 'Altai', but here's my list:

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Eurasian Lynx – 1975
2- Langenberg Wildlife Park (Switzerland) – Eurasian Lynx – 2003
3- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2006
4- Buffalo Zoo (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2010
5- Nashville Zoo at Grassmere (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2010
6- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2010
7- Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2012
8- Lake Superior Zoo (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2014
9- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2014
10- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2014
11- Tanganyika Wildlife Park (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2014
12- Riverside Discovery Center (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2015
13- In Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2015
14- Keepers of the Wild Nature Park (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2015
15- Great Cats World Park (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2015
16- West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2015
17- Monterey Zoo (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2017
18- Project Survival’s Cat Haven (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2017
19- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Eurasian Lynx – 2017
20- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2018
21- Animal Gardens Petting Zoo (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2018
22- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2018
23- Landgoed Hoenderdaell (Netherlands) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
24- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
25- Wildpark Gangelt (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
26- GaiaZOO (Netherlands) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
27- Aachener Zoo (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
28- Opel Zoo (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
29- Wildpark Reuschenberg (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
30- Tierpark Fauna (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
31- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
32- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
33- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
34- Tiergehege Kaisergarten (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
35- Tiergarten Monchengladbach (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
36- BestZOO (Netherlands) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
37- Dierenrijk (Animal Kingdom) (Netherlands) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
38- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
39- Tierpark Strohen (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
40- Olderdissen Zoo (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
41- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Eurasian Lynx – 2019
42- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Eurasian ‘Altai’ Lynx – 2022
43- Munkholm Zoo (Denmark) – Eurasian ‘Altai’ Lynx – 2022
44- Aalborg Zoo (Denmark) – Eurasian Lynx – 2022
45- Randers Regnskov (Denmark) – Eurasian Lynx – 2022
46- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Eurasian Lynx – 2022
47- Boras Zoo (Sweden) – Eurasian Lynx – 2022
48- Nordens Ark (Sweden) – Eurasian Lynx – 2022
49- Kristiansand Zoo (Norway) – Eurasian Lynx – 2022
50- Wildlife Images Rehabilitation and Education Center (USA) – Eurasian Lynx – 2023

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@hmb_zoo

There's a terrific Eurasian Lynx exhibit at Dortmund Zoo (Germany), being a slice of woodland in the middle of an urban zoo. It's fantastic!

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@Maguari

Wildpark Gangelt (Germany) also has a terrific, forested exhibit that is typical of a German 'wildpark'. I only saw the one Eurasian Lynx while I was there, but at that time the park had 7 of them.

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@16217

Duisburg Zoo (Germany) is another German zoo with an excellent Eurasian Lynx exhibit, with viewing windows inside a rustic countryside chalet-type cabin:

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@Maguari

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Even a relatively unknown zoo like Tierpark Strohen (Germany) has a spacious enclosure for Eurasian Lynx:

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@RonBurrgundy

Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) has only around 20 exhibits inside the entire zoo, but the level of quality is extremely high. Here's the woodland habitat for Eurasian Lynx:

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With, somewhat bizarrely, non-lynx animal cutouts on top of the viewing windows:

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Nordens Ark (Sweden) has a nicely forested Eurasian Lynx exhibit:

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Kristiansand Zoo (Norway) has a massive enclosure for its Eurasian Lynx that includes a wire cord for hanging meat:

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Contrast those stunning, natural-looking Eurasian Lynx exhibits with this one at Monterey Zoo (USA), which was there in 2017 but has since been removed as that zoo has undergone numerous renovations. A slab of cement:

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Another slab of cement at Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA):

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An extremely tiny Eurasian Lynx exhibit at DeYoung Family Zoo (USA):

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In Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center (USA), (now that's a mouthful!), had an exhibit for three 'Siberian Lynx' that involved several overhead wooden platforms and a classic image of a hanging tire.

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Do some of you remember the old feline exhibit row of enclosures at San Diego Zoo (USA)? Those exhibits were still standing not that long ago, as here is my photo from 2011 labeled as 'Siberian Lynx'. This section is now part of Africa Rocks.

