Snowleopard's Mammals: A Lifetime List of Species Mammalian and Non-Mammalian
- Thread starter snowleopard
- Start date
After finishing off detailed posts about Banteng and Gaur, I'm going to do TWO species today. A pair of large, shaggy ungulates will be discussed in this post.
Just as with Asian Water Buffalo, seeing an actual 'wild' Yak in a zoo seems unlikely but then again one never knows! These huge bovines appear to be rather tame and easily handled in zoos and it would be interesting to know if that is truly the case. For example, they lumber around and come across as laid-back animals in the DreamWorks animated movie Abominable (2019). At a number of the zoos on my list, Yak have been seen from a vehicle in a drive-through area and they have often been mixed with various other ungulates.
I enjoy seeing Muskox and I've been fortunate in that several zoos that I've visited on multiple occasions have all had the species, but I'm not sure I've ever seen them in with other ungulates. I've seen Muskox ram into big, hanging tires in zoos, showing a hint of aggression and this species certainly is more active than their Yak peers. There's only around 30 zoos in the world with Muskox at the moment and a quarter of those are found in Russia, a nation that very few zoo nerds venture into.
It's crazy to think that Muskox are almost gone from North American zoos and here's a prime example of a species that has been decimated in zoos over the years. Looking on Zootierliste, there's 4 places in Alaska with Muskox, maybe 3 animals at Point Defiance Zoo and that's it for the United States. A few zoos in Canada sum up the continent in terms of captive Muskox. Wow. At least animal welfare appears to be the main reason for the phase-out of Muskox in zoos, due to the animals struggling with summer heat and humidity at several locations.
I've seen Yak at 26 zoos:
2019 = 6 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Yak – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Yak – 1998
3- Denver Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2006
4- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Yak – 2008
5- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Yak – 2010
6- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2012
7- Tautphaus Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2012
8- Pine Grove Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2014
9- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Yak – 2014
10- Wisconsin Deer Park (USA) – Yak – 2014
11- Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) – Yak – 2015
12- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Yak – 2015
13- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Yak – 2015
14- Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2015
15- Sequoia Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2015
16- Olympic Game Farm (USA) – Yak – 2016
17- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Yak – 2018
18- Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2018
19- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Yak – 2019
20- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Yak – 2019
21- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Yak – 2019
22- Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands) – Yak – 2019
23- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Yak – 2019
24- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Yak – 2019
25- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Yak – 2022
26- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Yak – 2022
AND...
I've seen Muskox at 16 zoos (the same number as Gaur):
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Muskox – 1975
2- Point Defiance Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2005
3- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2005
4- Denver Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2006
5- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2006
6- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2008
7- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2008
8- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2009
9- Hemker Park & Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2014
10- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2018
11- GaiaZOO (Netherlands) – Muskox – 2019
12- Cologne Zoo (Germany) – Muskox – 2019
13- Krefeld Zoo (Germany) – Muskox – 2019
14- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Muskox – 2019
15- Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Denmark) – Muskox – 2022
16- Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Muskox – 2022
Toronto Zoo (Canada) had at least a couple of paddocks with Yak when I was there in 2008 and this species would probably thrive in the snow and cold of that city.
@TZFan
There's at least SEVEN zoos on my Yak list that all have drive-through sections and obviously Yak are a large, shaggy, noticeable mammal species to have in a drive-through zone. Little kids can be impressed by the size of the animals, and the Yak won't damage anyone's vehicle because they are fairly easygoing creatures. Here's a Yak in the drive-through at Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) in 2015:
There's a large Yak exhibit at the hot, dry Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) in New Mexico:
There's a number of ungulates at Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada), including Yak in this exhibit:
Here's a Yak grazing in a field at a busy Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) in 2019:
@Maguari
Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) is one of a number of German zoos that have exhibits for Yak.
@RonBurrgundy
As for Muskox, Point Defiance Zoo (USA) has been keeping the species for as long as I can remember and they've had breeding success even though the zoo usually only keeps a pair of adults at any one time. They used to have 5 or 6 Muskox at once circa 2010, but I wouldn't be shocked to see this species gone in the future as most other North American zoos have phased out Muskox. To quote The Cranberries, "Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can't We?"
With the Bow River in the background, the Muskox exhibit at Calgary Zoo (Canada) has been in the Canadian Wilds zone since the 1990s. I'm not sure if it was changed in the last couple of years, since the arrival of a Polar Bear exhibit in that part of the zoo.
@animalman0341
When I first visited Minnesota Zoo (USA) in 2008, there was a herd of a dozen Muskox in a gloriously large exhibit on the Northern Trail loop. My photo from that year shows a single Muskox on the edge of the large lake that was a central focus of the enclosure. While the multi-acre habitat was a fantastic space for the species, I do know that the Muskox really struggled with the summer heat and that was a major reason to phase them out of the zoo. They simply cannot cope with the summers at lower latitudes.
