Now that I'm done with all the 8 'pig' species I've seen in zoos, it's time to plunge into the family of
Cervidae. I'll begin by lamenting the lack of diversity with muntjacs, as the book
All the Mammals of the World (2023) lists 13 species and yet how many are easily seen in zoos anywhere on the planet? An individual can visit hundreds and hundreds of zoos and yet not see most of the types of muntjac that exist. It's actually remarkable how few different species pop up in zoos all across the continents.
There's also a question of accuracy with zoo signage, as a huge chunk of the muntjacs I've seen have been Reeves's Muntjacs, even though at times the signage in the past has said something like 'Asian Muntjac', 'Indian Muntjac', 'Chinese Muntjac' or various other names for species that are clearly Reeves's. While
@twilighter and I were in Southeast Asia, we saw Southern Red Muntjacs everywhere, often labeled as 'Indian Muntjacs', and some Northern Red Muntjacs. (On a return trip to Khao Kheow Zoo while I was flying back to Canada,
@twilighter also saw a Fea's Muntjac) There were some Northern Red Muntjacs in Southeast Asia at the zoos we visited, based on information from curators working there, as well as the odd Southern Red Muntjac and Northern Red Muntjac in American zoos in the past. Some zoos in Asia don't know if they have Southern or Northern Red Muntjacs as sometimes the signage is inaccurate. It's all a bit vague and I've done the best I can to compile my master list. One thing for sure is that muntjacs are common in captivity, as I surpassed a century of zoos with muntjacs last month.
101 zoos and 3 species (78 Reeves’s, 21 Southern Red, 4 Northern Red - and likely many more) + 2 zoos had 2 species at once
I might have even seen some Roosevelts' Muntjacs, with that name appearing on a few signs here and there, but perhaps the zoos back in the day didn't even know what species they had in their enclosures and I have no definitive way of knowing that I saw Roosevelts'. Some of those zoos likely meant Reeves's and got the name wrong...haha! Perhaps some zoo nerds reading this can privately message me and I can edit if necessary. Let me know what I saw.
These 5 trips had a lot of muntjac sightings:
2012 = 13 zoos (USA)
2014 = 13 zoos (USA)
2015 = 11 zoos (USA)
2019 = 20 zoos (Western Europe)
2024 = 15 zoos (Southeast Asia)
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 1975
2- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 1996
3- San Francisco Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2006
4- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2006
5- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2006
6- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2008
7- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2008
8- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2008
9- Indianapolis Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2008
10- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2008
11- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2008
12- Zoo Miami (USA) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2008
13- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2010
14-
Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac, Southern Red Muntjac – 2010 (2 species)
15- Akron Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2010
16- Roger Williams Park Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2010
17- Chattanooga Zoo (USA) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2010
18- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2010
19- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2010
20- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2010
21-
Oakland Zoo (USA) – Southern Red Muntjac, Reeves’s Muntjac – 2011 (2 species)
22- Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2011
23- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2011
24- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
25- Erie Zoo (USA) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2012
26- Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
27- Franklin Park Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
28- Brevard Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
29- Palm Beach Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
30- Naples Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
31- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
32- Jackson Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
33- Little Rock Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
34- Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
35- Tautphaus Park Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
36- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2012
37- Bramble Park Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
38- Dakota Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
39- Red River Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
40- Hemker Park & Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
41- Lake Superior Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
42- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
43- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
44- Wisconsin Deer Park (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
45- Peoria Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
46- Henson Robinson Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
47- Lincoln Children’s Zoo - Nebraska (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
48- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
49- Pueblo Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2014
50- Riverside Discovery Center (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2015
51- Frank Buck Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2015
52- Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2015
53- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2015
54- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2015
55- Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2015
56- Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2015
57- Spring River Park & Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2015
58- Alameda Park Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2015
59- Sierra Safari Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2015
60- Sequoia Park Zoo (USA) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2015
61- Monterey Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2017
62- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2017
63- Roscommon Zoo (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2018
64- Creature Conservancy Wildlife Park (USA) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2018
65- Van Blanckendaell Park (Netherlands) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
66- Lille Zoo (France) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
67- Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
68- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
69- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
70- GaiaZOO (Netherlands) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
71- Aachener Zoo (Germany) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
72- Opel Zoo (Germany) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
73- Tierpark Fauna (Germany) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
74- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
75- Krefeld Zoo (Germany) – Taiwanese Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
76- Zoo Veldhoven (Netherlands) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
77- Dierenrijk (Animal Kingdom) (Netherlands) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
78- ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
79- De Paay (Netherlands) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
80- Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
81- Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
82- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
83- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
84- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2019
85- AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park (Denmark) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2022
86- Odense Zoo (Denmark) – Reeves’s Muntjac – 2022
87- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand) – Northern Red Muntjac – 2024
88- Khao Khaow Zoo (Thailand) – Northern Red Muntjac – 2024
89- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – Northern Red Muntjac – 2024
90- Songkhla Zoo (Thailand) – Northern Red Muntjac – 2024
91- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2024
92- Lost World of Tambun (Malaysia) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2024
93- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2024
94- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2024
95- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2024
96- Night Safari (Singapore) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2024
97- Bali Zoo (Indonesia) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2024
98- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2024
99- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2024
100- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2024
101- Ragunan Zoo (Indonesia) – Southern Red Muntjac – 2024
There's been a LOT of mixed-species exhibits involving muntjacs and I'll go with that theme for today's post.
