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

[Giant Eland]

Besides seeing Fossas in 25 zoos, the rest of my Madagascan carnivore list is very short and sweet. There are TWO species in this post.

I've seen Ring-tailed Vontsiras at 3 zoos:

1- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Ring-tailed Vontsira – 2008
2- Cologne Zoo (Germany) – Ring-tailed Vontsira – 2019
3- Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands) - Ring-tailed Vontsira – 2019

AND...

I've seen a Fanaloka at 1 zoo:

1- Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) – Fanaloka – 2015

Ring-tailed Vontsiras can be found in the Bronx Zoo's (USA) Madagascar! House:

@Ding Lingwei

@Dhole dude

I saw Ring-tailed Vontsiras at Cologne Zoo (Germany) in 2019, the only time I've seen the species in an outdoor exhibit.

@Crowthorne

Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands), that zoo nerd paradise, has a couple of exhibits for Ring-tailed Vontsiras:

Both photos via @KevinB

As for Fanaloka, I saw a single specimen at the privately owned, roadside Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) in 2015. At the time, it was surely the only zoo in the nation with the species on-show to the public. There was a chicken-wire barrier fence for visitors and the Fanaloka was confined to a wooden box. Good grief!

There's a 'Falanouc' sign AND a 'Fanaloka' sign. Maybe this zoo had both species!

And here's proof I saw one, which due to the accommodation was the best photo I could get!

Eupleridae: 3 species (Fossa, Ring-tailed Vontsira, Fanaloka)
Hyaenidae: 3 species (Spotted Hyena, Striped Hyena, Aardwolf)

* On page 42 of this thread, there's an extensive list of all the species I've seen for Primates (141), Felidae (28) and Canidae (19).

I've been lucky to see all 5 Euplerid species that have been in captivity in the past 60 years. I also saw all 5 of these species wild in Madagascar Oct-Nov 2023 along with a very narrow miss of a Falanouc- my all time biggest wild mammal regret!!

1. Fossa (my first was also San Diego in mid 90s I believe)
2. Ring-tailed Vontsira (first was a very exiting addition to Bronx's collection in 2008)
3. Narrow-striped Mongoose (first was at Berlin Zoo at the beginning of a 30 zoo road trip)
4. Fanaloka (first and only captive one was at Capital of Texas Zoo in 2010- in the same day as seeing Gray Rhebok and Hawaiian Monk Seals for the first time- a very unique trio!)
5. Grandidier's Mongoose (first and only captive one was a whirlwind visit to Chester Zoo in 2018)

 

[Panda_Fan]

Snowleopard, how many times did you smell the iconic "popcorn" scent of the binturong when you saw them?

 

[Giant Eland]

I'll finish off Herpestidae with TWO species in this post. Just like with the Dwarf and Banded Mongooses, the Yellow species is one that is extremely rare in North American collections. In fact, I know of zero zoos on that continent that have kept Yellow Mongooses and yet there's around 100 zoos just in Europe with the species. Western European zoos LOVE mongooses!

I've seen Yellow Mongooses at 9 zoos and all in the same month:

1- Avonturia de Vogelkelder (Netherlands) – Yellow Mongoose – 2019
2- Diergaarde Blijdorp (Netherlands) – Yellow Mongoose – 2019
3- Faunapark Flakkee (Netherlands) – Yellow Mongoose – 2019
4- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Yellow Mongoose – 2019
5- Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands) – Yellow Mongoose – 2019
6- De Paay (Netherlands) – Yellow Mongoose – 2019
7- Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands) – Yellow Mongoose – 2019
8- Nordhorn Zoo (Germany) – Yellow Mongoose – 2019
9- Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands) – Yellow Mongoose – 2019

AND...

I've seen Common Kusimanses (or spelled as "Cusimanses") at 5 zoos:

1- Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – Common Kusimanse – 2015
2- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Common Kusimanse – 2015
3- GaiaZOO (Netherlands) – Common Kusimanse – 2019
4- Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands) Common Kusimanse – 2019
5- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) - Common Kusimanse – 2022

A glaring Yellow Mongoose:

@GiraffeJack10

Check out this bonkers Yellow Mongoose exhibit at Avonturia de Vogelkelder (Netherlands). The mongoose is looking at me and going "what the heck?"

Here's what the Yellow Mongoose exhibit at Diergaarde Blijdorp (Netherlands) looked like in 2019...complete with a zoo nerd friend who is publishing a book on German zoos this summer.

Yellow Mongoose exhibit at Faunapark Flakkee (Netherlands):

Dortmund Zoo (Germany) has Yellow Mongooses inside the Giraffe House:

@gulogulogulo

Yellow Mongooses used to share their space with Indian Crested Porcupines at Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands):

@KevinB

De Paay (Netherlands) is a naff little zoo, with very poor exhibits. It's an anomaly in one of the truly great zoo nations of the world. Here's the Yellow Mongoose exhibit (left) and Lesser Grison enclosure (right):

Yellow Mongoose exhibit at Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands):

@Morgan

Yellow Mongoose exhibit at Nordhorn Zoo (Germany):

@Mr. Zootycoon

Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands) is the 7th Dutch zoo where I've seen Yellow Mongooses.

@KevinB

Common Kusimanse:

@robreintjes

You can actually see a Common Kusimanse at the back of this very tall cage at Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary (USA):

There's also a Common Kusimanse visible (on the left) in this exhibit at the roadside facility called Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA):

GaiaZOO (Netherlands) had Common Kusimanses when I was there in 2019.

@KevinB

Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands) has tons of small animals, including Common Kusimanses:

@KevinB

Common Kusimanse at Skaerup Zoo (Denmark):

@Fat-tailed dwarf lemur

Species Lists:

Eupleridae: 3 species (25 zoos with Fossa, 3 Ring-tailed Vontsira, 1 Fanaloka)

Herpestidae: 5 species (129 zoos with Meerkat, 29 Dwarf Mongoose, 22 Banded Mongoose, 9 Yellow Mongoose, 5 Common Kusimanse)

Hyaenidae: 3 species (44 zoos with Spotted Hyena, 14 Striped Hyena, 1 Southern Aardwolf)

* On page 42 of this thread, there's an extensive list of all the species I've seen for Primates (141), Felidae (28) and Canidae (19).

Mongooses (and Civets) fast became a favorite group of mine to target, probably in part due to how few species were represented in the United States. Here's my life list and whatever I can remember of firsts. I've bolded the species I've seen wild. Initial captive encounter listed first, followed by wild.

1.) (Atilax paludinosus) Marsh Mongoose: Magdeburg Zoo 2018, Uganda 2021
2.) (Bdeogale crassicauda) Bushy-tailed Mongoose: never captive, Zambia 2019
3.) (Crossarchus obscurus) Common Cusimanse: Smithsonian Zoo mid-1990s, never wild
4.) (Cynictis penicillata) Yellow Mongoose: London Zoo 2009, South Africa 2019
5.) (Herpestes pulverulenta) Cape Gray Mongoose: World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary & Monkey Park 2019, South Africa 2019
6.) (Herpestes sanguinea) Slender Mongoose: Plzen Zoo 2010, Zambia 2019
7.) (Rhynchogale melleri) Meller’s Mongoose: never captive , Zambia 2019
8.) (Helogale parvula) Common Dwarf Mongoose: probably San Diego Zoo late-1980s, Uganda 2021
9.) (Urva auropunctatus) Small Indian Mongoose: never captive, Hawaii (int) 2008
10.) (Urva brachyurus palawanus) Palawan Short-tailed Mongoose: Avilon Zoo 2018, never wild
11.) (Urva edwardsii) Indian Gray Mongoose: Heidelberg Zoo 2010, India 2008
12.) (Herpestes ichneumon) Egyptian Mongoose: Axe Valley Wildlife Park 2018, Uganda 2021
13.) (Urva javanicus) Small Asian Mongoose: Pata Zoo 2018, Java 2023
14.) (Urva smithii) Ruddy Mongoose: never captive, India 2008
15.) (Urva urva) Crab-eating Mongoose: Taipei Zoo 2018, never wild
16.) (Ichneumia albicauda) White-tailed Mongoose: Heidelberg Zoo 2010, Zambia 2019
17.) (Mungos gambianus) Gambian Mongoose: Zlin Zoo 2018, never wild
18.) (Mungos mungo) Banded Mongoose: probably San Diego Zoo late-1980s, Zambia 2019
19.) (Suricata suricatta) Meerkat: probably Bronx Zoo late-1980s, South Africa 2023

Interestingly the only one which I saw wild first was Indian Gray Mongoose- coinciding with what happened to be my first ever Safari.

I should have a decent chance to add two more in December in Ethiopia, as well as a very slim chance to add one more in Gabon in July. Fingers-crossed!

