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

[MRJ]

That honestly rather surprises me; I'd have never imagined that I would have seen more cuscus species than you!

Cuscus have never been common in Australian zoos. Both Australian species are only found on the Cape York Peninsula, which is one of the least accessible parts of Australia and largely wilderness. Therefore, there is no chance of animals coming through as unreleasable rescues, which is the normal source of one-off species in zoos. They are also very difficult to see in the wild.

However, I do have plans to visit cuscus territory both in Australia and Indonesia in the future, so hopefully my list of species will grow!

 

[snowleopard]

I've seen Common Bottlenose Dolphins at 13 zoos. Tomorrow I will bang off the rest of my cetaceans with one big post. I'm inching closer to my August 1st to August 23rd Snowleopard Road Trip, which will see me visit approximately 55 zoos and I keep dropping subtle clues here and there. Today's one is this: how many of the upcoming zoos have I been to before? Zero! Literally every single zoo I will visit in August will be brand-new to me and right near the end of the trip I will walk through zoo #600 all-time. Craziness.

Even though I've been obsessed with zoos all my life, my thoughts on captive cetaceans have always been conflicted, even back in my early zoo-going days. There must be loads of quotes from me on this site from 15 years ago, talking about my distaste with some cetacean exhibits. Seeing dolphins swimming around and around in their concrete tanks, in almost endless boredom, has been disheartening at times. Having an annual membership to Vancouver Aquarium, and seeing 5 Beluga Whales in a far too small pool was thrilling for my 4 kids, who adored the whales before the last ones died in late 2016 in a mysterious case involving an "unknown toxin". The autopsies were inconclusive and since then legislation has made it illegal for any facility in Canada to maintain cetaceans in captivity, including rehabilitated animals. The annual attendance at Vancouver Aquarium has since plummeted, partly due to the lack of whales or dolphins, and partly due to the post-Covid years. But, when I visit and see the Steller Sea Lions in the old Beluga Whale pool, I can hardly believe that there used to be 5 big cetaceans in there.

Looking down my list of facilities with dolphins, my conclusion is that the pools are almost all far too small. There's only one exception and that's Harderwijk. The rest of the tanks are downright puny in some cases, with dolphins in sterile, bland surroundings and dolphin shows have never engaged me as I can easily skip them and not feel as if I've missed anything. Vancouver, Minnesota, Baltimore (eventually), Siegfried & Roy, Boudewijn (eventually) and Kolmarden (eventually) means that 6 of the 14 zoos listed here either no longer have dolphins or in the near future they will be gone. That's what makes Brookfield's recent announcement of building a new dolphin pool really surprising, as it goes against the trend, and I'm not entirely comfortable with Brookfield sticking with dolphins in the future. Why not turn that area into a spacious pinniped habitat?

1- Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 1986
2- SeaWorld San Diego (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2006
3- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2008
4- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2008
5- Indianapolis Zoo (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2008
6- National Aquarium in Baltimore (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2010
7- Texas State Aquarium (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2015
8- SeaWorld San Antonio (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2015
9- Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2015
10- Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2017
11- Boudewijn Seapark (Belgium) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2019 * animals not seen
12- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2019
13- Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2019
14- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2022

Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) had Common Bottlenose Dolphins for many years, including in the 1980s when I first began to visit the facility. In recent times, they've had Pacific White-sided Dolphins and now of course they have zero cetaceans and never will again.

SeaWorld San Diego (USA) is famous for not only Killer Whales but also Common Bottlenose Dolphins. There's a big stadium with dolphin shows, as well as a pair of connected pools that are surprisingly shallow in several spots. I visited this particular SeaWorld in 2006 and then twice in 2011.

Both photos by @geomorph

When I first toured Minnesota Zoo (USA) in 2008, they still had Common Bottlenose Dolphins in the large yet bland Discovery Bay building near the zoo's entrance. I revisited this zoo in 2014, just before they added Hawaiian Monk Seals in place of the departed dolphins in 2015. These days, there are California Sea Lions in this all-indoor pool. The whole building is very industrial looking, as if it's a big empty warehouse. One might as well convert it into an Amazon factory!

@geomorph

Brookfield Zoo's (USA) old Common Bottlenose Dolphin tank, known as Seven Seas, recently had a $10 million renovation and has now reopened to the public. The long-term plan is to build some kind of mangrove-themed dolphin tank and it's genuinely surprising for a zoo to commit to dolphins in this modern age.

@MeiLover

The famous Dolphin Dome at Indianapolis Zoo (USA) is a wonderful attraction for visitors, as the Common Bottlenose Dolphins literally swim over people's heads.

@Grizzly Hound

In my photo from 2008, you can see the outline of the Dolphin Dome in the pool, which unfortunately means less swimming space for the dolphins.

On Pier 4 at the National Aquarium in Baltimore (USA) is a Common Bottlenose Dolphin exhibit, entirely indoors and destined to eventually no longer hold dolphins as there has been talk of a phase-out for probably a decade now. Originally, back in 1990 when it opened, this exhibit held Beluga Whales and dolphins at the same time, but the mix didn't work and in 1992 the whales were sent to SeaWorld San Antonio.

@geomorph

@Astrotom3000

A small, 400,000-gallon pool for Common Bottlenose Dolphins at Texas State Aquarium (USA) didn't impress me when I was there in 2015.

Dolphin Cove at SeaWorld San Antonio (USA). Reach in and pet a Common Bottlenose Dolphin!

@geomorph

Is this a Mirage Hotel swimming pool for guests? Close, but no cigar. It's the exhibit for Common Bottlenose Dolphins at Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat (USA) and it's a ridiculously tiny pool. This place closed down recently, but it was open for something like 30 years in the heart of Las Vegas. I also saw keepers go in with full-grown African Lions in the mini-zoo on the same premises.

Common Bottlenose Dolphins perform tricks and flicks at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (USA) near San Francisco in a show called Drench!

There's also a secondary area where people can pay to pet and possibly swim with dolphins.

I didn't see the Common Bottlenose Dolphins at Boudewijn Seapark (Belgium) because the animals are only available to be viewed during showtimes and I didn't want to hang around for that "excitement". I actually did walk into the big cement arena and visitors can come and go as they like, but the dolphin pool is blocked off from public viewing and so it's essentially a waste of time. Boudewijn was planning on phasing out dolphins forever and I'm not sure of the status on that announcement. Here are my two photos of the Dolfinarium:

In my personal opinion, even with the grandiose rockwork, this pool for Common Bottlenose Dolphins is nowhere near acceptable in terms of size. When I was at Duisburg Zoo (Germany) in 2019, I saw several protestors outside the entrance handing out leaflets and they were telling people that the zoo was a good one...except for the indoor dolphin pool.

@Green_mamba

Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands) has the best dolphin exhibit I've ever seen, although I've yet to visit Nuremberg Zoo in Germany. My photo from 2019, looking over an expanse of grass, shows the vast size of the dolphin pool and it's a Dolphin Lagoon using real seawater. The habitat forces viewers to hang around and try to spot the pod of dolphins, although there's an underwater viewing area and public shows as well. This exhibit at Harderwijk is a thousand times better than any of the other dolphin enclosures I've ever seen, and one that I feel I can support in terms of the discussion around cetaceans in captivity.

Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) has Common Bottlenose Dolphins within an old-fashioned indoor stadium setting. However, it's better than most I've seen because of the large windows that allow natural light inside, and that rock formation at the back is spectacular. Kolmarden apparently announced that they were phasing out dolphins forever, but I'm not sure of the status of that at the moment. Does anyone know an exact timeline?

Non-primate or carnivore mammals:

Asian Elephant - 61 zoos
Giant Anteater - 57 zoos
African Elephant - 53 zoos
Tree Kangaroos - 33 zoos (2 species: 24 zoos with Matschie's, 9 Goodfellow's)
Virginia Opossum - 26 zoos
Koala - 25 zoos
Short-beaked Echidna - 22 zoos
Tamandua - 21 zoos
Wombats - 18 zoos (2 species: Common, Southern Hairy-nosed)
Aardvark - 15 zoos
Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 13 zoos
Tasmanian Devil - 10 zoos
Platypus - 5 zoos
Cuscuses - 4 zoos (3 species: 2 zoos with Spotted, 1 Ground, 1 Sulawesi Bear)
Gray Short-tailed Opossum - 2 zoos
Murine Mouse Opossum - 2 zoos
Common Brushtail Possum - 1 zoo
Common Ringtail Possum - 1 zoo
Peruvian Dwarf Opossum - 1 zoo
Striped Possum - 1 zoo

* On the top of page 60, I have my final lists for Carnivora (130 species) and Primates (141 species) = 271 species at the 551 different zoos/aquariums I've visited.

 

[pachyderm pro]

I'm inching closer to my August 1st to August 23rd Snowleopard Road Trip, which will see me visit approximately 55 zoos and I keep dropping subtle clues here and there. Today's one is this: how many of the upcoming zoos have I been to before? Zero! Literally every single zoo I will visit in August will be brand-new to me and right near the end of the trip I will walk through zoo #600 all-time. Craziness.

My prediction: I bet one of the Brits finally coerced you into visiting the UK. If so, have fun in the land of fish, chips and chicken wire.

Wildcard prediction: Somewhere in Asia.

Brookfield Zoo's (USA) old Common Bottlenose Dolphin tank, known as Seven Seas, recently had a $10 million renovation and has now reopened to the public. The long-term plan is to build some kind of mangrove-themed dolphin tank and it's genuinely surprising for a zoo to commit to dolphins in this modern age.

Because I want as many people to see this as possible, here is a rendering of the proposed dolphin mangrove exhibit Brookfield has planned. Looks to be the first exhibit in decades that aims to push the envelope with cetacean husbandry and could be spectacular:

 

[toastrgophr]

I've seen Common Bottlenose Dolphins at 13 zoos. Tomorrow I will bang off the rest of my cetaceans with one big post. I'm inching closer to my August 1st to August 23rd Snowleopard Road Trip, which will see me visit approximately 55 zoos and I keep dropping subtle clues here and there. Today's one is this: how many of the upcoming zoos have I been to before? Zero! Literally every single zoo I will visit in August will be brand-new to me and right near the end of the trip I will walk through zoo #600 all-time. Craziness.

Even though I've been obsessed with zoos all my life, my thoughts on captive cetaceans have always been conflicted, even back in my early zoo-going days. There must be loads of quotes from me on this site from 15 years ago, talking about my distaste with some cetacean exhibits. Seeing dolphins swimming around and around in their concrete tanks, in almost endless boredom, has been disheartening at times. Having an annual membership to Vancouver Aquarium, and seeing 5 Beluga Whales in a far too small pool was thrilling for my 4 kids, who adored the whales before the last ones died in late 2016 in a mysterious case involving an "unknown toxin". The autopsies were inconclusive and since then legislation has made it illegal for any facility in Canada to maintain cetaceans in captivity, including rehabilitated animals. The annual attendance at Vancouver Aquarium has since plummeted, partly due to the lack of whales or dolphins, and partly due to the post-Covid years. But, when I visit and see the Steller Sea Lions in the old Beluga Whale pool, I can hardly believe that there used to be 5 big cetaceans in there.

Looking down my list of facilities with dolphins, my conclusion is that the pools are almost all far too small. There's only one exception and that's Harderwijk. The rest of the tanks are downright puny in some cases, with dolphins in sterile, bland surroundings and dolphin shows have never engaged me as I can easily skip them and not feel as if I've missed anything. Vancouver, Minnesota, Baltimore (eventually), Siegfried & Roy, Boudewijn (eventually) and Kolmarden (eventually) means that 6 of the 14 zoos listed here either no longer have dolphins or in the near future they will be gone. That's what makes Brookfield's recent announcement of building a new dolphin pool really surprising, as it goes against the trend, and I'm not entirely comfortable with Brookfield sticking with dolphins in the future. Why not turn that area into a spacious pinniped habitat?

1- Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 1986
2- SeaWorld San Diego (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2006
3- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2008
4- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2008
5- Indianapolis Zoo (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2008
6- National Aquarium in Baltimore (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2010
7- Texas State Aquarium (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2015
8- SeaWorld San Antonio (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2015
9- Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2015
10- Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2017
11- Boudewijn Seapark (Belgium) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2019 * animals not seen
12- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2019
13- Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2019
14- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2022

Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) had Common Bottlenose Dolphins for many years, including in the 1980s when I first began to visit the facility. In recent times, they've had Pacific White-sided Dolphins and now of course they have zero cetaceans and never will again.

SeaWorld San Diego (USA) is famous for not only Killer Whales but also Common Bottlenose Dolphins. There's a big stadium with dolphin shows, as well as a pair of connected pools that are surprisingly shallow in several spots. I visited this particular SeaWorld in 2006 and then twice in 2011.

Both photos by @geomorph

When I first toured Minnesota Zoo (USA) in 2008, they still had Common Bottlenose Dolphins in the large yet bland Discovery Bay building near the zoo's entrance. I revisited this zoo in 2014, just before they added Hawaiian Monk Seals in place of the departed dolphins in 2015. These days, there are California Sea Lions in this all-indoor pool. The whole building is very industrial looking, as if it's a big empty warehouse. One might as well convert it into an Amazon factory!

@geomorph

Brookfield Zoo's (USA) old Common Bottlenose Dolphin tank, known as Seven Seas, recently had a $10 million renovation and has now reopened to the public. The long-term plan is to build some kind of mangrove-themed dolphin tank and it's genuinely surprising for a zoo to commit to dolphins in this modern age.

@MeiLover

The famous Dolphin Dome at Indianapolis Zoo (USA) is a wonderful attraction for visitors, as the Common Bottlenose Dolphins literally swim over people's heads.

@Grizzly Hound

In my photo from 2008, you can see the outline of the Dolphin Dome in the pool, which unfortunately means less swimming space for the dolphins.

On Pier 4 at the National Aquarium in Baltimore (USA) is a Common Bottlenose Dolphin exhibit, entirely indoors and destined to eventually no longer hold dolphins as there has been talk of a phase-out for probably a decade now. Originally, back in 1990 when it opened, this exhibit held Beluga Whales and dolphins at the same time, but the mix didn't work and in 1992 the whales were sent to SeaWorld San Antonio.