Mesker Park Zoo (USA) had Reeves's Muntjacs, Axis Deer and Przewalski's Horses all together in this spacious paddock in 2010. You can see a small fenced off area that allowed the muntjacs access but not the larger mammals.
Sichuan Takin, Chinese Goral and Reeve's Muntjac exhibit at
Saint Louis Zoo (USA) in 2010:
This admittedly spectacular exhibit at
San Antonio Zoo (USA) held Reeves's Muntjacs, Small-clawed Otters and White-cheeked Gibbons and it was fantastic seeing the interactions between the three species.
Montgomery Zoo (USA) had Reeve's Muntjacs, Axis Deer, Fallow Deer, Sika Deer, Banteng and Sarus Cranes all together in 2010:
Two muntjac species (Reeves's + Southern Red) together with Sika Deer at
Oakland Zoo (USA) in 2011:
What species are these two?
Chattanooga Zoo (USA) in 2012 had these 'Indian' Muntjacs in with Bactrian Camels.
Franklin Park Zoo (USA) had Red Pandas with Reeves's Muntjacs in 2012:
Some establishments, such as
Rosamond Gifford Zoo (USA), had signs saying 'Chinese Muntjacs' on their exhibits. I'm just assuming the animals were Reeves's Muntjacs, but who knows?
This exhibit at
Calgary Zoo (Canada) held Reeves's Muntjacs, Red-necked Wallabies, Emus and Black Swans in 2012:
Oh boy. Here's two 'Muntjacs' at
Hemker Park & Zoo (USA) in 2014. Apparently this exhibit no longer exists, but there were three animals in this tiny cage and I wasn't impressed. Another photo of mine in the gallery reveals a dad, mom and baby muntjac.
In American zoos, Reeves's Muntjacs are often 'stop-gap' animals to fill an exhibit when the regular species dies. There's no way that this cage was designed for muntjacs at
Peoria Zoo (USA) and I'm sure the enclosure holds a different species a decade after my visit.
Tammar Wallabies, Red-necked Wallabies and Reeves's Muntjacs were all together, just as they would be on the grasslands of Australia, at
Lincoln Children's Zoo (USA)
.
Reeves's Muntjacs were together with White-handed Gibbons and Temminck's Tragopans at
Pueblo Zoo (USA) in 2014:
Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch (USA), a naff little roadside zoo, had Reeves's Muntjacs with Red Kangaroos, Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Red-necked Wallabies and Swamp Wallabies. What's with all the macropod/muntjac combos?
Alameda Park Zoo (USA) had Reeves's Muntjacs, African Spurred Tortoises and Ring-tailed Lemurs as one big family in 2015.
Elsewhere in the zoo, Alameda had Reeves's Muntjacs, Guanacos and Rheas together as well!
Red Pandas and 'Indian' Muntjacs were together at
Sequoia Park Zoo (USA) in 2015:
At many zoos, there's a combination of Red Pandas and Reeves's Muntjacs. Here's an example at
Lille Zoo (France):
I like this image of a Reeves's Muntjac at
AQUA Aquarium & Wildlife Park (Denmark), even though it's puzzling why the animal would be at a facility that is almost exclusively native Scandinavian species.
Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand) had these guys, labeled as Northern Red Muntjac, and this species is very common in Thai zoos.
Order Artiodactyla:
Antilocapridae: 1 species (30 zoos with Pronghorn)
Camelidae: 2 species (27 zoos with Guanaco, 18 Vicuna)
Cervidae: 3 species
so far - 101 zoos with various Muntjacs (3 species)
Delphinidae: 7 species (15 zoos with Common Bottlenose Dolphin, 3 Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin, 3 Killer Whale, 3 Pacific White-sided Dolphin, 1 Commerson's Dolphin, 1 False Killer Whale, 1 Short-finned Pilot Whale)
Giraffidae: 5 species (175 zoos with Giraffe (4 species), 31 Okapi)
Hippopotamidae: 2 species (65 zoos with Common Hippo, 44 Pygmy Hippo)
Iniidae: 1 species (1 zoo with Amazon River Dolphin)
Monodontidae: 1 species (7 zoos with Beluga Whale)
Phocoenidae: 1 species (3 zoos with Harbour Porpoise)
Suidae: 8 species (65 zoos with Red River Hog, 51 Warthog, 24 Babirusa, 17 Visayan Warty Pig, 17 Wild Boar, 6 Bearded Pig, 3 Javan Warty Pig, 1 Bushpig)
Tayassuidae: 3 species (33 zoos with Collared Peccary, 17 Chacoan, 4 White-lipped)
Tragulidae: 4 species (13 zoos with Lesser Indo-Malayan Chevrotain, 9 Javan, 7 Greater Indo-Malayan, 2 Balabac)