 

[Gibbonsagainstgravity]

I've seen Binturongs at 38 zoos. These are stinky mammals, sometimes called 'Bearcats' in American zoos, and interestingly enough I've never seen one in a zoo within my native Canada. I also didn't see any Binturongs when I toured Scandinavian zoos in 2022.

Another fascinating fact is that almost every single American zoo with Binturongs kept the species by themselves, but 5 out of 9 European zoos had Binturongs in a mixed-species environment.

1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2006
2- Taronga Zoo (Australia) – Binturong – 2007
3- Adelaide Zoo (Australia) – Binturong – 2007
4- Melbourne Zoo (Australia) – Binturong – 2007
5- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2008
6- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2008
7- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – Binturong – 2008
8- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2008
9- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2010
10- Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden (USA) – Binturong – 2010
11- Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2010
12- Roger Williams Park Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2010
13- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2010
14- Zoo Boise (USA) – Binturong – 2010
15- Santa Ana Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2011
16- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2012
17- Little Rock Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2012
18- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Binturong – 2014
19- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2014
20- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Binturong – 2014
21- Tanganyika Wildlife Park (USA) – Binturong – 2014
22- Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Binturong – 2015
23- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Binturong – 2015
24- Austin Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2015
25- West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) – Binturong – 2015
26- Monterey Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2017
27- Roscommon Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2018
28- Creature Conservancy Wildlife Park (USA) – Binturong – 2018
29- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Binturong – 2018
30- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Binturong – 2019
31- Lille Zoo (France) – Binturong – 2019
32- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Binturong – 2019
33- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Binturong – 2019
34- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Binturong – 2019
35- BestZOO (Netherlands) – Binturong – 2019
36- Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands) – Binturong – 2019
37- Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) – Binturong – 2019
38- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Binturong – 2019

My first time seeing Binturongs was at San Diego Zoo (USA) in a pair of old-school metal cages in the loop currently known as Urban Jungle. There are surprisingly few photos of Binturongs in the San Diego Zoo gallery, as this species is now an ambassador animal and likely only found behind-the-scenes.

I saw Binturongs at a trio of Aussie zoos in 2007, with Taronga Zoo (Australia) having a notable exhibit with many climbing opportunities.

@Jabiru96

Here's a Binturong and a Malayan Tapir hanging out at Minnesota Zoo (USA):

@geomorph

Memphis Zoo (USA) has long held Binturongs inside their Nocturnal House, and this must be the only zoo out of 38 where I've seen that situation.

@Coelacanth18

Many AZA zoos, such as Kansas City, Fort Wayne and Mesker Park (USA) have kept Binturongs in basic, functional metal cages.

Of course, it's easier for visitors to photograph a Binturong when there's no barriers, but this enclosure at Roger Williams Park Zoo (USA) is arguably worse for the inhabitants than an old-fashioned cage that has more climbing options. (2010 photo)

Many AZA zoos, such as Sant Ana Zoo (USA), which used to be accredited pre-2017, have kept Binturongs in small cages. It's almost like people forget just how large these animals can be up close.

At so many of the roadside American zoos that I visited 10-15 years ago, I had almost no expectations of what I would find. In probably 100+ zoos in my life, I was the very first ZooChatter to extensively photograph and document the zoos I was visiting. Therefore, I really had no clue that I'd be seeing a Binturong in a corn-crib cage at Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA):

And the same goes for this horrendous Binturong exhibit at Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA). When I visited this place in 2014 I saw loads of advertisements about a brand-new zoo in Wisconsin. The whole place was built from scratch shortly before I arrived, and therefore I had no idea that there would be accommodation for Binturongs that looked like the photo below. I was expecting a brand-new, higher-quality zoo.

This 'exhibit' probably wouldn't even qualify as an off-show holding space in many European zoos, yet here it is in all its glory. No wonder my 2018 trip was the deal-breaker for me visiting American collections and instead I headed for Europe and didn't look back! When I documented U.S. zoos I almost never had much knowledge of the overall quality of a particular institution, specifically the zoos that were previously unknown to all zoo nerds. It was uncharted territory.

The entire space for a Binturong at Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA). What a shambles.

West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) has an extraordinary looking Binturong exhibit. The lower half of the enclosure is a puny space, but the main part of the exhibit is a massive tree tied to a pole.

Binturong exhibit at Roscommon Zoo (USA):

On my one and only day in France in 2019, visiting two zoos, I stopped by Lille Zoo (France) and saw Binturongs mixed with Small-clawed Otters in this popular exhibit:

Pairi Daiza (Belgium) has Binturongs and Bharal together in this exhibit, which has been an established combination for a minimum of 6 years:

@KevinB

When I was at Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) in 2019, there was a mixed-species exhibit of Sumatran Orangutans and Binturongs.

@carlos55

This next Binturong exhibit is a very poor one, located at BestZOO (Netherlands), as the holding quarters on the left is a small, dark little space that's not really adequate for the species. Then there's a log that goes over the visitor pathway, and the two Binturongs were able to go up far into that white birch tree on the right. If you look closely, there's some black metal poles sticking out of the birch tree that prevent a Binturong from climbing down. It's a poor setup, and I imagine that on a rainy, wet day it wouldn't take much for a Binturong to slip from that slick middle tree branch.

Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) has Sun Bears and Binturongs together in the Rimba zone:

@Paul Kalisch

Here's where I saw a Binturong at Berlin Tierpark (Germany) in 2019:

Here's the new indoor space for Sun Bears and Binturongs:

@RonBurrgundy

The San Diego Zoo’s Binturong actually aren’t behind the scenes. They are currently kept in an exhibit in the Wildlife Explorer’s Basecamp.

 

[Kudu21]

The San Diego Zoo’s Binturong actually aren’t behind the scenes. They are currently kept in an exhibit in the Wildlife Explorer’s Basecamp.

There is also a second exhibit for binturong in Urban Jungle. They’re in one of the cages in the ring between the Cape crested porcupines and cheetahs.

 

[Lori Patton]

I've seen Binturongs at 38 zoos. These are stinky mammals, sometimes called 'Bearcats' in American zoos, and interestingly enough I've never seen one in a zoo within my native Canada. I also didn't see any Binturongs when I toured Scandinavian zoos in 2022.

Another fascinating fact is that almost every single American zoo with Binturongs kept the species by themselves, but 5 out of 9 European zoos had Binturongs in a mixed-species environment.

1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2006
2- Taronga Zoo (Australia) – Binturong – 2007
3- Adelaide Zoo (Australia) – Binturong – 2007
4- Melbourne Zoo (Australia) – Binturong – 2007
5- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2008
6- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2008
7- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – Binturong – 2008
8- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2008
9- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2010
10- Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden (USA) – Binturong – 2010
11- Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2010
12- Roger Williams Park Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2010
13- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2010
14- Zoo Boise (USA) – Binturong – 2010
15- Santa Ana Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2011
16- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2012
17- Little Rock Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2012
18- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Binturong – 2014
19- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2014
20- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Binturong – 2014
21- Tanganyika Wildlife Park (USA) – Binturong – 2014
22- Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Binturong – 2015
23- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Binturong – 2015
24- Austin Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2015
25- West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) – Binturong – 2015
26- Monterey Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2017
27- Roscommon Zoo (USA) – Binturong – 2018
28- Creature Conservancy Wildlife Park (USA) – Binturong – 2018
29- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Binturong – 2018
30- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Binturong – 2019
31- Lille Zoo (France) – Binturong – 2019
32- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Binturong – 2019
33- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Binturong – 2019
34- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Binturong – 2019
35- BestZOO (Netherlands) – Binturong – 2019
36- Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands) – Binturong – 2019
37- Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) – Binturong – 2019
38- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Binturong – 2019

My first time seeing Binturongs was at San Diego Zoo (USA) in a pair of old-school metal cages in the loop currently known as Urban Jungle. There are surprisingly few photos of Binturongs in the San Diego Zoo gallery, as this species is now an ambassador animal and likely only found behind-the-scenes.

I saw Binturongs at a trio of Aussie zoos in 2007, with Taronga Zoo (Australia) having a notable exhibit with many climbing opportunities.

@Jabiru96

Here's a Binturong and a Malayan Tapir hanging out at Minnesota Zoo (USA):

@geomorph

Memphis Zoo (USA) has long held Binturongs inside their Nocturnal House, and this must be the only zoo out of 38 where I've seen that situation.

@Coelacanth18

Many AZA zoos, such as Kansas City, Fort Wayne and Mesker Park (USA) have kept Binturongs in basic, functional metal cages.

Of course, it's easier for visitors to photograph a Binturong when there's no barriers, but this enclosure at Roger Williams Park Zoo (USA) is arguably worse for the inhabitants than an old-fashioned cage that has more climbing options. (2010 photo)

Many AZA zoos, such as Sant Ana Zoo (USA), which used to be accredited pre-2017, have kept Binturongs in small cages. It's almost like people forget just how large these animals can be up close.