@geomorph

@Astrotom3000

A small, 400,000-gallon pool for Common Bottlenose Dolphins at Texas State Aquarium (USA) didn't impress me when I was there in 2015.

Dolphin Cove at SeaWorld San Antonio (USA). Reach in and pet a Common Bottlenose Dolphin!

@geomorph

Is this a Mirage Hotel swimming pool for guests? Close, but no cigar. It's the exhibit for Common Bottlenose Dolphins at Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat (USA) and it's a ridiculously tiny pool. This place closed down recently, but it was open for something like 30 years in the heart of Las Vegas. I also saw keepers go in with full-grown African Lions in the mini-zoo on the same premises.

Common Bottlenose Dolphins perform tricks and flicks at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (USA) near San Francisco in a show called Drench!

There's also a secondary area where people can pay to pet and possibly swim with dolphins.

I didn't see the Common Bottlenose Dolphins at Boudewijn Seapark (Belgium) because the animals are only available to be viewed during showtimes and I didn't want to hang around for that "excitement". I actually did walk into the big cement arena and visitors can come and go as they like, but the dolphin pool is blocked off from public viewing and so it's essentially a waste of time. Boudewijn was planning on phasing out dolphins forever and I'm not sure of the status on that announcement. Here are my two photos of the Dolfinarium:

In my personal opinion, even with the grandiose rockwork, this pool for Common Bottlenose Dolphins is nowhere near acceptable in terms of size. When I was at Duisburg Zoo (Germany) in 2019, I saw several protestors outside the entrance handing out leaflets and they were telling people that the zoo was a good one...except for the indoor dolphin pool.

@Green_mamba

Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands) has the best dolphin exhibit I've ever seen, although I've yet to visit Nuremberg Zoo in Germany. My photo from 2019, looking over an expanse of grass, shows the vast size of the dolphin pool and it's a Dolphin Lagoon using real seawater. The habitat forces viewers to hang around and try to spot the pod of dolphins, although there's an underwater viewing area and public shows as well. This exhibit at Harderwijk is a thousand times better than any of the other dolphin enclosures I've ever seen, and one that I feel I can support in terms of the discussion around cetaceans in captivity.

Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) has Common Bottlenose Dolphins within an old-fashioned indoor stadium setting. However, it's better than most I've seen because of the large windows that allow natural light inside, and that rock formation at the back is spectacular. Kolmarden apparently announced that they were phasing out dolphins forever, but I'm not sure of the status of that at the moment. Does anyone know an exact timeline?

Non-primate or carnivore mammals:

Asian Elephant - 61 zoos
Giant Anteater - 57 zoos
African Elephant - 53 zoos
Tree Kangaroos - 33 zoos (2 species: 24 zoos with Matschie's, 9 Goodfellow's)
Virginia Opossum - 26 zoos
Koala - 25 zoos
Short-beaked Echidna - 22 zoos
Tamandua - 21 zoos
Wombats - 18 zoos (2 species: Common, Southern Hairy-nosed)
Aardvark - 15 zoos
Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 13 zoos
Tasmanian Devil - 10 zoos
Platypus - 5 zoos
Cuscuses - 4 zoos (3 species: 2 zoos with Spotted, 1 Ground, 1 Sulawesi Bear)
Gray Short-tailed Opossum - 2 zoos
Murine Mouse Opossum - 2 zoos
Common Brushtail Possum - 1 zoo
Common Ringtail Possum - 1 zoo
Peruvian Dwarf Opossum - 1 zoo
Striped Possum - 1 zoo

* On the top of page 60, I have my final lists for Carnivora (130 species) and Primates (141 species) = 271 species at the 551 different zoos/aquariums I've visited.

The best bottlenose dolphin exhibit I've seen is at EPCOT at Walt Disney World. I don't know what the square footage or water volume is, but its at least 2 stories tall, and is basically a giant tropical reef tank. Going off of my admittedly limited knowledge, I think this is the most inherently enrichment-filled exhibit for cetaceans I've ever seen. I'm on mobile rn, so I can't add images but I'm sure they exist on the zoochat gallery

 

[Utahraptor]

I've seen Common Bottlenose Dolphins at 13 zoos. Tomorrow I will bang off the rest of my cetaceans with one big post. I'm inching closer to my August 1st to August 23rd Snowleopard Road Trip, which will see me visit approximately 55 zoos and I keep dropping subtle clues here and there. Today's one is this: how many of the upcoming zoos have I been to before? Zero! Literally every single zoo I will visit in August will be brand-new to me and right near the end of the trip I will walk through zoo #600 all-time. Craziness.

Even though I've been obsessed with zoos all my life, my thoughts on captive cetaceans have always been conflicted, even back in my early zoo-going days. There must be loads of quotes from me on this site from 15 years ago, talking about my distaste with some cetacean exhibits. Seeing dolphins swimming around and around in their concrete tanks, in almost endless boredom, has been disheartening at times. Having an annual membership to Vancouver Aquarium, and seeing 5 Beluga Whales in a far too small pool was thrilling for my 4 kids, who adored the whales before the last ones died in late 2016 in a mysterious case involving an "unknown toxin". The autopsies were inconclusive and since then legislation has made it illegal for any facility in Canada to maintain cetaceans in captivity, including rehabilitated animals. The annual attendance at Vancouver Aquarium has since plummeted, partly due to the lack of whales or dolphins, and partly due to the post-Covid years. But, when I visit and see the Steller Sea Lions in the old Beluga Whale pool, I can hardly believe that there used to be 5 big cetaceans in there.

Looking down my list of facilities with dolphins, my conclusion is that the pools are almost all far too small. There's only one exception and that's Harderwijk. The rest of the tanks are downright puny in some cases, with dolphins in sterile, bland surroundings and dolphin shows have never engaged me as I can easily skip them and not feel as if I've missed anything. Vancouver, Minnesota, Baltimore (eventually), Siegfried & Roy, Boudewijn (eventually) and Kolmarden (eventually) means that 6 of the 14 zoos listed here either no longer have dolphins or in the near future they will be gone. That's what makes Brookfield's recent announcement of building a new dolphin pool really surprising, as it goes against the trend, and I'm not entirely comfortable with Brookfield sticking with dolphins in the future. Why not turn that area into a spacious pinniped habitat?

1- Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 1986
2- SeaWorld San Diego (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2006
3- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2008
4- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2008
5- Indianapolis Zoo (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2008
6- National Aquarium in Baltimore (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2010
7- Texas State Aquarium (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2015
8- SeaWorld San Antonio (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2015
9- Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2015
10- Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (USA) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2017
11- Boudewijn Seapark (Belgium) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2019 * animals not seen
12- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2019
13- Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2019
14- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 2022

Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) had Common Bottlenose Dolphins for many years, including in the 1980s when I first began to visit the facility. In recent times, they've had Pacific White-sided Dolphins and now of course they have zero cetaceans and never will again.

SeaWorld San Diego (USA) is famous for not only Killer Whales but also Common Bottlenose Dolphins. There's a big stadium with dolphin shows, as well as a pair of connected pools that are surprisingly shallow in several spots. I visited this particular SeaWorld in 2006 and then twice in 2011.