There's at least 8 adult Muskox at Minnesota Zoo in this 2015 photo:
@Milwaukee Man
When I regularly visited Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) back around 2010, when these two photos were taken, the zoo had SEVEN Muskox (1.3.3) and a prospering herd as you can see a trio of youngsters in one of the images. This species was one of the highlights of the zoo back then. Within a decade the facility was down to a single Muskox and now the zoo hasn't had the species in several years. I have no idea the reasoning behind the phase-out. Heat issues?
Journey to Churchill at Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) had Muskox when I was there in 2018 in a nice hillside enclosure.
The current Reindeer exhibit was actually part of the Muskox enclosure when I visited GaiaZOO (Netherlands) in 2019. This Dutch zoo cited the heat and humidity as the reasoning why the remaining Muskox were moved to Chomutov Zoo (Czech. Rep.) in 2021.
@KevinB
Here's another glorious example of a European zoo, in this case Cologne Zoo (Germany), having a fantastic looking architectural gem for a holding barn.
A slightly toned down version of the big Cologne house is seen at Krefeld Zoo (Germany) in the Muskox exhibit.
@vogelcommando
I saw a herd of at least 7 Muskox at Berlin Tierpark (Germany) in 2019:
@Jogy
A brisk, chilly Danish winter seems like a great location for some captive Muskox at Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Denmark):
A smaller Muskox exhibit (like everything at this zoo) is to be found at Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark), although it's well-landscaped for the handful of Muskox that are found there.
Family Bovidae: 10 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Bonus species: (kind of like my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
Just as with Asian Water Buffalo, seeing an actual 'wild' Yak in a zoo seems unlikely but then again one never knows! These huge bovines appear to be rather tame and easily handled in zoos and it would be interesting to know if that is truly the case. For example, they lumber around and come across as laid-back animals in the DreamWorks animated movie Abominable (2019). At a number of the zoos on my list, Yak have been seen from a vehicle in a drive-through area and they have often been mixed with various other ungulates.
I enjoy seeing Muskox and I've been fortunate in that several zoos that I've visited on multiple occasions have all had the species, but I'm not sure I've ever seen them in with other ungulates. I've seen Muskox ram into big, hanging tires in zoos, showing a hint of aggression and this species certainly is more active than their Yak peers. There's only around 30 zoos in the world with Muskox at the moment and a quarter of those are found in Russia, a nation that very few zoo nerds venture into.
It's crazy to think that Muskox are almost gone from North American zoos and here's a prime example of a species that has been decimated in zoos over the years. Looking on Zootierliste, there's 4 places in Alaska with Muskox, maybe 3 animals at Point Defiance Zoo and that's it for the United States. A few zoos in Canada sum up the continent in terms of captive Muskox. Wow. At least animal welfare appears to be the main reason for the phase-out of Muskox in zoos, due to the animals struggling with summer heat and humidity at several locations.
I've seen Yak at 26 zoos:
2019 = 6 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Yak – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Yak – 1998
3- Denver Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2006
4- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Yak – 2008
5- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Yak – 2010
6- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2012
7- Tautphaus Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2012
8- Pine Grove Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2014
9- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Yak – 2014
10- Wisconsin Deer Park (USA) – Yak – 2014
11- Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) – Yak – 2015
12- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Yak – 2015
13- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Yak – 2015
14- Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2015
15- Sequoia Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2015
16- Olympic Game Farm (USA) – Yak – 2016
17- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Yak – 2018
18- Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2018
19- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Yak – 2019
20- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Yak – 2019
21- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Yak – 2019
22- Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands) – Yak – 2019
23- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Yak – 2019
24- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Yak – 2019
25- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Yak – 2022
26- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Yak – 2022
AND...
I've seen Muskox at 16 zoos (the same number as Gaur):
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Muskox – 1975
2- Point Defiance Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2005
3- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2005
4- Denver Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2006
5- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2006
6- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2008
7- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2008
8- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2009
9- Hemker Park & Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2014
10- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2018
11- GaiaZOO (Netherlands) – Muskox – 2019
12- Cologne Zoo (Germany) – Muskox – 2019
13- Krefeld Zoo (Germany) – Muskox – 2019
14- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Muskox – 2019
15- Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Denmark) – Muskox – 2022
16- Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Muskox – 2022
Toronto Zoo (Canada) had at least a couple of paddocks with Yak when I was there in 2008 and this species would probably thrive in the snow and cold of that city.
@TZFan
There's at least SEVEN zoos on my Yak list that all have drive-through sections and obviously Yak are a large, shaggy, noticeable mammal species to have in a drive-through zone. Little kids can be impressed by the size of the animals, and the Yak won't damage anyone's vehicle because they are fairly easygoing creatures. Here's a Yak in the drive-through at Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) in 2015:
There's a large Yak exhibit at the hot, dry Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) in New Mexico:
There's a number of ungulates at Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada), including Yak in this exhibit:
Here's a Yak grazing in a field at a busy Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) in 2019:
@Maguari
Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) is one of a number of German zoos that have exhibits for Yak.