At so many of the roadside American zoos that I visited 10-15 years ago, I had almost no expectations of what I would find. In probably 100+ zoos in my life, I was the very first ZooChatter to extensively photograph and document the zoos I was visiting. Therefore, I really had no clue that I'd be seeing a Binturong in a corn-crib cage at Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA):

And the same goes for this horrendous Binturong exhibit at Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA). When I visited this place in 2014 I saw loads of advertisements about a brand-new zoo in Wisconsin. The whole place was built from scratch shortly before I arrived, and therefore I had no idea that there would be accommodation for Binturongs that looked like the photo below. I was expecting a brand-new, higher-quality zoo.

This 'exhibit' probably wouldn't even qualify as an off-show holding space in many European zoos, yet here it is in all its glory. No wonder my 2018 trip was the deal-breaker for me visiting American collections and instead I headed for Europe and didn't look back! When I documented U.S. zoos I almost never had much knowledge of the overall quality of a particular institution, specifically the zoos that were previously unknown to all zoo nerds. It was uncharted territory.

The entire space for a Binturong at Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA). What a shambles.

West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) has an extraordinary looking Binturong exhibit. The lower half of the enclosure is a puny space, but the main part of the exhibit is a massive tree tied to a pole.

Binturong exhibit at Roscommon Zoo (USA):

On my one and only day in France in 2019, visiting two zoos, I stopped by Lille Zoo (France) and saw Binturongs mixed with Small-clawed Otters in this popular exhibit:

Pairi Daiza (Belgium) has Binturongs and Bharal together in this exhibit, which has been an established combination for a minimum of 6 years:

@KevinB

When I was at Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) in 2019, there was a mixed-species exhibit of Sumatran Orangutans and Binturongs.

@carlos55

This next Binturong exhibit is a very poor one, located at BestZOO (Netherlands), as the holding quarters on the left is a small, dark little space that's not really adequate for the species. Then there's a log that goes over the visitor pathway, and the two Binturongs were able to go up far into that white birch tree on the right. If you look closely, there's some black metal poles sticking out of the birch tree that prevent a Binturong from climbing down. It's a poor setup, and I imagine that on a rainy, wet day it wouldn't take much for a Binturong to slip from that slick middle tree branch.

Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) has Sun Bears and Binturongs together in the Rimba zone:

@Paul Kalisch

Here's where I saw a Binturong at Berlin Tierpark (Germany) in 2019:

Here's the new indoor space for Sun Bears and Binturongs:

@RonBurrgundy

The Los Angeles Zoo has had binturongs since at least 2018. They are kept in one of the roundhouses next to the very noisy forest red-tailed black cockatoos. The binturongs are usually sleeping during the day, but I was able to see them both active when I visited the zoo in late November last year. Since it gets dark so early then, it was already dusk shortly before zoo closing and they were climbing around in their exhibit.

 

[snowleopard]

All the Mammals of the World (2023) lists 15 species of Genet, while Wikipedia lists 17 species and other sights have variations of similar numbers. There's been a fascinating taxonomic debate with Genets for years.

I've seen Genets at 13 zoos and most of those zoos have all been in the last decade.

1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Common Genet – 2006
2- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – Cape Genet – 2008
3- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Cape Genet – 2008
4- Lake Superior Zoo (USA) – Cape Genet – 2014
5- Miller Park Zoo (USA) – Rusty-spotted Genet – 2014
6- Austin Zoo (USA) – Cape Genet – 2015
7- GarLyn Zoo (USA) – Common Genet – 2018
8- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Common Genet – 2018
9- Summerfield Zoo (USA) – Cape Genet – 2018
10- Faunapark Flakkee (Netherlands) – Cape Genet – 2019
11- Harry Malter Familiepark (Belgium) – Cape Genet – 2019
12- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Cape Genet – 2019
13- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Common Genet – 2019

Common Genet:

@Lafone

Cincinnati Zoo (USA) has had Cape Genets, also known as Large-spotted Genets, in its Night Hunters Nocturnal House for many years. The zoo has also kept Genets in its Jungle Trails zone in the past.

Here's an image in the morning when the zoo leaves the lights on for one hour:

Both photos via @Moebelle

Memphis Zoo (USA) has also had Cape Genets inside its own Nocturnal House.

@Coelacanth18

Cape Genets can be found in Lake Superior Zoo's (USA) Nocturnal House as well:

@Dhole dude

Miller Park Zoo (USA) had a Rusty-spotted Genet when I was there in 2014. This extremely rare species was shown via two small enclosures, one with red light and the other with regular daylight.

@Giant Eland

@Coelacanth18

@Coelacanth18

Austin Zoo (USA) had two Cape Genets in 2015, signed as Large-spotted Genets, that were former pets! Here's their accommodation at the zoo:

This small, barren, sand-filled enclosure was the only apparent space for the Common Genet that is curled up in the top right-hand corner at GarLyn Zoo (USA):

Another zoo with a very tiny Cape Genet exhibit is Summerfield Zoo (USA). Here's my photo from 2018:

@pachyderm pro

When I was at Faunapark Flakkee (Netherlands) in 2019, I was surprised at the size of the Cape Genet (labeled as 'Tiger Genet') exhibit. The animal was a curled up ball in the corner.

Although, Genets have spectacular coats:

@vogelcommando

Harry Malter Familiepark (Belgium) had a light, bright, sizable Cape Genet exhibit when I was there in 2019. I saw a single individual dart around briefly and I think that I've only ever seen a single Genet at any one time. Are there zoos that ever keep 4 or 5 adults together?

Pakawi Park (Belgium) has Cape Genets in its Tropical House, which is a large, hit-and-miss structure in terms of the quality of the exhibits.

Both photos via @KevinB

Viverridae: 4 species (38 zoos with Binturongs, 8 Cape Genets, 4 Common Genets, 1 Rusty-spotted Genet)

Next up: Civets! (to finish off Viverridae)

 

[biggest_dreamer]

I adore genets and it's always surprising to remember how uncommon they are, considering I've been to far fewer zoos than you yet my common genet number is only half of yours.

 

[snowleopard]

After 38 zoos with Binturongs and 13 zoos with Genets (3 species), I will now finish off Viverridae with Civets in only 8 zoos. (And also complete Nandiniidae with its solitary offering) As @biggest_dreamer pointed out in the last post, it's fascinating how some folks on this site have been to far less zoos than me and yet have seen nearly as many species. I have been receiving messages from friends, referencing this thread, who have literally seen more of certain species than me, for a number of reasons.

Here they are:

Some zoo nerds have deliberately sought out zoos in far-flung locations because they wanted to see a particular type of animal, which until now I don't think I've ever done. I've never been a species hunter, but this thread is whetting my appetite! I've always been more of an 'exhibit person', taking hundreds of photos at zoos and often not including animals in those images if they happen to not be in the frame. I've also enjoyed documenting zoos that no one else has ever been to.

Plus, in my total number of zoos there are 115 different aquariums and for the most part those have been excluded from this thread. (They'll pop up when I get to otters and pinnipeds) There's also lots of raptor centers and nature places with outdoor mini zoos that are small and unspectacular. Lastly, there is a real sense of homogeneity amongst many North American zoos, which is where I've seen the most facilities. It has become even more apparent on this project, as for example there are breeding programs understandably focusing on one type of Leopard (Amur), or one type of macaque (Japanese), and one type of many other creatures. That makes perfect sense for those institutions, but it does limit the number of animals I've seen. Someone with approximately 100+ zoos under their belt in Europe, which is a piece of cake to do over there, can see a LOT of species in a short amount of time. Of all the zoo nerds who have toured 300+ zoos, and there's quite a few that fit that bill, I would estimate that 90-95% of them live in Europe.

Anyway...here are 4 zoos with Northern Palm Civet, 1 African Civet, 1 African Palm Civet, 1 Philippine Palm Civet, 1 Banded Palm Civet, 1 Masked Palm Civet.

1- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – African Civet – 1996
2- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Banded Palm Civet – 2008
3- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – African Palm Civet – 2010
4- Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) – Asian (Northern) Palm Civet – 2015
5- Faunapark Flakkee (Netherlands) – Asian (Northern) Palm Civet – 2019
6- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Masked Palm Civet, Asian (Philippine) Palm Civet – 2019
7- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Asian (Northern) Palm Civet – 2022
8- Jyllands Park Zoo (Denmark) – Asian (Northern) Palm Civet – 2022

Woodland Park Zoo (USA) had an African Civet inside its Adaptations building in the mid-1990s. Many years later, inside the Outback Roadhouse Australian building, I saw a Banded Palm Civet at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) in 2008. It's a quirky structure, heavily themed with Aussie slogans and signs, and yet during my visit I saw a civet, Tiger Quolls, Kiwis, Prevost's Squirrels and Fishing Cats. Not exactly 'Outback' residents!