Both photos by @geomorph

When I first toured Minnesota Zoo (USA) in 2008, they still had Common Bottlenose Dolphins in the large yet bland Discovery Bay building near the zoo's entrance. I revisited this zoo in 2014, just before they added Hawaiian Monk Seals in place of the departed dolphins in 2015. These days, there are California Sea Lions in this all-indoor pool. The whole building is very industrial looking, as if it's a big empty warehouse. One might as well convert it into an Amazon factory!

@geomorph

Brookfield Zoo's (USA) old Common Bottlenose Dolphin tank, known as Seven Seas, recently had a $10 million renovation and has now reopened to the public. The long-term plan is to build some kind of mangrove-themed dolphin tank and it's genuinely surprising for a zoo to commit to dolphins in this modern age.

@MeiLover

The famous Dolphin Dome at Indianapolis Zoo (USA) is a wonderful attraction for visitors, as the Common Bottlenose Dolphins literally swim over people's heads.

@Grizzly Hound

In my photo from 2008, you can see the outline of the Dolphin Dome in the pool, which unfortunately means less swimming space for the dolphins.

On Pier 4 at the National Aquarium in Baltimore (USA) is a Common Bottlenose Dolphin exhibit, entirely indoors and destined to eventually no longer hold dolphins as there has been talk of a phase-out for probably a decade now. Originally, back in 1990 when it opened, this exhibit held Beluga Whales and dolphins at the same time, but the mix didn't work and in 1992 the whales were sent to SeaWorld San Antonio.

@geomorph

@Astrotom3000

A small, 400,000-gallon pool for Common Bottlenose Dolphins at Texas State Aquarium (USA) didn't impress me when I was there in 2015.

Dolphin Cove at SeaWorld San Antonio (USA). Reach in and pet a Common Bottlenose Dolphin!

@geomorph

Is this a Mirage Hotel swimming pool for guests? Close, but no cigar. It's the exhibit for Common Bottlenose Dolphins at Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat (USA) and it's a ridiculously tiny pool. This place closed down recently, but it was open for something like 30 years in the heart of Las Vegas. I also saw keepers go in with full-grown African Lions in the mini-zoo on the same premises.

Common Bottlenose Dolphins perform tricks and flicks at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (USA) near San Francisco in a show called Drench!

There's also a secondary area where people can pay to pet and possibly swim with dolphins.

I didn't see the Common Bottlenose Dolphins at Boudewijn Seapark (Belgium) because the animals are only available to be viewed during showtimes and I didn't want to hang around for that "excitement". I actually did walk into the big cement arena and visitors can come and go as they like, but the dolphin pool is blocked off from public viewing and so it's essentially a waste of time. Boudewijn was planning on phasing out dolphins forever and I'm not sure of the status on that announcement. Here are my two photos of the Dolfinarium:

In my personal opinion, even with the grandiose rockwork, this pool for Common Bottlenose Dolphins is nowhere near acceptable in terms of size. When I was at Duisburg Zoo (Germany) in 2019, I saw several protestors outside the entrance handing out leaflets and they were telling people that the zoo was a good one...except for the indoor dolphin pool.

@Green_mamba

Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands) has the best dolphin exhibit I've ever seen, although I've yet to visit Nuremberg Zoo in Germany. My photo from 2019, looking over an expanse of grass, shows the vast size of the dolphin pool and it's a Dolphin Lagoon using real seawater. The habitat forces viewers to hang around and try to spot the pod of dolphins, although there's an underwater viewing area and public shows as well. This exhibit at Harderwijk is a thousand times better than any of the other dolphin enclosures I've ever seen, and one that I feel I can support in terms of the discussion around cetaceans in captivity.

Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) has Common Bottlenose Dolphins within an old-fashioned indoor stadium setting. However, it's better than most I've seen because of the large windows that allow natural light inside, and that rock formation at the back is spectacular. Kolmarden apparently announced that they were phasing out dolphins forever, but I'm not sure of the status of that at the moment. Does anyone know an exact timeline?

Non-primate or carnivore mammals:

Asian Elephant - 61 zoos
Giant Anteater - 57 zoos
African Elephant - 53 zoos
Tree Kangaroos - 33 zoos (2 species: 24 zoos with Matschie's, 9 Goodfellow's)
Virginia Opossum - 26 zoos
Koala - 25 zoos
Short-beaked Echidna - 22 zoos
Tamandua - 21 zoos
Wombats - 18 zoos (2 species: Common, Southern Hairy-nosed)
Aardvark - 15 zoos
Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 13 zoos
Tasmanian Devil - 10 zoos
Platypus - 5 zoos
Cuscuses - 4 zoos (3 species: 2 zoos with Spotted, 1 Ground, 1 Sulawesi Bear)
Gray Short-tailed Opossum - 2 zoos
Murine Mouse Opossum - 2 zoos
Common Brushtail Possum - 1 zoo
Common Ringtail Possum - 1 zoo
Peruvian Dwarf Opossum - 1 zoo
Striped Possum - 1 zoo

* On the top of page 60, I have my final lists for Carnivora (130 species) and Primates (141 species) = 271 species at the 551 different zoos/aquariums I've visited.

Not wanting to sound rude or anything, but I thought you said that ungulates were "saved" for after your road trip. did something change?

In regard of the view on captive cetaceans, i have the exact same feelings regard of them as ya, as i feel that most exhibit's for cetaceans are far to small, mainly when take in account that some of species, such as Orcas are not only too small, but very barren and depressing, and while other similar animals, like elephants had they husbandry improved in the last years, the same can't be said about cetaceans.

Kind of looking forward to Brookfield habitat, might be a step for a better future for captive dolphins.

 

[birdsandbats]

Not wanting to sound rude or anything, but I thought you said that ungulates were "saved" for after your road trip. did something change?

In regard of the view on captive cetaceans, i have the exact same feelings regard of them as ya, as i feel that most exhibit's for cetaceans are far to small, mainly when take in account that some of species, such as Orcas are not only too small, but very barren and depressing, and while other similar animals, like elephants had they husbandry improved in the last years, the same can't be said about cetaceans.

Kind of looking forward to Brookfield habitat, might be a step for a better future for captive dolphins.

Cetaceans may or may not be ungulates depending upon which taxonomic scheme you follow.

 

[Utahraptor]

Cetaceans may or may not be ungulates depending upon which taxonomic scheme you follow.

May i ask then, but what would cetaceans be, if not artyodactylus?

I know for one that molecular evidences show that they are likely withn the group, but what those other schemes propose?

 

[15399]

The best bottlenose dolphin exhibit I've seen is at EPCOT at Walt Disney World. I don't know what the square footage or water volume is, but its at least 2 stories tall, and is basically a giant tropical reef tank. Going off of my admittedly limited knowledge, I think this is the most inherently enrichment-filled exhibit for cetaceans I've ever seen. I'm on mobile rn, so I can't add images but I'm sure they exist on the zoochat gallery

EPCOT is the only place I've seen bottlenose dolphins, and I was not impressed with the exhibit. It's an extremely basic set-up, with basically nothing but a big empty pool. While zoos will never be able to give cetaceans (or elephants, or wildebeests, or box turtles...) the amount of space they'd use in the wild, what zoos are able to do is account for spatial limitations with an increase in exhibit complexity, something which the exhibit at EPCOT fails to do.