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Felidae:

Tigers - 195 zoos
Lions - 179 zoos
Bobcats - 128 zoos
Cougars - 118 zoos
Leopards - 98 zoos
Cheetahs - 76 zoos
Snow Leopards - 74 zoos
Servals - 73 zoos
Jaguars - 63 zoos
Eurasian Lynx - 50 zoos
 
I was a bit surprised by this next one, as the total was higher than I expected. I've seen Ocelots at 49 zoos. My experience has been almost exclusively at zoos in the USA, at 42 locations and almost entirely AZA accredited facilities, with the remaining zoos being in Canada (2), Australia (1), Trinidad & Tobago (1) and only 3 out of 120 European zoos. I've found this species to be incredibly rare outside of America.

I saw Ocelots 9 times in 2008, 13 times in 2010, 7 times in 2012 and 8 times in 2015, with 75% of all my sightings being on those 4 road trips. Since then, Ocelots have been sporadic.

Looking down the list, I feel that a whole bunch of these zoos don't have the species any more, but perhaps others have taken up the slack. The 7 non-USA zoos are in bold.

1- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 1996
2- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2005
3- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2006
4- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Ocelot – 2006
5- Crocodylus Park (Australia) – Ocelot – 2007
6- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
7- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
8- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
9- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
10- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
11- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
12- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
13- Mountain View Conservation Centre (Canada) – Ocelot – 2008
14- Emperor Valley Zoo (Trinidad & Tobago) – Ocelot – 2008
15- Louisville Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
16- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
17- Buffalo Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
18- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
19- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
20- Houston Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
21- Dallas World Aquarium (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
22- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
23- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
24- El Paso Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
25- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
26- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
27- Zoo Boise (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
28- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Ocelot – 2011
29- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
30- Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
31- Franklin Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
32- Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
33- Virginia Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
34- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
35- Little Rock Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
36- In Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
37- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
38- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
39- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
40- Moody Gardens (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
41- The Texas Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
42- Abilene Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
43- Alameda Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
44- Feline Conservation Center (USA) – Ocelot – 2017
45- America’s Teaching Zoo: Moorpark College (USA) – Ocelot – 2017
46- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Ocelot – 2018
47- Tiergarten Monchengladbach (Germany) – Ocelot – 2019
48- Dierenpark de Oliemeulen (Netherlands) – Ocelot – 2019
49- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Ocelot – 2022

I used to visit Woodland Park Zoo (USA) several times a year and for approximately 25 years the zoo had Ocelots inside its Tropical House. (They've since been replaced by White-nosed Coatis) The Ocelots had a smallish exhibit and yet it was consistently a struggle to locate one of them. Here's an Ocelot in this photo:

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San Diego Zoo (USA) also had Ocelots for many years, often found in the Children's Zoo. Here is a photo of the exhibit in 2011:

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Memphis Zoo (USA) also held Ocelots for a long time, and perhaps still does have this species amongst the dozen exhibits in Cat Country.

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@geomorph

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) has often exhibited Ocelots in Cat Canyon, even though that part of the zoo has recently showcased foxes and porcupines amidst some felines.

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@Giant Eland

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Some zoos have kept Ocelots entirely indoors, such as Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) in their RainForest building.

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Buffalo Zoo (USA) also has an all-indoor Ocelot enclosure:

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@animalman0341

A controversial exhibit containing a Jaguar at Dallas World Aquarium (USA) eventually was changed to an Ocelot enclosure. This 'ruined temple' exhibit also has an upper balcony area for the cats.

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@Dhole dude

There's a long list of mediocre Ocelot exhibits in American zoos. Many are not necessarily atrocious, but merely adequate for the species. There's no 'roadside menageries' in today's thread! A few more are also entirely indoors, like the one inside the Desert Dome at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA). This photo shows the Collared Peccary exhibit (foreground) and the Ocelot exhibit (netted enclosure on rocky ledge).

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@pachyderm pro

Rosamond Gifford Zoo (USA) might be one of only two zoos on the list that has had Ocelots in a nocturnal wing of a building. - The other is Virginia Zoo (USA).

Here's an Ocelot perched on a tree branch at Rosamond Gifford Zoo:

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@blospz

Inside Franklin Park Zoo's (USA) Tropical Forest building is an Ocelot exhibit. This 2012 photo shows the space that was once home to Leopards!

full


Alexandria Zoo (USA) had a superb collection of South American species when I visited in 2015, including a large outdoor Ocelot exhibit.