@Giant Eland

When touring the Africa Live! section of San Antonio Zoo (USA) in 2010, I came across an African Palm Civet inside this industrial looking building. There was underwater viewing of Common Hippos and Dwarf Crocodiles, several small aquariums, and this photo shows (from left to right) 5 exhibits for the following 6 species: African Palm Civet, Rhino Viper and Gaboon Viper (together), Green Mamba, Egyptian Cobra and African Rock Python.

Here's an African Palm Civet in San Antonio:

@Baldur

Do you all remember the Capital of Texas Zoo (USA)? It's the place that kept a Fanaloka in a wooden box when I was there in 2015. Well, during that visit I also saw an Asian Palm Civet in this small wood-and-wire contraption. Good grief!

Apparently the zoo had two of them:

@d1am)ndback

I then saw a slumbering Asian (Northern) Palm Civet at Faunapark Flakkee (Netherlands) in 2019. The exhibit is a bit odd in that there's a small glass viewing area on one side, obviously geared towards young children.

@vogelcommando

I almost fell over when I visited Dortmund Zoo (Germany) and saw TWO civet species at the same facility. What are the odds? I can tell you that they are more than 550 to 1 for me.

Another bundle of sleeping fur was in this very nice Asian (Philippine) Palm Civet exhibit. It's not a great enclosure for photography, but arguably the best I've ever seen for a civet.

@Joker1706

And for once I saw a highly active animal in the form of a Masked Palm Civet in this exhibit. However, viewing it was hugely frustrating, as a moving civet was very difficult to track from tiny window to tiny window. There's more than a dozen slender, tall windows on this odd building. Privacy for breeding? How the heck can anyone get a good view of an animal?

Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) had an Asian (Northern) Palm Civet sleeping on the woodchips in this exhibit in 2022:

At Jyllands Park Zoo (Denmark), the indoor area was devoid of life but I did see an Asian (Northern) Palm Civet in the bottom left portion of the outdoor exhibit. Check out the cool mural!

Species Lists:

Eupleridae: 3 species (25 zoos with Fossa, 3 Ring-tailed Vontsira, 1 Fanaloka)

Herpestidae: 5 species (129 zoos with Meerkat, 29 Dwarf Mongoose, 22 Banded Mongoose, 9 Yellow Mongoose, 5 Common Kusimanse)

Hyaenidae: 3 species (44 zoos with Spotted Hyena, 14 Striped Hyena, 1 Southern Aardwolf)

Nandiniidae: 1 species (1 African Palm Civet)

Viverridae: 9 species (38 zoos with Binturong, 8 Cape Genet, 4 Common Genet, 4 Northern Palm Civet, 1 African Civet, 1 Banded Palm Civet, 1 Masked Palm Civet, 1 Philippine Palm Civet, 1 Rusty-spotted Genet)

* On page 42 of this thread, there's an extensive list of all the species I've seen for Primates (141), Felidae (28) and Canidae (19)

 

[ralph]

Civets are some of my favorites - such an interesting group of carnivores.

I usually try to stay away from 'roadside' zoos, but I did visit Tierpark Donnersberg last year because I really wanted to see the African palm civet which was not just a new species but a new family as well. It was also only my second time seeing both the marsh mongoose and African civet, and this crappy zoo also had TWO subspecies of common palm civet.

I'm yet to see banded palm civet and Owston's palm civet. I might plan my next zootrip in such a way I will be able to visit Wildkatzenzentrum Felidae near Berlin so I can see the former. I also want to return to Magdeburg because I missed out on the Grandidier’s Vontsira because of covid in 2021. Seeing that species will complete the captive Malagasy carnivores for me since I saw Fanaloka for the first time in Stuttgart last year.

When I was in Dortmund in 2022, I got great views of the common palm civet, but not the masked palm civet. I agree the enclosure is terrible from a visitor perspective, but since the animal was probably asleep in a nest box, bigger windows wouldn't have made a difference.

One species I've seen that you haven't is the Malayan civet, which I saw in Rotterdam and Berlin, but their numbers in European zoos suddenly collapsed and it was gone before we knew it. Defenitely a huge miss. The Hausa genet is a species that is still around, in Plzen in the Czech Republic. You're next European zoo trip really has to include that country!
I've also seen a few species in the now closed Dusit zoo in Bangkok; small Indian civet, large Indian civet and small-toothed civet.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

I also want to return to Magdeburg because I missed out on the Grandidier’s Vontsira because of covid in 2021. Seeing that species will complete the captive Malagasy carnivores for me since I saw Fanaloka for the first time in Stuttgart last year.

Last I heard, they're no longer onshow a pity as I saw them last September.

 

[ralph]

Last I heard, they're no longer onshow a pity as I saw them last September.

Well, that would suck. Hopefully they'll eventually return.

 

[Giant Eland]

After 38 zoos with Binturongs and 13 zoos with Genets (3 species), I will now finish off Viverridae with Civets in only 8 zoos. (And also complete Nandiniidae with its solitary offering) As @biggest_dreamer pointed out in the last post, it's fascinating how some folks on this site have been to far less zoos than me and yet have seen nearly as many species. I have been receiving messages from friends, referencing this thread, who have literally seen more of certain species than me, for a number of reasons.

Here they are:

Some zoo nerds have deliberately sought out zoos in far-flung locations because they wanted to see a particular type of animal, which until now I don't think I've ever done. I've never been a species hunter, but this thread is whetting my appetite! I've always been more of an 'exhibit person', taking hundreds of photos at zoos and often not including animals in those images if they happen to not be in the frame. I've also enjoyed documenting zoos that no one else has ever been to.

Plus, in my total number of zoos there are 115 different aquariums and for the most part those have been excluded from this thread. (They'll pop up when I get to otters and pinnipeds) There's also lots of raptor centers and nature places with outdoor mini zoos that are small and unspectacular. Lastly, there is a real sense of homogeneity amongst many North American zoos, which is where I've seen the most facilities. It has become even more apparent on this project, as for example there are breeding programs understandably focusing on one type of Leopard (Amur), or one type of macaque (Japanese), and one type of many other creatures. That makes perfect sense for those institutions, but it does limit the number of animals I've seen. Someone with approximately 100+ zoos under their belt in Europe, which is a piece of cake to do over there, can see a LOT of species in a short amount of time. Of all the zoo nerds who have toured 300+ zoos, and there's quite a few that fit that bill, I would estimate that 90-95% of them live in Europe.

Anyway...here are 4 zoos with Northern Palm Civet, 1 African Civet, 1 African Palm Civet, 1 Philippine Palm Civet, 1 Banded Palm Civet, 1 Masked Palm Civet.

1- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – African Civet – 1996
2- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Banded Palm Civet – 2008
3- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – African Palm Civet – 2010
4- Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) – Asian (Northern) Palm Civet – 2015
5- Faunapark Flakkee (Netherlands) – Asian (Northern) Palm Civet – 2019
6- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Masked Palm Civet, Asian (Philippine) Palm Civet – 2019
7- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Asian (Northern) Palm Civet – 2022
8- Jyllands Park Zoo (Denmark) – Asian (Northern) Palm Civet – 2022

Woodland Park Zoo (USA) had an African Civet inside its Adaptations building in the mid-1990s. Many years later, inside the Outback Roadhouse Australian building, I saw a Banded Palm Civet at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) in 2008. It's a quirky structure, heavily themed with Aussie slogans and signs, and yet during my visit I saw a civet, Tiger Quolls, Kiwis, Prevost's Squirrels and Fishing Cats. Not exactly 'Outback' residents!

@Giant Eland

When touring the Africa Live! section of San Antonio Zoo (USA) in 2010, I came across an African Palm Civet inside this industrial looking building. There was underwater viewing of Common Hippos and Dwarf Crocodiles, several small aquariums, and this photo shows (from left to right) 5 exhibits for the following 6 species: African Palm Civet, Rhino Viper and Gaboon Viper (together), Green Mamba, Egyptian Cobra and African Rock Python.

Here's an African Palm Civet in San Antonio:

@Baldur

Do you all remember the Capital of Texas Zoo (USA)? It's the place that kept a Fanaloka in a wooden box when I was there in 2015. Well, during that visit I also saw an Asian Palm Civet in this small wood-and-wire contraption. Good grief!

Apparently the zoo had two of them:

@d1am)ndback

I then saw a slumbering Asian (Northern) Palm Civet at Faunapark Flakkee (Netherlands) in 2019. The exhibit is a bit odd in that there's a small glass viewing area on one side, obviously geared towards young children.