@RonBurrgundy
As for Muskox, Point Defiance Zoo (USA) has been keeping the species for as long as I can remember and they've had breeding success even though the zoo usually only keeps a pair of adults at any one time. They used to have 5 or 6 Muskox at once circa 2010, but I wouldn't be shocked to see this species gone in the future as most other North American zoos have phased out Muskox. To quote The Cranberries, "Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can't We?"
With the Bow River in the background, the Muskox exhibit at Calgary Zoo (Canada) has been in the Canadian Wilds zone since the 1990s. I'm not sure if it was changed in the last couple of years, since the arrival of a Polar Bear exhibit in that part of the zoo.
@animalman0341
When I first visited Minnesota Zoo (USA) in 2008, there was a herd of a dozen Muskox in a gloriously large exhibit on the Northern Trail loop. My photo from that year shows a single Muskox on the edge of the large lake that was a central focus of the enclosure. While the multi-acre habitat was a fantastic space for the species, I do know that the Muskox really struggled with the summer heat and that was a major reason to phase them out of the zoo. They simply cannot cope with the summers at lower latitudes.
There's at least 8 adult Muskox at Minnesota Zoo in this 2015 photo:
@Milwaukee Man
When I regularly visited Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) back around 2010, when these two photos were taken, the zoo had SEVEN Muskox (1.3.3) and a prospering herd as you can see a trio of youngsters in one of the images. This species was one of the highlights of the zoo back then. Within a decade the facility was down to a single Muskox and now the zoo hasn't had the species in several years. I have no idea the reasoning behind the phase-out. Heat issues?
Journey to Churchill at Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) had Muskox when I was there in 2018 in a nice hillside enclosure.
The current Reindeer exhibit was actually part of the Muskox enclosure when I visited GaiaZOO (Netherlands) in 2019. This Dutch zoo cited the heat and humidity as the reasoning why the remaining Muskox were moved to Chomutov Zoo (Czech. Rep.) in 2021.
@KevinB
Here's another glorious example of a European zoo, in this case Cologne Zoo (Germany), having a fantastic looking architectural gem for a holding barn.
A slightly toned down version of the big Cologne house is seen at Krefeld Zoo (Germany) in the Muskox exhibit.
@vogelcommando
I saw a herd of at least 7 Muskox at Berlin Tierpark (Germany) in 2019:
@Jogy
A brisk, chilly Danish winter seems like a great location for some captive Muskox at Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Denmark):
A smaller Muskox exhibit (like everything at this zoo) is to be found at Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark), although it's well-landscaped for the handful of Muskox that are found there.
Family Bovidae: 10 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Bonus species: (kind of like my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
Wisp O' Mist
Well-Known Member
I don't believe that there are any wild Yak in captivity, anywhere. A shame, considering the IUCN classes them as Vulnerable.
Domesticated yak are quite a bit shorter and smaller than their wild counterparts. And far more colorful too! Domestic yak often have white patches, which their ancestors not only lack, but is actually the result of cattle introgression! It's still quite common for people to cross yaks with cattle in the modern-day, even. (And believe it or not, yak can hybridize with bison too!)
Another fun fact about domestic yak: All individuals in North America are believe to descend from a paltry ten or so animals! 2.4 gifted to the Canadian government by the 11th Duke of Bedford. 1.1 sent to the Bronx Zoo, and 1.1 sent to the Smithsonian National Zoo.
The North America population of yak has diverged significantly from the population within the species native range that they’re actually considered their own "breed" of sorts!
Which The Livestock Conservancy encourages the preservation of: North American Yak - The Livestock Conservancy
Domestic yaks are pretty docile. And easily handled with some training. In European zoos, they are a classical "filler" species of otherwise empty paddocs in smaller parks but also a staple in some larger zoos. (They seem less widespread than in 20th century and their function now took over by alpacas it seems.)
I thought they would be more used for "restorative grazing" in protected areas in Europe. They are obviously winterhard and very low maintenance. And their low weight makes then more suitable for swampy areas than classical cattle. But so far I know only one local project - they are used (in mix with sheep and goats) in maintenance of orchid meadows in vinicity of Český Les mountains for 30 years by NGO ČSOP Libosváry.
Last edited:
The muskox in Cologne/Köln are now gone. The exhibit space has been used to expand the black rhinoceros enclosure.Here's another glorious example of a European zoo, in this case Cologne Zoo (Germany), having a fantastic looking architectural gem for a holding barn.
Mr.Ivory
Well-Known Member
Their are actually 2.0 Wild yak at Xining Zoo, they were raised by local herders and grow too accustomed to human beings to be released to the wild.