 

[birdsandbats]

May i ask then, but what would cetaceans be, if not artyodactylus?

I know for one that molecular evidences show that they are likely withn the group, but what those other schemes propose?

Not everyone thinks taxonomy needs to be monophyletic. Cetacea is still alive according to many.

 

[BlobfishBoy]

The best bottlenose dolphin exhibit I've seen is at EPCOT at Walt Disney World. I don't know what the square footage or water volume is, but its at least 2 stories tall, and is basically a giant tropical reef tank. Going off of my admittedly limited knowledge, I think this is the most inherently enrichment-filled exhibit for cetaceans I've ever seen. I'm on mobile rn, so I can't add images but I'm sure they exist on the zoochat gallery

From what I know the Epcot dolphins don’t enter the main tank area often due to them harassing the fish.

 

[toastrgophr]

From what I know the Epcot dolphins don’t enter the main tank area often due to them harassing the fish.

huh, I did not know that
full disclosure, the last time I was at EPCOT was in 2016 when I was 11 (oh god, 2016 being 8 years ago makes me feel old, which should not be possible for someone who is about to turn 19)

so I guess my knowledge of how fantastic the exhibits at DAK are (both from memory and people talking about them here) filled in the gaps of my memory of the dolphin exhibit in a way that was too charitable

 

[toastrgophr]

Not everyone thinks taxonomy needs to be monophyletic. Cetacea is still alive according to many.

From everything I can find, Cetacea is a monophyletic clade, what do you mean?

 

[birdsandbats]

From everything I can find, Cetacea is a monophyletic clade, what do you mean?

In order for Artiodactyla to be monophyletic, it must include Cetacea.

 

[evilmonkey239]

Not wanting to sound rude or anything, but I thought you said that ungulates were "saved" for after your road trip. did something change?

In regard of the view on captive cetaceans, i have the exact same feelings regard of them as ya, as i feel that most exhibit's for cetaceans are far to small, mainly when take in account that some of species, such as Orcas are not only too small, but very barren and depressing, and while other similar animals, like elephants had they husbandry improved in the last years, the same can't be said about cetaceans.

Kind of looking forward to Brookfield habitat, might be a step for a better future for captive dolphins.

I think it’s a reasonable assumption that although yes, cetaceans are even-toed ungulates in cladistic terms, Snowleopard is listing them separately for fairly obvious reasons, even if it’s taxonomically inconsistent.

 

[snowleopard]

After yesterday's post about Common Bottlenose Dolphins, I'll finish off cetaceans in one swoop with today's post. I know that it's been a little wobbly in terms of taxonomic consistency this week in a couple of moments, but I figure I've been pounding out these daily posts for 7 months now and I'm due a little grace.

One big surprise is that when I leave for my August 1st to August 23rd Snowleopard Road Trip, I won't be alone. I wasn't even planning to embark on a zoo trek this summer, but @twilighter (Konstantin Yordanov) came up with the idea and asked me a few months ago. He's a Bulgarian zoo nerd living in Norway and we met up in Sweden in 2022 to visit a couple of zoos together. Konstantin and I have stayed in touch ever since and via hundreds of WhatsApp messages and at least a half-dozen 'Zoom' meetings we've planned out our big trip. Other than the first day (when I'm by myself visiting some small zoos) and the last day (when Konstantin will be by himself), the middle 21 days we are together the entire time. We will likely also meet a couple of other zoo nerds for visits along the way. All the nights in motels will be a 50% savings for each of us due to teaming up on this trip. Plus, we get along really well and both of us are major zoo nerds, huge movie buffs, and also massive soccer/football fans. We are going to have a blast!

Now back to cetaceans...and for the benefit of the 'taxonomic police':

From the family Monodontidae, I've seen Beluga Whales at 7 zoos.

From the family Delphinidae, I've seen Common Bottlenose Dolphins at 13 zoos, Killer Whales at 3 zoos, Pacific White-sided Dolphins at 3 zoos, Commerson's Dolphins at 1 zoo, a False Killer Whale at 1 zoo and Short-finned Pilot Whales at 1 zoo.

From the family Iniidae, I've seen an Amazon River Dolphin at 1 zoo.

From the family Phocoenindae, I've seen Harbour Porpoises at 3 zoos.

Cetaceans: 9 species

Common Bottlenose Dolphin – 13 zoos
Beluga Whale – 7 zoos
Harbour Porpoise – 3 zoos
Killer Whale – 3 zoos
Pacific White-sided Dolphin – 3 zoos
Amazon River Dolphin – 1 zoo
Commerson’s Dolphin – 1 zoo
False Killer Whale – 1 zoo
Short-finned Pilot Whale – 1 zoo

I've seen Beluga Whales at 7 zoos:

1- Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) – Beluga Whale – 1986
2- Point Defiance Zoo (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2005
3- SeaWorld San Diego (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2006
4- Shedd Aquarium (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2008
5- Georgia Aquarium (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2008
6- Mystic Aquarium (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2012
7- SeaWorld San Antonio (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2015

Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) is a facility that has had a lot of cetaceans over the decades. In fact, 6 out of my 9 cetacean species have been held here at one time or another. At one point there was a total of 5 Beluga Whales in the same pool, which is now home to Steller Sea Lions. Even up until the mysterious deaths of the last Belugas in 2016, the aquarium had plans for a large-scale Arctic complex that would be 2.5 times larger than the existing whale pool, but it all crashed down into nothing and now the aquarium will never again showcase cetaceans to the public.

The very first time I ever visited Point Defiance Zoo (USA) I saw Beluga Whales, but they didn't last much longer as this exhibit has been home to Harbour Seals and California Sea Lions ever since.

You can see a Beluga Whale in this photo from SeaWorld San Diego (USA), in the heavily themed Wild Arctic complex. That's a lot of fake snow and ice!

@DelacoursLangur

The Beluga Whale pool at Shedd Aquarium (USA) is entirely indoors within the bowels of the vast Oceanarium. The facility has done well with Belugas over the years and there's been a recent birth, but is the exhibit really large enough for the pod? I'm not sure that it is.

Georgia Aquarium (USA) also has an all-indoor Beluga Whale exhibit and both Shedd and Georgia are hugely popular aquariums that each receive approximately 2 million annual visitors. The whales are a big draw and at Georgia they can be seen in the Coldwater Quest zone and also via the Oceans Ballroom area.

@geomorph

My favourite Beluga Whale exhibit is the one at Mystic Aquarium (USA), with a 750,000-gallon pool, a cave viewing area, a green backdrop and a long series of underwater viewing windows (just out of sight of my photo).

Contrast the naturalistic appearance at Mystic with my image of the Beluga Whale exhibit at SeaWorld San Antonio (USA). The glitz and glamour of SeaWorld!