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An above average Ocelot exhibit can be found at Moody Gardens (USA). It's entirely indoors, but it does have a significant amount of light streaming through the windows. There's also some heavy duty rockwork surrounding the exhibit.

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@geomorph

Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) had an Ocelot who died last month at the age of 24. There's perhaps only one other Ocelot in captivity in Canada now. It will be interesting to see what Assiniboine adds to this enclosure, which is connected to the Toucan Ridge tropical house.

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In visits to 120 different zoos and aquariums in Western Europe, I only came across 3 Ocelot exhibits. One was at the small, obscure Tiergarten Monchengladbach (Germany):

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A small, privately-owned Dutch zoo (Dierenpark de Oliemeulen) also had the species, as did a small, privately-run Danish zoo. Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) had two very similar looking exhibits for Ocelots. Here's one of them:

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Felidae:

Tigers - 195 zoos
Lions - 179 zoos
Bobcats - 128 zoos
Cougars - 118 zoos
Leopards - 98 zoos
Cheetahs - 76 zoos
Snow Leopards - 74 zoos
Servals - 73 zoos
Jaguars - 63 zoos
Eurasian Lynx - 50 zoos
Ocelots - 49 zoos
 
I was a bit surprised by this next one, as the total was higher than I expected. I've seen Ocelots at 49 zoos. My experience has been almost exclusively at zoos in the USA, at 42 locations and almost entirely AZA accredited facilities, with the remaining zoos being in Canada (2), Australia (1), Trinidad & Tobago (1) and only 3 out of 120 European zoos. I've found this species to be incredibly rare outside of America.

I saw Ocelots 9 times in 2008, 13 times in 2010, 7 times in 2012 and 8 times in 2015, with 75% of all my sightings being on those 4 road trips. Since then, Ocelots have been sporadic.

Looking down the list, I feel that a whole bunch of these zoos don't have the species any more, but perhaps others have taken up the slack. The 7 non-USA zoos are in bold.

1- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 1996
2- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2005
3- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2006
4- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Ocelot – 2006
5- Crocodylus Park (Australia) – Ocelot – 2007
6- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
7- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
8- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
9- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
10- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
11- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
12- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
13- Mountain View Conservation Centre (Canada) – Ocelot – 2008
14- Emperor Valley Zoo (Trinidad & Tobago) – Ocelot – 2008
15- Louisville Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
16- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
17- Buffalo Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
18- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
19- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
20- Houston Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
21- Dallas World Aquarium (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
22- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
23- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
24- El Paso Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
25- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
26- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
27- Zoo Boise (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
28- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Ocelot – 2011
29- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
30- Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
31- Franklin Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
32- Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
33- Virginia Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
34- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
35- Little Rock Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
36- In Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
37- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
38- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
39- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
40- Moody Gardens (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
41- The Texas Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
42- Abilene Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
43- Alameda Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
44- Feline Conservation Center (USA) – Ocelot – 2017
45- America’s Teaching Zoo: Moorpark College (USA) – Ocelot – 2017
46- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Ocelot – 2018
47- Tiergarten Monchengladbach (Germany) – Ocelot – 2019
48- Dierenpark de Oliemeulen (Netherlands) – Ocelot – 2019
49- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Ocelot – 2022

I used to visit Woodland Park Zoo (USA) several times a year and for approximately 25 years the zoo had Ocelots inside its Tropical House. (They've since been replaced by White-nosed Coatis) The Ocelots had a smallish exhibit and yet it was consistently a struggle to locate one of them. Here's an Ocelot in this photo:

full


San Diego Zoo (USA) also had Ocelots for many years, often found in the Children's Zoo. Here is a photo of the exhibit in 2011:

full


Memphis Zoo (USA) also held Ocelots for a long time, and perhaps still does have this species amongst the dozen exhibits in Cat Country.

full


@geomorph

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) has often exhibited Ocelots in Cat Canyon, even though that part of the zoo has recently showcased foxes and porcupines amidst some felines.

full


@Giant Eland

full


Some zoos have kept Ocelots entirely indoors, such as Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) in their RainForest building.

full


Buffalo Zoo (USA) also has an all-indoor Ocelot enclosure:

full


@animalman0341

A controversial exhibit containing a Jaguar at Dallas World Aquarium (USA) eventually was changed to an Ocelot enclosure. This 'ruined temple' exhibit also has an upper balcony area for the cats.