@vogelcommando

I almost fell over when I visited Dortmund Zoo (Germany) and saw TWO civet species at the same facility. What are the odds? I can tell you that they are more than 550 to 1 for me.

Another bundle of sleeping fur was in this very nice Asian (Philippine) Palm Civet exhibit. It's not a great enclosure for photography, but arguably the best I've ever seen for a civet.

@Joker1706

And for once I saw a highly active animal in the form of a Masked Palm Civet in this exhibit. However, viewing it was hugely frustrating, as a moving civet was very difficult to track from tiny window to tiny window. There's more than a dozen slender, tall windows on this odd building. Privacy for breeding? How the heck can anyone get a good view of an animal?

Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) had an Asian (Northern) Palm Civet sleeping on the woodchips in this exhibit in 2022:

At Jyllands Park Zoo (Denmark), the indoor area was devoid of life but I did see an Asian (Northern) Palm Civet in the bottom left portion of the outdoor exhibit. Check out the cool mural!

Species Lists:

Eupleridae: 3 species (25 zoos with Fossa, 3 Ring-tailed Vontsira, 1 Fanaloka)

Herpestidae: 5 species (129 zoos with Meerkat, 29 Dwarf Mongoose, 22 Banded Mongoose, 9 Yellow Mongoose, 5 Common Kusimanse)

Hyaenidae: 3 species (44 zoos with Spotted Hyena, 14 Striped Hyena, 1 Southern Aardwolf)

Nandiniidae: 1 species (1 African Palm Civet)

Viverridae: 9 species (38 zoos with Binturong, 8 Cape Genet, 4 Common Genet, 4 Northern Palm Civet, 1 African Civet, 1 Banded Palm Civet, 1 Masked Palm Civet, 1 Philippine Palm Civet, 1 Rusty-spotted Genet)

* On page 42 of this thread, there's an extensive list of all the species I've seen for Primates (141), Felidae (28) and Canidae (19)

As I said after you posted Mongooses, Civets have long been up there as my favorite group of carnivores! I've included Nandiniidae and Prionodontidae as well. Here's my life list and whatever I can remember of firsts. I've bolded the species I've seen wild. Initial captive encounter listed first, followed by wild.

1.) (Nandinia binotata) African palm civet: San Antonio Zoo 2009, Uganda 2021
2.) (Prionodon linsang) Banded Linsang: San Diego WAP 1999
3.) (Arctictis binturong) Binturong: Bronx Zoo late-1980s
4.) (Arctogalidia trilineata) Javan Small-toothed Palm Civet: PCBA 2022
5.) (Arctogalidia trivirgata) Small-toothed Palm Civet: Sea World Orlando 2006, Java 2022
6.) (Chrotogale owstoni) Owston's palm civet: RSCC 2010
7.) (Civettictis civetta) African Civet: San Diego early-1990s, Zambia 2019
8.) (Cynogale bennettii) Otter Civet: Batu Secret Zoo 2022
9.) (Hemigalus derbyanus) banded palm civet: Columbus Zoo 2006
10.) (Paguma larvata) Masked Palm Civet: Dortmund Zoo 2010
11.) (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) Common Palm Civet: Big Cat Rescue 2006
12.) (Paradoxurus musanga) Sumatran Palm Civet: Taman Safari Bogor 2018, Java 2022
13.) (Paradoxurus philippinesnsis) Bornean Palm Civet: Plzen 2018
14.) (Viverricula indica) Small Indian Civet: Los Angeles Zoo, Java 2022
15.) (Viverra tangalunga) Malayan Civet: Berlin Zoo 2010, Malaysia 2023
16.) (Viverra zibetha) large Indian civet: Dusit Zoo 2018
17.) (Genetta felina) feline genet: Wroclaw Zoo 2010
18.) (Genetta genetta) Common Genet: Faunia 2009, Ethiopia 2019
19.) (Genetta maculata) Rusty-spotted Genet: Big Cat Rescue 2006, Zambia 2019
20.) (Genetta pardine) Pardine Genet: Novosibirsk Zoo 2018
21.) (Genetta thierryi) Hausa Genet: Plzen Zoo 2010
22.) (Genetta tigrina) Large-spotted Genet: Miami Zoo 2006

 

[Lori Patton]

As I said after you posted Mongooses, Civets have long been up there as my favorite group of carnivores! I've included Nandiniidae and Prionodontidae as well. Here's my life list and whatever I can remember of firsts. I've bolded the species I've seen wild. Initial captive encounter listed first, followed by wild.

1.) (Nandinia binotata) African palm civet: San Antonio Zoo 2009, Uganda 2021
2.) (Prionodon linsang) Banded Linsang: San Diego WAP 1999
3.) (Arctictis binturong) Binturong: Bronx Zoo late-1980s
4.) (Arctogalidia trilineata) Javan Small-toothed Palm Civet: PCBA 2022
5.) (Arctogalidia trivirgata) Small-toothed Palm Civet: Sea World Orlando 2006, Java 2022
6.) (Chrotogale owstoni) Owston's palm civet: RSCC 2010
7.) (Civettictis civetta) African Civet: San Diego early-1990s, Zambia 2019
8.) (Cynogale bennettii) Otter Civet: Batu Secret Zoo 2022
9.) (Hemigalus derbyanus) banded palm civet: Columbus Zoo 2006
10.) (Paguma larvata) Masked Palm Civet: Dortmund Zoo 2010
11.) (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) Common Palm Civet: Big Cat Rescue 2006
12.) (Paradoxurus musanga) Sumatran Palm Civet: Taman Safari Bogor 2018, Java 2022
13.) (Paradoxurus philippinesnsis) Bornean Palm Civet: Plzen 2018
14.) (Viverricula indica) Small Indian Civet: Los Angeles Zoo, Java 2022
15.) (Viverra tangalunga) Malayan Civet: Berlin Zoo 2010, Malaysia 2023
16.) (Viverra zibetha) large Indian civet: Dusit Zoo 2018
17.) (Genetta felina) feline genet: Wroclaw Zoo 2010
18.) (Genetta genetta) Common Genet: Faunia 2009, Ethiopia 2019
19.) (Genetta maculata) Rusty-spotted Genet: Big Cat Rescue 2006, Zambia 2019
20.) (Genetta pardine) Pardine Genet: Novosibirsk Zoo 2018
21.) (Genetta thierryi) Hausa Genet: Plzen Zoo 2010
22.) (Genetta tigrina) Large-spotted Genet: Miami Zoo 2006

What year did you see the small Indian civet at the Los Angeles Zoo (no. 14 in your list)? The zoo doesn't currently have that species and I can't recall when it was there.

 

[snowleopard]

I love bears. Ever since I was a kid, and continuing all through my life, I've been a fan of bears. It's been fascinating to see the evolution of zoo exhibits when it comes to the 8 bear species of the world. Small, chain-link cages and old-fashioned grottoes have steadily been replaced by mini forests and modern, diverse habitats with varying terrain. Part of my love for bears has been because I was born and raised in Canada, and other than 2.5 years in Australia I have lived my whole life in Canada. This is a nation where bears are iconic, literally everywhere when it comes to TV advertisements, coins, nature documentaries and other publications. We see American Black Bears in our backyard a couple of times each year and I've seen this species at exactly 100 zoos.

The top 3 years when I had almost 50% of my American Black Bear sightings:

2008 = 14 zoos
2014 = 15 zoos
2015 = 20 zoos

Contrast that trio of bear-heavy years with my trips to Europe in 2019 and 2022, when I saw American Black Bears at only 4 zoos out of 120. (There's certainly some strong parallels with Coyotes, another species I've had in my forested backyard on a number of occasions)

I've noted 7 exhibits where American Black Bears shared space with other species:

1- Edmonton Valley Zoo (Canada) – American Black Bear – 1975
2- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – American Black Bear – 1986
3- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – American Black Bear (with Grey Wolf) - 1988
4- Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2005
5- B.C. Wildlife Park (Canada) – American Black Bear – 2006
6- Oregon Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2007
7- Lincoln Park Zoo- Illinois (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
8- Detroit Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
9- Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
10- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
11- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
12- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
13- Memphis Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
14- Knoxville Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
15- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
16- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear (with Red Fox) – 2008
17- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
18- Los Angeles Zoo (USA)- American Black Bear – 2008
19- Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
20- Wildlife Safari (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
21- Sedgwick County Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
22- Tulsa Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
23- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
24- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
25- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
26- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
27- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
28- Audubon Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
29- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
30- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
31- CALM (California Living Museum) (USA) – American Black Bear (with Red Fox) – 2011
32- Great Plains Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
33- Erie Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
34- Busch Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
35- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
36- Naples Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
37- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
38- Jackson Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
39- Dickerson Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
40- Topeka Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
41- Pocatello Zoo/Zoo Idaho (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
42- Cat Tales Zoological Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
43- Yellowstone Bear World (USA) – American Black Bear (with Grey Wolf) – 2014
44- Bear Country U.S.A. (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
45- Bramble Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
46- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
47- Pine Grove Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
48- Irvine Park & Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
49- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
50- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
51- Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
52- Ochsner Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
53- Wildlife Prairie Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
54- Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park & Wildlife Safari (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
55- Clay Center Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
56- Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
57- Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
58- Tiger Safari (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
59- G W Exotic Animal Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
60- Amarillo Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
61- Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
62- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
63- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – American Black Bear (with Olive Baboon & Rhesus Macaque!!) – 2015
64- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
65- Houston Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
66- Austin Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
67- Abilene Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
68- Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
69- Spring River Park & Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
70- Living Desert Zoo – New Mexico (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
71- Alameda Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
72- Wildlife West Nature Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
73- Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
74- Out of Africa (USA) – American Black Bear - 2015
75- Bearizona (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
76- West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
77- Discovery Wildlife Park (Canada) – American Black Bear – 2016
78- North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre (Canada) – American Black Bear – 2016
79- Olympic Game Farm (USA) – American Black Bear – 2016
80- Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (USA) – American Black Bear – 2017
81- Monterey Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2017
82- Applegate Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2017
83- Orange County Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2017
84- Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (USA) – American Black Bear – 2017
85- Border City Petting Zoo (Canada) – American Black Bear – 2018
86- North American Bear Center (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
87- Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
88- Oswald’s Bear Ranch (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
89- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear - 2018
90- Bear Den Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
91- Animal Haven Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
92- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
93- Zollman Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
94- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – American Black Bear (with Brown Bear) – 2019
95- Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands) – American Black Bear – 2019
96- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – American Black Bear – 2019
97- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – American Black Bear (with American Bison) – 2022
98- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2023
99- Big Bear Alpine Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2023
100- Oakland Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2023

What are some of my most memorable sightings of American Black Bears in zoos? To start, it would be vital to mention Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) and its slice of woodland.

B.C. Wildlife Park (Canada) rescued 'Clover' from the wild as an abandoned cub in 2012 and after two attempts to rehabilitate him back to the wild failed, built a 2.7-acre (1.09 hectare) habitat and heavily promoted the fact that the zoo has the only Kermode Bear in the world in captivity. There is a lot of Indigenous curriculum in B.C.'s high schools, and this subspecies of the American Black Bear is called a Spirit Bear by many communities. 'Clover' has been living with 'Tuk', an American Black Bear with a regular black coat, for several years.

Seeing an American Black Bear at Pittsburgh Zoo (USA) in 2008 was memorable for all the wrong reasons, with a cement slab being home to the animal. A series of 3 or 4 bear grottoes that were at the zoo then have all since closed down. That is a trend with zoos across the globe when it comes to these old concrete grottoes and I could list loads of examples but it would be too depressing.

Zoo Knoxville's (USA) Black Bear Falls has been a divisive exhibit over the years. It's not as debatable as Indianapolis Zoo's Orangutan Spaceship or Chimpanzee Oil Derrick, but Knoxville has a LOT of mock-rock in an exhibit that is not as large as it could be. The flip side is that there's quite a bit of arboreal options and whenever people have visited it seems that the American Black Bears are active and utilizing the space provided to them.

@Moebelle

Speaking of mock-rock, the American Black Bear exhibit at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) also probably doesn't hold up quite as well as it used to. The trend for modern bear habitats is to incorporate far more natural substrate into the environment.

@TheoV

Unfortunately, there has been some diabolical bear enclosures that I've come across in American zoos. I saw two pacing bears at Erie Zoo (USA) in 2012 and thankfully the zoo rectified the situation by eventually overhauling this whole section. But how many American Black Bears went insane over many decades before a renovation occurred?

It was distressing to walk into Clay Center Zoo (USA) in 2014, not previously having any expectations about what I would see, and finding a pacing American Black Bear on a cement slab in this hellhole:

At Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) in 2015, I saw a couple of American Black Bears, a pair of Rhesus Macaques and at least one 'Western Brown Baboon' (Olive Baboon) all together in this ramshackle cage. Later on, I found out that a number of my ZooChat photos were used in a document to help close this zoo down. It's happened before, where I've documented a zoo that no one else on this site has ever been to and then a few years later the place has closed down and my photos have ended up aiding the cause without my knowledge. That makes me feel good, but I am always curious as to what becomes of the animals at these roadside menageries. Obviously no one wishes to see animals in deplorable conditions, but visiting decrepit zoos once (and taking copious amounts of photos) has occasionally aided in shutting them down. How else does word spread about junky zoos in otherwise rich nations?

On a side note, there must be 15 old tires in that cage!

Here are two American Black Bears (and a kiddie slide!) in this cement hellhole at the now closed Special Memories Zoo (USA):

Bear Country U.S.A. (USA) had at least 50-60 American Black Bears all together in the drive-through section of the park when I was there in 2014. At that time, the zoo had close to 90 bears in total, many with 'cinnamon colour phase' coats, in a variety of enclosures.

@Milwaukee Man

Plus they had loads of bear cubs:

Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) has a new-ish exhibit for American Black Bears that is a sandy desert, both on the upper level and in the deep moat. A total bust. What could the zoo do with this space if they ever went out of bears?

On a more positive note, the North American Bear Center (USA) has a 2.5-acre exhibit for a handful of American Black Bears that is superb.

One of the nicer exhibits at Topeka Zoo (USA) is Black Bear Woods:

Here are two of my images from my visit to the extraordinary Pairi Daiza (Belgium) zoo, one of the world's most popular zoological facilities with more than 2 million annual visitors way out in the Belgian countryside. I saw American Black Bears and Brown Bears together there.

Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) has an excellent American Black Bear exhibit in its Manitoba section:

Then there's Ree Park Safari (Denmark), with American Black Bears in a massive habitat that includes American Bison. Safari Parc Peaugres (France) has had the same combination in the past.

@korhoen

Ree Park Safari has also had the bears in with Grey Wolves as well. Here they are at a feeding session:

@Toddy

 

[Giant Eland]

What year did you see the small Indian civet at the Los Angeles Zoo (no. 14 in your list)? The zoo doesn't currently have that species and I can't recall when it was there.

Oh, sorry- meant to type that in! Maybe a Mod could add it for me?

1994 I believe. In the children's zoo/nursery of all places. Was a very exciting find for someone who's collection was so devoid of civets at the time! I'll post the picture now if I haven't already.

Oh here's the link:
Scanned Photos 1990s LA Zoo - ZooChat

 

[ralph]

I've once seen a drive-through safari enclosure that kept the following species together; black bear, baboon, ostrich, dromedary camel and onager. Crazy!! The zoo was Serengetipark Hodenhagen in Germany.

I've seen black bears a lot of times because my home zoo Zie-Zoo has them, but other than that I've seen them on only a few occassions.
Zie-Zoo is planning an expansion of the bear enclosure for 2025, which is very welcome as their enclosure is not the greatest in the world.

 

[birdsandbats]

I love bears. Ever since I was a kid, and continuing all through my life, I've been a fan of bears. It's been fascinating to see the evolution of zoo exhibits when it comes to the 8 bear species of the world. Small, chain-link cages and old-fashioned grottoes have steadily been replaced by mini forests and modern, diverse habitats with varying terrain. Part of my love for bears has been because I was born and raised in Canada, and other than 2.5 years in Australia I have lived my whole life in Canada. This is a nation where bears are iconic, literally everywhere when it comes to TV advertisements, coins, nature documentaries and other publications. We see American Black Bears in our backyard a couple of times each year and I've seen this species at exactly 100 zoos.