I've seen Harbour Porpoises at 3 zoos:

1- Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) – Harbour Porpoise – 2011
2- Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands) – Harbour Porpoise – 2019
3- Fjord & Baelt (Denmark) – Harbour Porpoise – 2022

From 2008 to 2017, Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) had (at times) the only Harbour Porpoise on display in a North American facility, although for years it was only a behind-the-scenes animal. 'Daisy' was a rescued porpoise who was often kept alone, but did spend some time in with the Beluga Whales and that was always interesting to see. 'Jack' was another Harbor Porpoise at the Vancouver Aquarium and he lived there from 2011 to 2016.

I saw a Harbour Porpoise at Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands) in a quiet area of the park. It's interesting to note the line of rocks on the cement pull-out area.

My third time seeing Harbour Porpoises was at Fjord & Baelt (Denmark), a facility that has done a lot of research with the species.

I've seen Killer Whales at 3 zoos:

1- Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) – Killer Whale – 1986
2- SeaWorld San Diego (USA) – Killer Whale – 2006
3- SeaWorld San Antonio (USA) – Killer Whale – 2015

Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) had Killer Whales in a tank that would be cringeworthy today and for years that same bucket of water has held a few Harbour Seals and that's it. Back in 1986 when I first visited the aquarium as an 11 year-old, seeing the Killer Whales leap out of the water was a fantastic experience. I was awestruck by the size of the animals. Now, as an adult, of course my perspective has shifted and I cannot imagine just how stressed those huge, powerful mammals were swimming around and around in that tiny cement tank for years.

* I found this image via Google (it's an old postcard)

Even the huge SeaWorld San Diego (USA) Killer Whale tank is nowhere near large enough to accommodate the needs of these magnificent creatures.

@geomorph

SeaWorld San Antonio (USA) also has a large tank and has held Killer Whales for years. I recall sagging dorsal fins on some of the whales I've seen in captivity, illustrated in this photo.

@Megakillerwhale

I've seen Pacific White-sided Dolphins at 3 zoos:

1- Shedd Aquarium (USA) - Pacific White-sided Dolphin - 2008
2- Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) - Pacific White-sided Dolphin - 2011
3- SeaWorld San Antonio (USA) - Pacific White-sided Dolphin - 2015

Shedd Aquarium (USA) has had Pacific White-sided Dolphins for years and here's a superb shot of two of them:

@Moebelle

Pacific White-sided Dolphins taking part in a show at Vancouver Aquarium (Canada):

More diving Pacific White-sided Dolphins, this time at SeaWorld San Antonio (USA):

@Elephantlover

I have seen 4 cetaceans just once each, at 4 different facilities. None is more memorable and iconic as 'Baby', an Amazon River Dolphin that lived at Duisburg Zoo (Germany) from 1975 to late 2020. It was a wonderful visit for me in 2019, sitting on a bench and marveling at a species that I will probably never see again.

@Noodles

Here is my solitary image of two Commerson's Dolphins, swimming upside down inside their tank in the Journey to Atlantis section of SeaWorld San Diego (USA) in 2006. There is something remarkable about seeing mammals with black-and-white markings, whether it is zebras, these dolphins, skunks, Malayan Tapirs or Giant Pandas. Really cool.

Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) had a False Killer Whale named 'Chester' from 2014 to 2017 and he was a joy to watch. Unfortunately, between 2016 and 2017 the aquarium had a horrible run of luck that saw the deaths of the remaining False Killer Whale, Harbour Porpoise and Beluga Whales.

@bubblywums

SeaWorld San Diego (USA) has had trained Short-finned Pilot Whales for probably 20 years. Seeing them dive out of the water during shows is quite stunning, although I'm not so sure that many zoo nerds would approve of this sort of 'trick' behaviour:

@Moebelle

Non-primate or carnivore mammals:

Asian Elephant - 61 zoos
Giant Anteater - 57 zoos
African Elephant - 53 zoos
Tree Kangaroos - 33 zoos (2 species: 24 zoos with Matschie's, 9 Goodfellow's)
Virginia Opossum - 26 zoos
Koala - 25 zoos
Short-beaked Echidna - 22 zoos
Tamandua - 21 zoos
Wombats - 18 zoos (2 species: Common, Southern Hairy-nosed)
Aardvark - 15 zoos
Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 13 zoos
Tasmanian Devil - 10 zoos
Beluga Whale - 7 zoos
Platypus - 5 zoos
Cuscuses - 4 zoos (3 species: 2 zoos with Spotted, 1 Ground, 1 Sulawesi Bear)
Harbour Porpoise - 3 zoos
Killer Whale - 3 zoos
Pacific White-sided Dolphin - 3 zoos
Gray Short-tailed Opossum - 2 zoos
Murine Mouse Opossum - 2 zoos
Amazon River Dolphin - 1 zoo
Commerson's Dolphin - 1 zoo
Common Brushtail Possum - 1 zoo
Common Ringtail Possum - 1 zoo
False Killer Whale - 1 zoo
Peruvian Dwarf Opossum - 1 zoo
Short-finned Pilot Whale - 1 zoo
Striped Possum - 1 zoo

* On the top of page 60, I have my final lists for Carnivora (130 species) and Primates (141 species) = 271 species at the 551 different zoos/aquariums I've visited.

 

[BlobfishBoy]

Amazon river dolphins have an interesting zoo history with over 100 being imported into the US and barely any surviving for an extended period of time. It was eventually determined to be caused by their need for shallow water for proper sleep.

Perhaps if we knew this information much earlier we may still have a population going. Their less social nature compared to their oceanic counterparts and appreciation for shallow instead of deep water may have made them more suited for captivity than many other cetacean species. You’re lucky to have seen one!

 

[birdsandbats]

After yesterday's post about Common Bottlenose Dolphins, I'll finish off cetaceans in one swoop with today's post. I know that it's been a little wobbly in terms of taxonomic consistency this week in a couple of moments, but I figure I've been pounding out these daily posts for 7 months now and I'm due a little grace.

One big surprise is that when I leave for my August 1st to August 23rd Snowleopard Road Trip, I won't be alone. I wasn't even planning to embark on a zoo trek this summer, but @twilighter (Konstantin Yordanov) came up with the idea and asked me a few months ago. He's a Bulgarian zoo nerd living in Norway and we met up in Sweden in 2022 to visit a couple of zoos together. Konstantin and I have stayed in touch ever since and via hundreds of WhatsApp messages and at least a half-dozen 'Zoom' meetings we've planned out our big trip. Other than the first day (when I'm by myself visiting some small zoos) and the last day (when Konstantin will be by himself), the middle 21 days we are together the entire time. We will likely also meet a couple of other zoo nerds for visits along the way. All the nights in motels will be a 50% savings for each of us due to teaming up on this trip. Plus, we get along really well and both of us are major zoo nerds, huge movie buffs, and also massive soccer/football fans. We are going to have a blast!

Now back to cetaceans...and for the benefit of the 'taxonomic police':

From the family Monodontidae, I've seen Beluga Whales at 7 zoos.

From the family Delphinidae, I've seen Common Bottlenose Dolphins at 13 zoos, Killer Whales at 3 zoos, Pacific White-sided Dolphins at 3 zoos, Commerson's Dolphins at 1 zoo, a False Killer Whale at 1 zoo and Short-finned Pilot Whales at 1 zoo.

From the family Iniidae, I've seen an Amazon River Dolphin at 1 zoo.