Lori Patton
Well-Known Member
I didn't realize muskoxen are so rare in the United States now. I also saw several at the Oregon Zoo's former Alaska Tundra exhibit back in 2003 and was quite impressed by their size. I don't recall seeing yaks in zoos, but there are ranches in Oregon that raise them for food. Many years ago, I had a yak burger at a restaurant in The Dalles, OR -- it was similar to beef but leaner.After finishing off detailed posts about Banteng and Gaur, I'm going to do TWO species today. A pair of large, shaggy ungulates will be discussed in this post.
Just as with Asian Water Buffalo, seeing an actual 'wild' Yak in a zoo seems unlikely but then again one never knows! These huge bovines appear to be rather tame and easily handled in zoos and it would be interesting to know if that is truly the case. For example, they lumber around and come across as laid-back animals in the DreamWorks animated movie Abominable (2019). At a number of the zoos on my list, Yak have been seen from a vehicle in a drive-through area and they have often been mixed with various other ungulates.
I enjoy seeing Muskox and I've been fortunate in that several zoos that I've visited on multiple occasions have all had the species, but I'm not sure I've ever seen them in with other ungulates. I've seen Muskox ram into big, hanging tires in zoos, showing a hint of aggression and this species certainly is more active than their Yak peers. There's only around 30 zoos in the world with Muskox at the moment and a quarter of those are found in Russia, a nation that very few zoo nerds venture into.
It's crazy to think that Muskox are almost gone from North American zoos and here's a prime example of a species that has been decimated in zoos over the years. Looking on Zootierliste, there's 4 places in Alaska with Muskox, maybe 3 animals at Point Defiance Zoo and that's it for the United States. A few zoos in Canada sum up the continent in terms of captive Muskox. Wow. At least animal welfare appears to be the main reason for the phase-out of Muskox in zoos, due to the animals struggling with summer heat and humidity at several locations.
I've seen Yak at 26 zoos:
2019 = 6 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Yak – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Yak – 1998
3- Denver Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2006
4- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Yak – 2008
5- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Yak – 2010
6- Potter Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2012
7- Tautphaus Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2012
8- Pine Grove Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2014
9- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Yak – 2014
10- Wisconsin Deer Park (USA) – Yak – 2014
11- Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) – Yak – 2015
12- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Yak – 2015
13- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Yak – 2015
14- Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2015
15- Sequoia Park Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2015
16- Olympic Game Farm (USA) – Yak – 2016
17- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Yak – 2018
18- Wilderness Walk Zoo (USA) – Yak – 2018
19- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Yak – 2019
20- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Yak – 2019
21- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Yak – 2019
22- Ouwehands Dierenpark (Netherlands) – Yak – 2019
23- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Yak – 2019
24- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Yak – 2019
25- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Yak – 2022
26- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Yak – 2022
AND...
I've seen Muskox at 16 zoos (the same number as Gaur):
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Muskox – 1975
2- Point Defiance Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2005
3- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2005
4- Denver Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2006
5- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2006
6- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2008
7- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2008
8- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2009
9- Hemker Park & Zoo (USA) – Muskox – 2014
10- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Muskox – 2018
11- GaiaZOO (Netherlands) – Muskox – 2019
12- Cologne Zoo (Germany) – Muskox – 2019
13- Krefeld Zoo (Germany) – Muskox – 2019
14- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Muskox – 2019
15- Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Denmark) – Muskox – 2022
16- Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Muskox – 2022
Toronto Zoo (Canada) had at least a couple of paddocks with Yak when I was there in 2008 and this species would probably thrive in the snow and cold of that city.
@TZFan
There's at least SEVEN zoos on my Yak list that all have drive-through sections and obviously Yak are a large, shaggy, noticeable mammal species to have in a drive-through zone. Little kids can be impressed by the size of the animals, and the Yak won't damage anyone's vehicle because they are fairly easygoing creatures. Here's a Yak in the drive-through at Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) in 2015:
There's a large Yak exhibit at the hot, dry Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) in New Mexico:
There's a number of ungulates at Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada), including Yak in this exhibit:
Here's a Yak grazing in a field at a busy Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) in 2019:
@Maguari
Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) is one of a number of German zoos that have exhibits for Yak.
@RonBurrgundy
As for Muskox, Point Defiance Zoo (USA) has been keeping the species for as long as I can remember and they've had breeding success even though the zoo usually only keeps a pair of adults at any one time. They used to have 5 or 6 Muskox at once circa 2010, but I wouldn't be shocked to see this species gone in the future as most other North American zoos have phased out Muskox. To quote The Cranberries, "Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can't We?"
With the Bow River in the background, the Muskox exhibit at Calgary Zoo (Canada) has been in the Canadian Wilds zone since the 1990s. I'm not sure if it was changed in the last couple of years, since the arrival of a Polar Bear exhibit in that part of the zoo.