The top 3 years when I had almost 50% of my American Black Bear sightings:

2008 = 14 zoos
2014 = 15 zoos
2015 = 20 zoos

Contrast that trio of bear-heavy years with my trips to Europe in 2019 and 2022, when I saw American Black Bears at only 4 zoos out of 120. (There's certainly some strong parallels with Coyotes, another species I've had in my forested backyard on a number of occasions)

I've noted 7 exhibits where American Black Bears shared space with other species:

1- Edmonton Valley Zoo (Canada) – American Black Bear – 1975
2- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – American Black Bear – 1986
3- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – American Black Bear (with Grey Wolf) - 1988
4- Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2005
5- B.C. Wildlife Park (Canada) – American Black Bear – 2006
6- Oregon Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2007
7- Lincoln Park Zoo- Illinois (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
8- Detroit Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
9- Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
10- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
11- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
12- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
13- Memphis Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
14- Knoxville Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
15- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
16- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear (with Red Fox) – 2008
17- Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
18- Los Angeles Zoo (USA)- American Black Bear – 2008
19- Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (USA) – American Black Bear – 2008
20- Wildlife Safari (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
21- Sedgwick County Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
22- Tulsa Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
23- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
24- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
25- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
26- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
27- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
28- Audubon Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
29- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
30- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2010
31- CALM (California Living Museum) (USA) – American Black Bear (with Red Fox) – 2011
32- Great Plains Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
33- Erie Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
34- Busch Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
35- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
36- Naples Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
37- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
38- Jackson Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
39- Dickerson Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
40- Topeka Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
41- Pocatello Zoo/Zoo Idaho (USA) – American Black Bear – 2012
42- Cat Tales Zoological Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
43- Yellowstone Bear World (USA) – American Black Bear (with Grey Wolf) – 2014
44- Bear Country U.S.A. (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
45- Bramble Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
46- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
47- Pine Grove Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
48- Irvine Park & Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
49- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
50- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
51- Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
52- Ochsner Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
53- Wildlife Prairie Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
54- Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park & Wildlife Safari (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
55- Clay Center Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
56- Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2014
57- Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
58- Tiger Safari (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
59- G W Exotic Animal Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
60- Amarillo Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
61- Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
62- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
63- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – American Black Bear (with Olive Baboon & Rhesus Macaque!!) – 2015
64- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
65- Houston Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
66- Austin Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
67- Abilene Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
68- Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
69- Spring River Park & Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
70- Living Desert Zoo – New Mexico (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
71- Alameda Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
72- Wildlife West Nature Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
73- Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
74- Out of Africa (USA) – American Black Bear - 2015
75- Bearizona (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
76- West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) – American Black Bear – 2015
77- Discovery Wildlife Park (Canada) – American Black Bear – 2016
78- North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre (Canada) – American Black Bear – 2016
79- Olympic Game Farm (USA) – American Black Bear – 2016
80- Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary (USA) – American Black Bear – 2017
81- Monterey Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2017
82- Applegate Park Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2017
83- Orange County Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2017
84- Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary (USA) – American Black Bear – 2017
85- Border City Petting Zoo (Canada) – American Black Bear – 2018
86- North American Bear Center (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
87- Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
88- Oswald’s Bear Ranch (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
89- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear - 2018
90- Bear Den Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
91- Animal Haven Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
92- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
93- Zollman Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2018
94- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – American Black Bear (with Brown Bear) – 2019
95- Dierenpark Zie-ZOO (Netherlands) – American Black Bear – 2019
96- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – American Black Bear – 2019
97- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – American Black Bear (with American Bison) – 2022
98- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – American Black Bear – 2023
99- Big Bear Alpine Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2023
100- Oakland Zoo (USA) – American Black Bear – 2023

What are some of my most memorable sightings of American Black Bears in zoos? To start, it would be vital to mention Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) and its slice of woodland.

B.C. Wildlife Park (Canada) rescued 'Clover' from the wild as an abandoned cub in 2012 and after two attempts to rehabilitate him back to the wild failed, built a 2.7-acre (1.09 hectare) habitat and heavily promoted the fact that the zoo has the only Kermode Bear in the world in captivity. There is a lot of Indigenous curriculum in B.C.'s high schools, and this subspecies of the American Black Bear is called a Spirit Bear by many communities. 'Clover' has been living with 'Tuk', an American Black Bear with a regular black coat, for several years.

Seeing an American Black Bear at Pittsburgh Zoo (USA) in 2008 was memorable for all the wrong reasons, with a cement slab being home to the animal. A series of 3 or 4 bear grottoes that were at the zoo then have all since closed down. That is a trend with zoos across the globe when it comes to these old concrete grottoes and I could list loads of examples but it would be too depressing.

Zoo Knoxville's (USA) Black Bear Falls has been a divisive exhibit over the years. It's not as debatable as Indianapolis Zoo's Orangutan Spaceship or Chimpanzee Oil Derrick, but Knoxville has a LOT of mock-rock in an exhibit that is not as large as it could be. The flip side is that there's quite a bit of arboreal options and whenever people have visited it seems that the American Black Bears are active and utilizing the space provided to them.

@Moebelle

Speaking of mock-rock, the American Black Bear exhibit at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (USA) also probably doesn't hold up quite as well as it used to. The trend for modern bear habitats is to incorporate far more natural substrate into the environment.

@TheoV

Unfortunately, there has been some diabolical bear enclosures that I've come across in American zoos. I saw two pacing bears at Erie Zoo (USA) in 2012 and thankfully the zoo rectified the situation by eventually overhauling this whole section. But how many American Black Bears went insane over many decades before a renovation occurred?

It was distressing to walk into Clay Center Zoo (USA) in 2014, not previously having any expectations about what I would see, and finding a pacing American Black Bear on a cement slab in this hellhole:

At Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) in 2015, I saw a couple of American Black Bears, a pair of Rhesus Macaques and at least one 'Western Brown Baboon' (Olive Baboon) all together in this ramshackle cage. Later on, I found out that a number of my ZooChat photos were used in a document to help close this zoo down. It's happened before, where I've documented a zoo that no one else on this site has ever been to and then a few years later the place has closed down and my photos have ended up aiding the cause without my knowledge. That makes me feel good, but I am always curious as to what becomes of the animals at these roadside menageries. Obviously no one wishes to see animals in deplorable conditions, but visiting decrepit zoos once (and taking copious amounts of photos) has occasionally aided in shutting them down. How else does word spread about junky zoos in otherwise rich nations?

On a side note, there must be 15 old tires in that cage!

Here are two American Black Bears (and a kiddie slide!) in this cement hellhole at the now closed Special Memories Zoo (USA):

Bear Country U.S.A. (USA) had at least 50-60 American Black Bears all together in the drive-through section of the park when I was there in 2014. At that time, the zoo had close to 90 bears in total, many with 'cinnamon colour phase' coats, in a variety of enclosures.

@Milwaukee Man

Plus they had loads of bear cubs:

Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) has a new-ish exhibit for American Black Bears that is a sandy desert, both on the upper level and in the deep moat. A total bust. What could the zoo do with this space if they ever went out of bears?

On a more positive note, the North American Bear Center (USA) has a 2.5-acre exhibit for a handful of American Black Bears that is superb.

One of the nicer exhibits at Topeka Zoo (USA) is Black Bear Woods:

Here are two of my images from my visit to the extraordinary Pairi Daiza (Belgium) zoo, one of the world's most popular zoological facilities with more than 2 million annual visitors way out in the Belgian countryside. I saw American Black Bears and Brown Bears together there.

Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) has an excellent American Black Bear exhibit in its Manitoba section:

Then there's Ree Park Safari (Denmark), with American Black Bears in a massive habitat that includes American Bison. Safari Parc Peaugres (France) has had the same combination in the past.

@korhoen

Ree Park Safari has also had the bears in with Grey Wolves as well. Here they are at a feeding session:

@Toddy

Macaques and baboons with black bears is certainly crazy, but I'm still amazed at Ochsner Park's old mix of American Black Bear, Great Horned Owl and Chukar. How that mix didn't manage to end with the owl and eating the partridge and then the bear eating the owl I'll never know.

 

[biggest_dreamer]

Gonna take a stab at the bear rankings, based strictly on my armchair perception of how common they are in the US

1. Brown
2. American black
3. Polar
4. Spectacled
5. Asiatic black
6. Sloth
7. Sun
8. Giant panda

Watch me be entirely off base here. While I'm fairly comfortable with 1/2 and 7/8, the entire middle section is basically a shot in the dark. Polar and Asiatic in particular feel like they could go wildly in either direction.

 

[snowleopard]

Hot on the heels of American Black Bears (100 zoos) are Brown Bears, which I've seen at 92 zoos. The vast majority of these have been the Grizzly Bear subspecies, and since I already posted about how much I love bears it's fair to see that the Brown/Grizzly is my favourite. When I made a trip to Alaska in 2000, I saw a couple of enormous, scary-sized Grizzlies at the local dump, as well as a couple more who were catching salmon in the wild at a fast-flowing river. I also had an experience of seeing a mother and cub Grizzly while river rafting in British Columbia, so I've had several wild sightings but none for almost 20 years as there are no Grizzlies in southwestern B.C. where I live. Although, it would only take a drive of two hours to be deep in Grizzly country.

Growing up in Edmonton, Alberta, I would visit the Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada), which at the time was the 'Berlin Tierpark' of North America with its vast ungulate collection. On almost a daily basis, the owner of the zoo (Al Oeming) would enter the Grizzly Bear exhibit and hand-feed the 3 bears that he had rescued/captured from the wild and raised from cubs. To see this happen in real life was astonishing. These were always labeled as a Swan Hills subspecies of Brown Bear, but of course there's been a load of taxonomic changes over the years for all animals. I've seen a broad variety of Brown Bear subspecies, including enormous Kodiak and Kamchatka specimens, but for this post I will mainly stick to species level examples.