full


@Dhole dude

There's a long list of mediocre Ocelot exhibits in American zoos. Many are not necessarily atrocious, but merely adequate for the species. There's no 'roadside menageries' in today's thread! A few more are also entirely indoors, like the one inside the Desert Dome at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA). This photo shows the Collared Peccary exhibit (foreground) and the Ocelot exhibit (netted enclosure on rocky ledge).

full


@pachyderm pro

Rosamond Gifford Zoo (USA) might be one of only two zoos on the list that has had Ocelots in a nocturnal wing of a building. - The other is Virginia Zoo (USA).

Here's an Ocelot perched on a tree branch at Rosamond Gifford Zoo:

full


@blospz

Inside Franklin Park Zoo's (USA) Tropical Forest building is an Ocelot exhibit. This 2012 photo shows the space that was once home to Leopards!

full


Alexandria Zoo (USA) had a superb collection of South American species when I visited in 2015, including a large outdoor Ocelot exhibit.

full


An above average Ocelot exhibit can be found at Moody Gardens (USA). It's entirely indoors, but it does have a significant amount of light streaming through the windows. There's also some heavy duty rockwork surrounding the exhibit.

full


@geomorph

Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) had an Ocelot who died last month at the age of 24. There's perhaps only one other Ocelot in captivity in Canada now. It will be interesting to see what Assiniboine adds to this enclosure, which is connected to the Toucan Ridge tropical house.

full


In visits to 120 different zoos and aquariums in Western Europe, I only came across 3 Ocelot exhibits. One was at the small, obscure Tiergarten Monchengladbach (Germany):

full


A small, privately-owned Dutch zoo (Dierenpark de Oliemeulen) also had the species, as did a small, privately-run Danish zoo. Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) had two very similar looking exhibits for Ocelots. Here's one of them:

full


Felidae:

Tigers - 195 zoos
Lions - 179 zoos
Bobcats - 128 zoos
Cougars - 118 zoos
Leopards - 98 zoos
Cheetahs - 76 zoos
Snow Leopards - 74 zoos
Servals - 73 zoos
Jaguars - 63 zoos
Eurasian Lynx - 50 zoos
Ocelots - 49 zoos

The Ocelot is one of those species that disappeared from the big city zoos in Europe. The only top zoo that comes to mind is Leipzig, where they live in Gondwanaland. They are bit more common in Southern Europe, but still not living at the main zoo locations.
 
I was a bit surprised by this next one, as the total was higher than I expected. I've seen Ocelots at 49 zoos. My experience has been almost exclusively at zoos in the USA, at 42 locations and almost entirely AZA accredited facilities, with the remaining zoos being in Canada (2), Australia (1), Trinidad & Tobago (1) and only 3 out of 120 European zoos. I've found this species to be incredibly rare outside of America.

I saw Ocelots 9 times in 2008, 13 times in 2010, 7 times in 2012 and 8 times in 2015, with 75% of all my sightings being on those 4 road trips. Since then, Ocelots have been sporadic.

Looking down the list, I feel that a whole bunch of these zoos don't have the species any more, but perhaps others have taken up the slack. The 7 non-USA zoos are in bold.

1- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 1996
2- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2005
3- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2006
4- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Ocelot – 2006
5- Crocodylus Park (Australia) – Ocelot – 2007
6- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
7- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
8- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
9- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
10- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
11- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
12- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2008
13- Mountain View Conservation Centre (Canada) – Ocelot – 2008
14- Emperor Valley Zoo (Trinidad & Tobago) – Ocelot – 2008
15- Louisville Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
16- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
17- Buffalo Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
18- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
19- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
20- Houston Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
21- Dallas World Aquarium (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
22- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
23- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
24- El Paso Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
25- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
26- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
27- Zoo Boise (USA) – Ocelot – 2010
28- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Ocelot – 2011
29- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
30- Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
31- Franklin Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
32- Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
33- Virginia Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
34- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
35- Little Rock Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2012
36- In Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue & Educational Center (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
37- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
38- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
39- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
40- Moody Gardens (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
41- The Texas Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
42- Abilene Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
43- Alameda Park Zoo (USA) – Ocelot – 2015
44- Feline Conservation Center (USA) – Ocelot – 2017
45- America’s Teaching Zoo: Moorpark College (USA) – Ocelot – 2017
46- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Ocelot – 2018
47- Tiergarten Monchengladbach (Germany) – Ocelot – 2019
48- Dierenpark de Oliemeulen (Netherlands) – Ocelot – 2019
49- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Ocelot – 2022