@animalman0341
When I first visited Minnesota Zoo (USA) in 2008, there was a herd of a dozen Muskox in a gloriously large exhibit on the Northern Trail loop. My photo from that year shows a single Muskox on the edge of the large lake that was a central focus of the enclosure. While the multi-acre habitat was a fantastic space for the species, I do know that the Muskox really struggled with the summer heat and that was a major reason to phase them out of the zoo. They simply cannot cope with the summers at lower latitudes.
There's at least 8 adult Muskox at Minnesota Zoo in this 2015 photo:
@Milwaukee Man
When I regularly visited Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) back around 2010, when these two photos were taken, the zoo had SEVEN Muskox (1.3.3) and a prospering herd as you can see a trio of youngsters in one of the images. This species was one of the highlights of the zoo back then. Within a decade the facility was down to a single Muskox and now the zoo hasn't had the species in several years. I have no idea the reasoning behind the phase-out. Heat issues?
Journey to Churchill at Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) had Muskox when I was there in 2018 in a nice hillside enclosure.
The current Reindeer exhibit was actually part of the Muskox enclosure when I visited GaiaZOO (Netherlands) in 2019. This Dutch zoo cited the heat and humidity as the reasoning why the remaining Muskox were moved to Chomutov Zoo (Czech. Rep.) in 2021.
@KevinB
Here's another glorious example of a European zoo, in this case Cologne Zoo (Germany), having a fantastic looking architectural gem for a holding barn.
A slightly toned down version of the big Cologne house is seen at Krefeld Zoo (Germany) in the Muskox exhibit.
@vogelcommando
I saw a herd of at least 7 Muskox at Berlin Tierpark (Germany) in 2019:
@Jogy
A brisk, chilly Danish winter seems like a great location for some captive Muskox at Scandinavian Wildlife Park (Denmark):
A smaller Muskox exhibit (like everything at this zoo) is to be found at Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark), although it's well-landscaped for the handful of Muskox that are found there.
Family Bovidae: 10 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Bonus species: (kind of like my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
Since I've been focusing on physically big mammals such as American Bison, Banteng, Gaur, Yak and Muskox, it's time to look at Asia's largest antelope. Nilgai are an imposing sight, especially the 'blue bull' males who are much more striking than the females. This species can weigh hundreds of pounds and is very common in Southeast Asian zoos as I saw 10 zoos with Nilgai just this past summer on my 3-week Asia trek. The two other years when I saw a lot of zoos with Nilgai were in 2019 (Western Europe) and 2015 (loads of non-accredited American zoos in the dry, hot southern states).
Why hasn't the AZA ever been too excited about Asia's largest antelope? I had long road trips in 2008, 2010 and 2012 and hardly saw a single Nilgai in accredited zoos anywhere. Even right now there's at least 40 zoos in North America with Nilgai and only maybe a half-dozen are AZA accredited, even though this is an impressively-sized species that shouldn't be too difficult to maintain in captivity. Would this species show up on Texas hunting ranches with Blackbuck? I imagine that there's loads of Nilgai in the private sector.
I've seen Nilgai at 40 zoos:
2015 = 8 zoos
2019 = 8 zoos
2024 = 10 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Nilgai – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Nilgai – 1998
3- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2006
4- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2008
5- Zoo Miami (USA) – Nilgai – 2008
6- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2010
7- El Paso Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2010
8- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2014
9- Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
10- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
11- Gone Wild Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
12- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
13- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
14- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
15- Exotic Resort Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
16- Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
17- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
18- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
19- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
20- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
21- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
22- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Nilgai – 2019
23- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – 2019
24- Krefeld Zoo (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
25- Dierenrijk (Animal Kingdom) (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
26- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
27- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
28- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
29- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Nilgai – 2022
30- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2023
31- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
32- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
33- Songkhla Zoo (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
34- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Nilgai – 2024
35- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – Nilgai – 2024
36- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
37- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
38- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
39- Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
40- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) has showcased Nilgai for decades, although can anyone see them these days or are they exclusively in the Asian Savanna area that costs an extra fee?
Nilgai are a perfect species for the Bronx Zoo's (USA) Wild Asia monorail ride, due to the large, forested paddocks that are in that section of the zoo.
@red river hog
Wildlife Safari (USA) has maintained Nilgai for years, often found with Blackbuck and several other species in the drive-through portion of the park.
Nilgai were at El Paso Zoo (USA) when I toured that facility in 2010.
I saw two Nilgai exhibits at Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) in 2014:
Timbavati even had a young Nilgai that visitors could pet in a third area:
Another zoo where visitors can feed and pet a Nilgai is Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA):
@cubsmaster
At Special Memories Zoo (USA), a facility that's thankfully closed down now, Nilgai had a tiny yard with a domestic cow plastic barn as a shelter.