From the family Phocoenindae, I've seen Harbour Porpoises at 3 zoos.

Cetaceans: 9 species

Common Bottlenose Dolphin – 13 zoos
Beluga Whale – 7 zoos
Harbour Porpoise – 3 zoos
Killer Whale – 3 zoos
Pacific White-sided Dolphin – 3 zoos
Amazon River Dolphin – 1 zoo
Commerson’s Dolphin – 1 zoo
False Killer Whale – 1 zoo
Short-finned Pilot Whale – 1 zoo

I've seen Beluga Whales at 7 zoos:

1- Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) – Beluga Whale – 1986
2- Point Defiance Zoo (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2005
3- SeaWorld San Diego (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2006
4- Shedd Aquarium (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2008
5- Georgia Aquarium (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2008
6- Mystic Aquarium (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2012
7- SeaWorld San Antonio (USA) – Beluga Whale – 2015

Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) is a facility that has had a lot of cetaceans over the decades. In fact, 6 out of my 9 cetacean species have been held here at one time or another. At one point there was a total of 5 Beluga Whales in the same pool, which is now home to Steller Sea Lions. Even up until the mysterious deaths of the last Belugas in 2016, the aquarium had plans for a large-scale Arctic complex that would be 2.5 times larger than the existing whale pool, but it all crashed down into nothing and now the aquarium will never again showcase cetaceans to the public.

The very first time I ever visited Point Defiance Zoo (USA) I saw Beluga Whales, but they didn't last much longer as this exhibit has been home to Harbour Seals and California Sea Lions ever since.

You can see a Beluga Whale in this photo from SeaWorld San Diego (USA), in the heavily themed Wild Arctic complex. That's a lot of fake snow and ice!

@DelacoursLangur

The Beluga Whale pool at Shedd Aquarium (USA) is entirely indoors within the bowels of the vast Oceanarium. The facility has done well with Belugas over the years and there's been a recent birth, but is the exhibit really large enough for the pod? I'm not sure that it is.

Georgia Aquarium (USA) also has an all-indoor Beluga Whale exhibit and both Shedd and Georgia are hugely popular aquariums that each receive approximately 2 million annual visitors. The whales are a big draw and at Georgia they can be seen in the Coldwater Quest zone and also via the Oceans Ballroom area.

@geomorph

My favourite Beluga Whale exhibit is the one at Mystic Aquarium (USA), with a 750,000-gallon pool, a cave viewing area, a green backdrop and a long series of underwater viewing windows (just out of sight of my photo).

Contrast the naturalistic appearance at Mystic with my image of the Beluga Whale exhibit at SeaWorld San Antonio (USA). The glitz and glamour of SeaWorld!

I've seen Harbour Porpoises at 3 zoos:

1- Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) – Harbour Porpoise – 2011
2- Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands) – Harbour Porpoise – 2019
3- Fjord & Baelt (Denmark) – Harbour Porpoise – 2022

From 2008 to 2017, Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) had (at times) the only Harbour Porpoise on display in a North American facility, although for years it was only a behind-the-scenes animal. 'Daisy' was a rescued porpoise who was often kept alone, but did spend some time in with the Beluga Whales and that was always interesting to see. 'Jack' was another Harbor Porpoise at the Vancouver Aquarium and he lived there from 2011 to 2016.

I saw a Harbour Porpoise at Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands) in a quiet area of the park. It's interesting to note the line of rocks on the cement pull-out area.

My third time seeing Harbour Porpoises was at Fjord & Baelt (Denmark), a facility that has done a lot of research with the species.

I've seen Killer Whales at 3 zoos:

1- Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) – Killer Whale – 1986
2- SeaWorld San Diego (USA) – Killer Whale – 2006
3- SeaWorld San Antonio (USA) – Killer Whale – 2015

Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) had Killer Whales in a tank that would be cringeworthy today and for years that same bucket of water has held a few Harbour Seals and that's it. Back in 1986 when I first visited the aquarium as an 11 year-old, seeing the Killer Whales leap out of the water was a fantastic experience. I was awestruck by the size of the animals. Now, as an adult, of course my perspective has shifted and I cannot imagine just how stressed those huge, powerful mammals were swimming around and around in that tiny cement tank for years.

* I found this image via Google (it's an old postcard)

Even the huge SeaWorld San Diego (USA) Killer Whale tank is nowhere near large enough to accommodate the needs of these magnificent creatures.

@geomorph

SeaWorld San Antonio (USA) also has a large tank and has held Killer Whales for years. I recall sagging dorsal fins on some of the whales I've seen in captivity, illustrated in this photo.

@Megakillerwhale

I've seen Pacific White-sided Dolphins at 3 zoos:

1- Shedd Aquarium (USA) - Pacific White-sided Dolphin - 2008
2- Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) - Pacific White-sided Dolphin - 2011
3- SeaWorld San Antonio (USA) - Pacific White-sided Dolphin - 2015

Shedd Aquarium (USA) has had Pacific White-sided Dolphins for years and here's a superb shot of two of them:

@Moebelle

Pacific White-sided Dolphins taking part in a show at Vancouver Aquarium (Canada):

More diving Pacific White-sided Dolphins, this time at SeaWorld San Antonio (USA):

@Elephantlover

I have seen 4 cetaceans just once each, at 4 different facilities. None is more memorable and iconic as 'Baby', an Amazon River Dolphin that lived at Duisburg Zoo (Germany) from 1975 to late 2020. It was a wonderful visit for me in 2019, sitting on a bench and marveling at a species that I will probably never see again.

@Noodles

Here is my solitary image of two Commerson's Dolphins, swimming upside down inside their tank in the Journey to Atlantis section of SeaWorld San Diego (USA) in 2006. There is something remarkable about seeing mammals with black-and-white markings, whether it is zebras, these dolphins, skunks, Malayan Tapirs or Giant Pandas. Really cool.

Vancouver Aquarium (Canada) had a False Killer Whale named 'Chester' from 2014 to 2017 and he was a joy to watch. Unfortunately, between 2016 and 2017 the aquarium had a horrible run of luck that saw the deaths of the remaining False Killer Whale, Harbour Porpoise and Beluga Whales.

@bubblywums

SeaWorld San Diego (USA) has had trained Short-finned Pilot Whales for probably 20 years. Seeing them dive out of the water during shows is quite stunning, although I'm not so sure that many zoo nerds would approve of this sort of 'trick' behaviour:

@Moebelle

Non-primate or carnivore mammals:

Asian Elephant - 61 zoos
Giant Anteater - 57 zoos
African Elephant - 53 zoos
Tree Kangaroos - 33 zoos (2 species: 24 zoos with Matschie's, 9 Goodfellow's)
Virginia Opossum - 26 zoos
Koala - 25 zoos
Short-beaked Echidna - 22 zoos
Tamandua - 21 zoos
Wombats - 18 zoos (2 species: Common, Southern Hairy-nosed)
Aardvark - 15 zoos
Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 13 zoos
Tasmanian Devil - 10 zoos
Beluga Whale - 7 zoos
Platypus - 5 zoos
Cuscuses - 4 zoos (3 species: 2 zoos with Spotted, 1 Ground, 1 Sulawesi Bear)
Harbour Porpoise - 3 zoos
Killer Whale - 3 zoos
Pacific White-sided Dolphin - 3 zoos
Gray Short-tailed Opossum - 2 zoos
Murine Mouse Opossum - 2 zoos
Amazon River Dolphin - 1 zoo
Commerson's Dolphin - 1 zoo
Common Brushtail Possum - 1 zoo
Common Ringtail Possum - 1 zoo
False Killer Whale - 1 zoo
Peruvian Dwarf Opossum - 1 zoo
Short-finned Pilot Whale - 1 zoo
Striped Possum - 1 zoo

* On the top of page 60, I have my final lists for Carnivora (130 species) and Primates (141 species) = 271 species at the 551 different zoos/aquariums I've visited.