I used to visit Woodland Park Zoo (USA) several times a year and for approximately 25 years the zoo had Ocelots inside its Tropical House. (They've since been replaced by White-nosed Coatis) The Ocelots had a smallish exhibit and yet it was consistently a struggle to locate one of them. Here's an Ocelot in this photo:

full


San Diego Zoo (USA) also had Ocelots for many years, often found in the Children's Zoo. Here is a photo of the exhibit in 2011:

full


Memphis Zoo (USA) also held Ocelots for a long time, and perhaps still does have this species amongst the dozen exhibits in Cat Country.

full


@geomorph

Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) has often exhibited Ocelots in Cat Canyon, even though that part of the zoo has recently showcased foxes and porcupines amidst some felines.

full


@Giant Eland

full


Some zoos have kept Ocelots entirely indoors, such as Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) in their RainForest building.

full


Buffalo Zoo (USA) also has an all-indoor Ocelot enclosure:

full


@animalman0341

A controversial exhibit containing a Jaguar at Dallas World Aquarium (USA) eventually was changed to an Ocelot enclosure. This 'ruined temple' exhibit also has an upper balcony area for the cats.

full


@Dhole dude

There's a long list of mediocre Ocelot exhibits in American zoos. Many are not necessarily atrocious, but merely adequate for the species. There's no 'roadside menageries' in today's thread! A few more are also entirely indoors, like the one inside the Desert Dome at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA). This photo shows the Collared Peccary exhibit (foreground) and the Ocelot exhibit (netted enclosure on rocky ledge).

full


@pachyderm pro

Rosamond Gifford Zoo (USA) might be one of only two zoos on the list that has had Ocelots in a nocturnal wing of a building. - The other is Virginia Zoo (USA).

Here's an Ocelot perched on a tree branch at Rosamond Gifford Zoo:

full


@blospz

Inside Franklin Park Zoo's (USA) Tropical Forest building is an Ocelot exhibit. This 2012 photo shows the space that was once home to Leopards!

full


Alexandria Zoo (USA) had a superb collection of South American species when I visited in 2015, including a large outdoor Ocelot exhibit.

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An above average Ocelot exhibit can be found at Moody Gardens (USA). It's entirely indoors, but it does have a significant amount of light streaming through the windows. There's also some heavy duty rockwork surrounding the exhibit.

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@geomorph

Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) had an Ocelot who died last month at the age of 24. There's perhaps only one other Ocelot in captivity in Canada now. It will be interesting to see what Assiniboine adds to this enclosure, which is connected to the Toucan Ridge tropical house.

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In visits to 120 different zoos and aquariums in Western Europe, I only came across 3 Ocelot exhibits. One was at the small, obscure Tiergarten Monchengladbach (Germany):

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A small, privately-owned Dutch zoo (Dierenpark de Oliemeulen) also had the species, as did a small, privately-run Danish zoo. Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) had two very similar looking exhibits for Ocelots. Here's one of them:

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Felidae:

Tigers - 195 zoos
Lions - 179 zoos
Bobcats - 128 zoos
Cougars - 118 zoos
Leopards - 98 zoos
Cheetahs - 76 zoos
Snow Leopards - 74 zoos
Servals - 73 zoos
Jaguars - 63 zoos
Eurasian Lynx - 50 zoos
Ocelots - 49 zoos
I've been to several zoos with Ocelots (including some of these multiple times), and yet I've only actually seen an Ocelot once. How often have you actually managed to see an Ocelot, vs just its enclosure?
 
Here's an Ocelot perched on a tree branch at Rosamond Gifford Zoo:

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@blospz

Interesting, I visited Rosamond Gifford Zoo for the first time in 2021, and multiple times in every year since, however I had no clue that they formerly housed an ocelot in the nocturnal exhibit. I have a hard time imagining an ocelot in there too, as all of the residents today are much smaller (I think a tamandua is the largest). This ocelot must be long gone by now, and today the zoo doesn't have any cats in the nocturnal section.