Blackbuck and Nilgai have been kept together at Dortmund Zoo (Germany):
@ralph
Hog Deer are combined with Nilgai in one of the dozens of massive ungulate paddocks at Berlin Tierpark (Germany):
@SivatheriumGuy
I saw Nilgai with Sarus Cranes at Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) last year.
Both Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) and Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand), completely separate zoos, have Nilgai exhibits. Here's the one at Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand):
And the Nilgai enclosure at Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand):
There's a spacious paddock and a trio of Nilgai statues at Songkhla Zoo (Thailand). Is there another zoo in the world with statues of Nilgai? Super cool!
Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) has a whole row of hoofstock exhibits, including one or two for Nilgai, and all fairly small by modern standards:
Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) has two exhibits with Nilgai and the little white markings on this bull's legs are standard for the species.
Family Bovidae: 11 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Bonus species: (kind of like my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
Why hasn't the AZA ever been too excited about Asia's largest antelope? I had long road trips in 2008, 2010 and 2012 and hardly saw a single Nilgai in accredited zoos anywhere. Even right now there's at least 40 zoos in North America with Nilgai and only maybe a half-dozen are AZA accredited, even though this is an impressively-sized species that shouldn't be too difficult to maintain in captivity. Would this species show up on Texas hunting ranches with Blackbuck? I imagine that there's loads of Nilgai in the private sector.
I've seen Nilgai at 40 zoos:
2015 = 8 zoos
2019 = 8 zoos
2024 = 10 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Nilgai – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Nilgai – 1998
3- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2006
4- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2008
5- Zoo Miami (USA) – Nilgai – 2008
6- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2010
7- El Paso Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2010
8- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2014
9- Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
10- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
11- Gone Wild Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
12- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
13- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
14- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
15- Exotic Resort Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
16- Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
17- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
18- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
19- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
20- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
21- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
22- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Nilgai – 2019
23- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – 2019
24- Krefeld Zoo (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
25- Dierenrijk (Animal Kingdom) (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
26- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
27- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
28- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
29- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Nilgai – 2022
30- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2023
31- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
32- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
33- Songkhla Zoo (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
34- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Nilgai – 2024
35- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – Nilgai – 2024
36- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
37- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
38- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
39- Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
40- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) has showcased Nilgai for decades, although can anyone see them these days or are they exclusively in the Asian Savanna area that costs an extra fee?
Nilgai are a perfect species for the Bronx Zoo's (USA) Wild Asia monorail ride, due to the large, forested paddocks that are in that section of the zoo.
@red river hog
Wildlife Safari (USA) has maintained Nilgai for years, often found with Blackbuck and several other species in the drive-through portion of the park.
Nilgai were at El Paso Zoo (USA) when I toured that facility in 2010.
I saw two Nilgai exhibits at Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) in 2014:
Timbavati even had a young Nilgai that visitors could pet in a third area:
Another zoo where visitors can feed and pet a Nilgai is Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA):
@cubsmaster
At Special Memories Zoo (USA), a facility that's thankfully closed down now, Nilgai had a tiny yard with a domestic cow plastic barn as a shelter.
Blackbuck and Nilgai have been kept together at Dortmund Zoo (Germany):
@ralph
Hog Deer are combined with Nilgai in one of the dozens of massive ungulate paddocks at Berlin Tierpark (Germany):
@SivatheriumGuy
I saw Nilgai with Sarus Cranes at Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) last year.
Both Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) and Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand), completely separate zoos, have Nilgai exhibits. Here's the one at Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand):
And the Nilgai enclosure at Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand):
There's a spacious paddock and a trio of Nilgai statues at Songkhla Zoo (Thailand). Is there another zoo in the world with statues of Nilgai? Super cool!
Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) has a whole row of hoofstock exhibits, including one or two for Nilgai, and all fairly small by modern standards:
Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) has two exhibits with Nilgai and the little white markings on this bull's legs are standard for the species.
Family Bovidae: 11 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Bonus species: (kind of like my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
As you've guessed, Nilgai are ridiculously common in the private sector and obviously are abundant in non-AZA zoos. They're so common in private hands in fact that individuals escaped from Texas hunting ranches have become a major invasive species in Texas. The population in that state these days exceeds the wild population of the species in India, and there's huge concern that they could cross the Rio Grande and take over the Neotropics.
EDIT: Just checked the iNat map and there are already sightings on the species on the Mexican side.
EDIT: Just checked the iNat map and there are already sightings on the species on the Mexican side.
Last edited:
Wisp O' Mist
Well-Known Member
Yep, they been present on Texas ranches since the 1920's or 1930's. They're actually an invasive species in South Texas!