Al Oeming and one of his 'pets':

I highlighted 4 zoos, all in Europe, that had another species in with their Brown Bears:

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Brown Bear – 1975
2- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Brown Bear – 1986
3- Perth Zoo (Australia) – Brown Bear – 1987
4- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Brown Bear - 1988
5- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 1994
6- Langenberg Wildlife Park (Switzerland) – Brown Bear – 2003
7- Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) – Brown Bear – 2005
8- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2005
9- San Francisco Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2006
10- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2006
11- Denver Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2006
12- B.C. Wildlife Park (Canada) – Brown Bear - 2006
13- Taronga Zoo (Australia) – Brown Bear – 2007
14- Adelaide Zoo (Australia) – Brown Bear – 2007
15- Melbourne Zoo (Australia) – Brown Bear – 2007
16- Grouse Mountain Wildlife Refuge (Canada) – Brown Bear – 2007
17- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2008
18- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2008
19- Detroit Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2008
20- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Brown Bear – 2008
21- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2008
22- Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium (USA) – Brown Bear – 2008
23- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Brown Bear – 2008
24- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2008
25- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
26- Zoo Montana (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
27- Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
28- Sedgwick County Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
29- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
30- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
31- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
32- Buffalo Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
33- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
34- Riverbanks Zoo & Garden (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
35- Houston Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
36- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2010
37- Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2011
38- Great Plains Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2012
39- Indianapolis Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2012
40- John Ball Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2012
41- Little Rock Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2012
42- Utah’s Hogle Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2012
43- Pocatello Zoo/Zoo Idaho (USA) – Brown Bear – 2012
44- Yellowstone Bear World (USA) – Brown Bear – 2014
45- Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center (USA) – Brown Bear – 2014
46- Montana Grizzly Encounter (USA) – Brown Bear – 2014
47- Bear Country U.S.A. (USA) – Brown Bear – 2014
48- Dakota Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2014
49- Roosevelt Park Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2014
50- Chahinkapa Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2014
51- Lake Superior Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2014
52- DeYoung Family Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2014
53- Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2014
54- Tiger Safari (USA) – Brown Bear – 2015
55- G W Exotic Animal Park (USA) – Brown Bear – 2015
56- Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (USA) – Brown Bear – 2015
57- Out of Africa (USA) – Brown Bear - 2015
58- Reid Park Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2015
59- Keepers of the Wild Nature Park (USA) – Brown Bear – 2015
60- Discovery Wildlife Park (Canada) – Brown Bear – 2016
61- Olympic Game Farm (USA) – Brown Bear – 2016
62- Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Canada) – Brown Bear – 2018
63- GarLyn Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2018
64- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear - 2018
65- Toledo Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2018
66- Washington Park Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2018
67- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2018
68- Animal Haven Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2018
69- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2018
70- Wildwood Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2018
71- Landgoed Hoenderdaell (Netherlands) – Brown Bear – 2019
72- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Brown Bear – 2019
73- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Brown Bear (with American Black Bear) – 2019
74- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Brown Bear – 2019
75- Wildpark Gangelt (Germany) – Brown Bear – 2019
76- Cologne Zoo (Germany) – Brown Bear – 2019
77- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Brown Bear – 2019
78- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Brown Bear – 2019
79- Dierenrijk (Animal Kingdom) (Netherlands) – Brown Bear – 2019
80- Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands) – Brown Bear (with Grey Wolf) – 2019
81- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – Brown Bear – 2019
82- Olderdissen Zoo (Germany) – Brown Bear (with ‘Silver’ Fox) – 2019
83- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Hybrid Brown/Polar Bear (with ‘Silver’ Fox) – 2019
84- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Brown Bear – 2019
85- Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands) – Brown Bear – 2019
86- Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Denmark) – Brown Bear – 2022
87- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Brown Bear – 2022
88- Boras Zoo (Sweden) – Brown Bear – 2022
89- Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Brown Bear – 2022
90- Wildlife Images Rehabilitation and Education Center (USA) – Brown Bear – 2023
91- Big Bear Alpine Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2023
92- Oakland Zoo (USA) – Brown Bear – 2023

Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) is approximately 20 minutes from my house and yet I rarely visit (maybe once a year). The highlight of the zoo would arguably be a series of bear exhibits at the back, including this 1.5-acre habitat for 'Shadow', a now elderly female Brown Bear.

The other collection of animals that I'm most familiar with would be Woodland Park Zoo (USA) in Seattle, a 5-hour roundtrip from my home. The Brown Bear exhibit there is world-famous.

Of course, Northwest Trek Wildlife Park (USA) is notable amongst zoo nerds for its stunning Grizzly Bear enclosure that must be a couple of acres in size. This zoo flies under the radar, pulling in 200,000 visitors a year for the last 30 years, never increasing attendance even though all of the exhibits are excellent.

I saw a trio of Australian zoos that all held Brown Bears at the same time, back in 2007, and yet Taronga, Melbourne and Adelaide all no longer have the species. I think that Brown Bears are actually now extinct in Australian collections, much like several other bear species in Oz. Here is the Taronga Zoo (Australia) exhibit, labeled as Bear Canyon and posted as a Kodiak Bear enclosure in the ZooChat gallery.

@Baldur

Minnesota Zoo (USA) opened Russia's Grizzly Coast in 2008 and attendance skyrocketed. Here's an example of an exhibit complex rejuvenating a zoo. After several excellent additions post-Grizzly, the zoo has stagnated since. They could use a shiny new animal complex in the near future.

@Ding Lingwei

Detroit Zoo (USA) doesn't have one of the best Brown Bear exhibits around, but nevertheless here's a great example of what a zoo can do with historic architecture. Taking a series of 1928 grottoes, that once probably held 15 to 20 bears back in their heyday, then repurposing those three grottoes (by 2008) into ONE single enclosure for Brown Bears made sense. It's quite a long exhibit and better than it ever was before.

The best thing about Zoo Montana (USA) is the zoo's Brown Bear exhibit, which is at least an acre in size. The holding quarters are obscured by the mock-rock wall in the background.

Wildwood Zoo (USA) opened a brand-new, $1.3 million exhibit for its Brown Bears (including a Kodiak) in 2015. An old grotto is connected to a fantastic forested enclosure via an overhead bridge.

North American zoos have lots of terrific Brown Bear exhibits, but of course it's only fair to highlight some really poor ones as well. Brace yourselves.

Buffalo Zoo (USA) had a sign saying 'Bear Pits' when I visited that zoo in 2010, before the old grottoes were demolished. The space available for this Brown Bear was shockingly awful as the animal had a slab of cement, an old tire and a small pool.

Not much better was the old Brown Bear grotto at San Antonio Zoo (USA) the same year. Bears can suffer joint problems from walking all their years on cement, and there are many AZA zoos with old-school grottoes that have been torn down or renovated.

My photo shows almost the entire space for two 'Syrian' Brown Bears at the now closed Special Memories Zoo (USA). A kiddie slide, a boomer ball, a hanging tire and not much else in this deplorable cage. I toured this zoo only 6 years ago, showing that there are still crap Brown Bear enclosures to be found in this day and age.

ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) has immense mock-rock walls and at least one Kamchatka subspecies specimen in its spacious Brown Bear habitat.

At Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands), there's a slice of woodland with Brown Bears and Grey Wolves that's quite superb. There's multiple viewing areas and various pathways for visitors.

@Tiger

I saw a male bear named 'Taps' at Osnabruck Zoo (Germany). He's a hybrid specimen (Brown/Polar) and a remarkable looking creature who shares his space with Red 'silver' Foxes.

And, we all know by now that other zoos of the world might as well give up when it comes to 'competing' with Scandinavian zoos to find the biggest and best exhibits for any mammals.

Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Denmark) has an immense, 6-acre (2.4 hectare) exhibit for Brown Bears that I spent a lot of time at in 2022. I suppose that one could point out it's a fairly open enclosure, but there are many trees along one side of the habitat and a large pool in the central area. Walking along the 250-meter boardwalk, I counted 7 Brown Bears all sharing the space together. (Not as many as Cabarceno's 50+ bears!)

Boras Zoo (Sweden) has another ridiculously large mammal exhibit, also for Brown Bears. It's a massive space and I took a series of photos (see the ZooChat gallery) showing one of the bears swimming around its enormous lake.

I attended a keeper feeding session for Brown Bears at Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden), and the rocky habitat there has a crashing waterfall as a highlight. It's a superb exhibit that's larger than what is shown here, with varying terrain that keeps the bears in fantastic shape. I was told that the zoo received one obese Brown Bear and within a year the animal was a lean creature due to navigating the 'highs and lows' of this habitat.

Ursidae:

American Black Bears - 100 zoos
Brown Bears - 92 zoos
Which bear species will be next? And at how many zoos? For sure, there will be a steep drop-off now...