While the infamous disgrace of a "documentary" known as Blackfish famously claimed the sagging dorsal fins of Orcs are caused by stress, we aren't entirely sure of the cause of this phenomenon, which is observed in the wild. It's probably genetic.

 

[Wisp O' Mist]

While the infamous disgrace of a "documentary" known as Blackfish famously claimed the sagging dorsal fins of Orcs are caused by stress, we aren't entirely sure of the cause of this phenomenon, which is observed in the wild. It's probably genetic.

Correct. The (in)famous duo Port and Starboard both have collapsed dorsal fins.

Port and Starboard (orcas) - Wikipedia

 

[snowleopard]

Sticking with aquatic mammals now that I'm done with cetaceans, and inching ever closer to departing Canada for a big zoo trip with @twilighter, I will take a look at West Indian Manatees today, which I've seen at 9 zoos. There are two subspecies (Florida and Antillean) and it's very rare to come across them in captivity. When I have seen manatees, they've been big blobs munching on lettuce and yet they are somehow more dynamic than Harbour Seals and that's probably due to their large size.

1- SeaWorld San Diego (USA) – West Indian Manatee – 2006
2- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – West Indian Manatee – 2008
3- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – West Indian Manatee – 2008
4- Dallas World Aquarium (USA) – West Indian Manatee – 2010
5- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – West Indian Manatee – 2012
6- Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) – West Indian Manatee – 2019
7- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – West Indian Manatee – 2019
8- Randers Regnskov (Denmark) – West Indian Manatee – 2022
9- Odense Zoo (Denmark) – West Indian Manatee – 2022

SeaWorld San Diego (USA) had West Indian Manatees in 2006, before closing down their Manatee Rescue exhibit in 2010. The ZooChat gallery has only two photos of the manatees at this establishment.

@Zoogoer2000

I then saw West Indian Manatees at a pair of Ohio zoos in the summer of 2008. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) has it's indoor Manatee Coast complex that has been around for 25 years.

All 3 photos via @Moebelle

Only an hour and a half away is Manatee Springs at Cincinnati Zoo (USA), which is quite extraordinary as one can travel great distances all across America and not see hardly a single captive West Indian Manatee outside of Florida.

Dallas World Aquarium (USA), the home of rarities galore, has had West Indian Manatees for many years. There's not only manatees in this tank, but in the past there has also been Arrau Side-necked Turtles, at least 7 Arapaima at one time, Pacu, Red-tailed Catfish, Fork-snouted Catfish, Shovel-nosed Catfish, Black-banded Leporinus and Polka-dot Stingray.

@geomorph

My overhead image shows that the tank is actually in a river-like pattern, but it's quite narrow in places and my feeling is that Dallas World Aquarium crams a lot of aquatic species into a space that is probably not ideal in comparison to other manatee zoo exhibits. Primates inhabit the central island.

I prefer the outdoor boardwalk and larger space for West Indian Manatees at ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA). Floating lettuce, a rusty old shack, a swamp-like odour in the air...all perfectly suited for manatees. These three photos represent what I saw back in 2012:

I went 7 long years without seeing any manatees at all, other than a repeat visit to Dallas World Aquarium in 2015. Then I headed off to Europe and during my visit to Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) I saw the brilliant Mangrove dome that opened in 2017. It's apparently the largest indoor mangrove structure in the world. I saw three West Indian Manatees, including a youngster, in a spacious pool, many butterflies in all directions, a few birds and at least one species of lizard, and the other main inhabitants are a lot of Mudplane Crabs and Fiddler Crabs. Seeing the public gathered around, pointing out crabs to each other and being thoughtfully engaged with the ecosystem presented in front of them, was a rewarding experience.

@KevinB

@Mr Gharial

A couple of days later, at Berlin Tierpark (Germany), I walked through the cavernous Pachyderm House and there was a pool for West Indian Manatees there. Small, boring, sterile, full of straight lines, etc. Would it have already been demolished now that a substantial amount of work has been done on this building?

@LaughingDove

I then saw West Indian Manatees at two Danish zoos in one day while on a Scandinavian zoo trip. Randers Regnskov (Denmark) has a huge South American Dome that has a manatee exhibit as its centrepiece attraction. There's a lot of plants around the pool and it's a very attractive exhibit. The manatees share their space with Arapaima, Red-tailed Catfish and other species, which is always wonderful to see.

These Danish zoos really pack their tanks with a variety of species alongside the West Indian Manatees. Odense Zoo (Denmark) opened its massive Oceanium building in 2001 and it's one of the most expensive projects in Danish zoo history. There's a spacious South American aviary outdoors, a Capybara enclosure, then visitors go through two buildings that are connected via a tunnel. One is a frigid, icy cold penguin complex and the other is a steamy, hot South American jungle experience. It's quite the contrast!

Non-primate or carnivore mammals:

Asian Elephant - 61 zoos
Giant Anteater - 57 zoos
African Elephant - 53 zoos
Tree Kangaroos - 33 zoos (2 species: 24 zoos with Matschie's, 9 Goodfellow's)
Virginia Opossum - 26 zoos
Koala - 25 zoos
Short-beaked Echidna - 22 zoos
Tamandua - 21 zoos
Wombats - 18 zoos (2 species: Common, Southern Hairy-nosed)
Aardvark - 15 zoos
Common Bottlenose Dolphin - 13 zoos
Tasmanian Devil - 10 zoos
West Indian Manatee - 9 zoos
Beluga Whale - 7 zoos
Platypus - 5 zoos
Cuscuses - 4 zoos (3 species: 2 zoos with Spotted, 1 Ground, 1 Sulawesi Bear)
Harbour Porpoise - 3 zoos
Killer Whale - 3 zoos
Pacific White-sided Dolphin - 3 zoos
Gray Short-tailed Opossum - 2 zoos
Murine Mouse Opossum - 2 zoos
Amazon River Dolphin - 1 zoo
Commerson's Dolphin - 1 zoo
Common Brushtail Possum - 1 zoo
Common Ringtail Possum - 1 zoo
False Killer Whale - 1 zoo
Peruvian Dwarf Opossum - 1 zoo
Short-finned Pilot Whale - 1 zoo
Striped Possum - 1 zoo

* On the top of page 60, I have my final lists for Carnivora (130 species) and Primates (141 species) = 271 species at the 551 different zoos/aquariums I've visited.

 

[Panda_Fan]

Curious to know which of the facilites you've been to didn't have rescues.
Thanks!