Nilgai Hunting: An Economic Cornerstone of South Texas | Blood Origins
Escaped Exotics Animals are Changing the Texas Landscape
Last edited:
biggest_dreamer
Well-Known Member
Gaur is perhaps the #1 species I wasn't prepared for how big and impressive they'd be in real life. I imagine most of us zoo nerds feel like we have a pretty good sense of scale for species we haven't seen, and while I knew gaur are big, I still was stunned when I got to see them in person. Pictures do them no justice.
Yak x cow hybrids are extremely commonly bred in Tibet. Yaks in the West might turn to be hybrids, too.
Bantengs, yaks, gaurs and water buffalo are all calmer than Western or taurine cattle. Strangely, the most successful domesticated cattle is actually the most temperamental one. I even wonder if zoos could replace cows in their zoo farms with relatively small and endangered bantengs?
Bantengs, yaks, gaurs and water buffalo are all calmer than Western or taurine cattle. Strangely, the most successful domesticated cattle is actually the most temperamental one. I even wonder if zoos could replace cows in their zoo farms with relatively small and endangered bantengs?
Wisp O' Mist
Well-Known Member
They already are.
Wild yak are black with a gray nose and muzzle. Now, while domesticated Yak found in North America can exhibit the same color pattern, the vast majority of them are solid black (IE: Black nose and muzzle), brown, or golden. With or without white markings and patches.
Those "extra" colors and especially the white patterning made their way into the Yak genepool via cattle introgression. One of the Yak registries in the US proved it several years ago, they sponsored a DNA study and everything.
From Nilgai to Nyala, plus Bushbuck! It's time to look at TWO species today. While Nilgai have all but disappeared from the vast majority of AZA zoos, Nyala are hanging in there and about 50% of the current North American zoos with the species are AZA accredited. For whatever reason, Nyala have a stronger hold in those establishments in comparison to Nilgai.
It's amusing to me that the part of the world where I've seen Nyala, native to Southern Africa, more than anywhere else is in Southeast Asia! All 4 nations I visited this summer had zoos with Nyala and there are some stunning jungle exhibits for the species there. It's actually surprising at how well stocked Asian zoos are with African and South American fauna.
Northern Bushbuck is a species I've seen only once and that was at Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) in 2010. Signed as Harnessed Bushbuck, this is one of those ultra-rare species that has made Gladys Porter a magnet for zoo nerds over the decades. On a side note, if you go to the International Wildlife Museum gallery (under the United States category), you'll be able to view 4 images that I took of taxidermy bushbuck in 2011. The 4 stuffed bushbuck are signed as Cape, Masai, Nile and Limpopo.
I've seen Nyala at 25 zoos and most of them have been in recent times:
2019 = 6 zoos
2024 = 7 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Nyala – 1975
2- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Nyala – 2006
3- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Nyala – 2008
4- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Nyala – 2008
5- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Nyala – 2008
6- Zoo Miami (USA) – Nyala – 2008
7- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Nyala – 2010
8- Houston Zoo (USA) – Nyala – 2010
9- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Nyala – 2011
10- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Nyala – 2012
11- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Nyala – 2017
12- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Nyala – 2019
13- Opel Zoo (Germany) – Nyala – 2019
14- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Nyala – 2019
15- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Nyala – 2019
16- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Nyala – 2019
17- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Nyala – 2019
18- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Nyala – 2023
19- Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand) – Nyala – 2024
20- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Nyala – 2024
21- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Nyala – 2024
22- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – Nyala – 2024
23- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – Nyala – 2024
24- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Nyala – 2024
25- Royal Safari Garden Resort (Indonesia) - Nyala – 2024
AND...
I've seen Northern Bushbuck at 1 zoo:
1- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Harnessed/Northern Bushbuck – 2010
Invariably, with these hoofstock posts I feel almost obligated to mention both Berlin Tierpark (Germany) and San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) because both are legendary for ungulates. I had a message yesterday asking which zoo I prefer and undoubtedly I would choose the German one. Definitely the San Diego park has its fantastic moments, and with the Tiger complex, upcoming elephant area and Platypus, there is some diversification from the ungulate fields. However, Berlin Tierpark is far superior in my opinion. There's at least 65+ hoofstock species, close to 20 primate species, a staggering bird collection that includes almost 50 species in the Pheasantry and 20 species in the birds of prey area, and I spent 8 hours there during my only visit and that was with the massive Rainforest House closed for construction. It's a behemoth of a zoo and it's also a proper 'zoo', as I honestly am not a fan of the tram tour at SDZSP these days. If you take that out, then the whole park can be done in 4 hours. I'm guessing that the only people who would choose SDZSP over Berlin are those individuals who haven't visited both.
Nyala herd at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA):
@Anteaterman
This large male Nyala has some impressive horns at Zoo Miami (USA):
@Austin the Sengi
Houston Zoo (USA) had Nyala for years, but my photo from 2015 is the last one to mention the species in the Houston Zoo gallery. What became of this plot of land?