I've been to several zoos with Ocelots (including some of these multiple times), and yet I've only actually seen an Ocelot once. How often have you actually managed to see an Ocelot, vs just its enclosure?
I concur that this is a species that I've found to often be a no-show. I'm in Buffalo Zoo's Rainforest Falls building on a regular basis (typically twice a week when in Buffalo, currently), and I can count on one hand how many times I've seen the zoo's ocelot. A shame, really, as they are gorgeous cats that were actually a childhood favorite of mine (my hometown zoo, Capron Park Zoo, displayed ocelots for the first six or seven years of my life).
 
@twilighter It's interesting that Ocelots were so scarce when I was in Europe in 2019 and 2022. The 3 zoos where I saw them were all places I hadn't even heard of before I planned those trips. Perhaps there's not been enough breeding success with the species in Europe?

@NNM. One thing about Franklin Park Zoo is that there's been a LOT of changes to the lineup of species over the years. It would be neat to see someone come up with a full list of every type of animal that's ever been held in that Tropical House.

@birdsandbats That's a fair question and many of my Ocelot sightings have been so long ago, and I've visited hundreds of zoos since, that it's impossible to recall if I've seen Ocelots at every single zoo out of the list of 49 facilities. For the 25 or so ZooChatters who have met me, they know that I'm quite persistent and I try to see everything at a zoo, from playgrounds to cafes to Ocelots. My guess is that I've seen yellow-and-black tails sticking out of boxes at a few zoos, and maybe not clear looks at the cats, and there might be a handful of zoos where I've only seen the enclosure, but they would be in the small minority. Quite often, the exhibits for this species are quite small and spotting a cat is definitely possible when most American zoos lock their mammals out of their night houses.

@Nile Hippo Expert Canidae will be next, when I'm done with Felidae.

On a side note, I'd like to highlight another Ocelot exhibit. when I visited North Carolina Zoo (USA) in 2010, I saw Ocelots inside the Sonora Desert building. Here was the exhibit:

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A few years later, in 2016, the zoo opened a brand-new Ocelot exhibit that is probably one of the best of its kind in a North American zoo:

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@Astrotom3000

There's actually two enclosures and here's one of them:

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@nczoofan

These Ocelot statues are awesome!

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@kpd_86
 
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@twilighter It's interesting that Ocelots were so scarce when I was in Europe in 2019 and 2022. The 3 zoos where I saw them were all places I hadn't even heard of before I planned those trips. Perhaps there's not been enough breeding success with the species in Europe?

The answer is probably in the combination of factors. The Ocelot is not Endangered and the animals in Europe are not pure subspecies, so they are not attractive for the respected zoos. Probably for the same reasons Pumas and Geoffroy’s cats are also not common in the EAZA zoos, making space for the more rare and purebred Oncillas and Margay. American wild cats have better chance for survival in general, so there is more interest in Asian or African felines.
 
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If it makes you all feel better, I was an ocelot keeper for over 6 years and I could go weeks at a time without seeing it out on exhibit unless it was literally just after I put food out…
I have a funny ocelot story that happened just a couple weeks ago. I was at the Los Angeles Zoo where two ocelots, a female and her now seven-month old offspring, are kept in one of the roundhouses. Previously, I have had limited luck in seeing the ocelots (sometimes they leave their outdoor area to go back into their night quarters as soon as they see me approaching). Anyway, as I stood staring into their empty enclosure, I gave up and started talking to the blue-billed curassow in the adjacent part of the roundhouse (I feel sorry for her since she's all alone after her mate passed away). After a few minutes I turned to go, when lo and behold, both the ocelots had stealthily come up to the fence and were just standing there watching me! I think they were surprised that I was giving the bird so much attention instead of trying to see them! I managed to take a few pictures and a short video before they hurried back out of sight.
 
Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) had an Ocelot who died last month at the age of 24. There's perhaps only one other Ocelot in captivity in Canada now. It will be interesting to see what Assiniboine adds to this enclosure, which is connected to the Toucan Ridge tropical house.

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There is only one male left in Canada called Romeo at Jungle Cat World. He was born on May 17, 2016. His parents were from a zoological park in Eastern Europe. The zoo plan to buy a female ocelot in the future
 
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