When I visited Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) last year, the zoo had THREE Nyala exhibits. The one in this photo shows how the zoo's train goes through the enclosure and there are Nyala, Scimitar-horned Oryx, Waterbuck, Ostrich and Blue Crane in the exhibit.
Back when I toured ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) in 2012, I took a photo of an exhibit that held 4 species: Nyala, Lesser Kudu, Bay Duiker and Southern Ground Hornbill. Perhaps @SwampDonkey knows what this enclosure looks like now or at least what the inhabitants are these days.
I snapped this pic of 4 female Nyala at Opel Zoo (Germany) in 2019:
A Nyala in the foreground, a Common Hippo lounging in a pool, a glass dome as a backdrop...this must be Berlin Zoo (Germany):
@twilighter
When I visited Phoenix Zoo (USA) last summer, I was surprised to see what a dustbowl it had turned into in comparison to my two previous summer visits in 2008 and 2011. There was parched and desiccated exhibits all across the zoo, including this Nyala, Thomson's Gazelle, Grey Crowned Crane and African Spurred Tortoise yard.
A large herd of Nyala can be found in Khao Kheow Open Range Zoo's (Thailand) African Savanna, alongside species such as Giraffe, Common Eland, Blue Wildebeest, Blackbuck, Gemsbok and Ostrich. Those 7 species are mingled with troops of wild Crab-eating Macaques that literally cross through the savanna and are seemingly oblivious to getting trampled by hoofstock.
This stunning image is of a Nyala at Taiping Zoo (Malaysia):
@Toki
Zoo Negara (Malaysia) has Nyala with Barking Deer and Malayan Tapirs. Geographically wonky, but interesting!
Nyala exhibit at Singapore Zoo (Singapore):
Royal Safari Garden Resort (Indonesia), a small zoo attached to a hotel, has a Nyala exhibit:
As for Northern Bushbuck, I've seen the species once and that was at Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) in southern Texas. My two photos are from 2010 and the zoo still has the species today.
Family Bovidae: 13 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo
Bonus species: (kind of like my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
It's amusing to me that the part of the world where I've seen Nyala, native to Southern Africa, more than anywhere else is in Southeast Asia! All 4 nations I visited this summer had zoos with Nyala and there are some stunning jungle exhibits for the species there. It's actually surprising at how well stocked Asian zoos are with African and South American fauna.
Northern Bushbuck is a species I've seen only once and that was at Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) in 2010. Signed as Harnessed Bushbuck, this is one of those ultra-rare species that has made Gladys Porter a magnet for zoo nerds over the decades. On a side note, if you go to the International Wildlife Museum gallery (under the United States category), you'll be able to view 4 images that I took of taxidermy bushbuck in 2011. The 4 stuffed bushbuck are signed as Cape, Masai, Nile and Limpopo.
I've seen Nyala at 25 zoos and most of them have been in recent times:
2019 = 6 zoos
2024 = 7 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Nyala – 1975
2- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Nyala – 2006
3- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Nyala – 2008
4- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Nyala – 2008
5- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Nyala – 2008
6- Zoo Miami (USA) – Nyala – 2008
7- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Nyala – 2010
8- Houston Zoo (USA) – Nyala – 2010
9- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Nyala – 2011
10- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Nyala – 2012
11- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Nyala – 2017
12- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Nyala – 2019
13- Opel Zoo (Germany) – Nyala – 2019
14- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Nyala – 2019
15- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Nyala – 2019
16- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Nyala – 2019
17- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Nyala – 2019
18- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Nyala – 2023
19- Khao Kheow Zoo (Thailand) – Nyala – 2024
20- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Nyala – 2024
21- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Nyala – 2024
22- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – Nyala – 2024
23- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – Nyala – 2024
24- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Nyala – 2024
25- Royal Safari Garden Resort (Indonesia) - Nyala – 2024
AND...
I've seen Northern Bushbuck at 1 zoo:
1- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Harnessed/Northern Bushbuck – 2010
Invariably, with these hoofstock posts I feel almost obligated to mention both Berlin Tierpark (Germany) and San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) because both are legendary for ungulates. I had a message yesterday asking which zoo I prefer and undoubtedly I would choose the German one. Definitely the San Diego park has its fantastic moments, and with the Tiger complex, upcoming elephant area and Platypus, there is some diversification from the ungulate fields. However, Berlin Tierpark is far superior in my opinion. There's at least 65+ hoofstock species, close to 20 primate species, a staggering bird collection that includes almost 50 species in the Pheasantry and 20 species in the birds of prey area, and I spent 8 hours there during my only visit and that was with the massive Rainforest House closed for construction. It's a behemoth of a zoo and it's also a proper 'zoo', as I honestly am not a fan of the tram tour at SDZSP these days. If you take that out, then the whole park can be done in 4 hours. I'm guessing that the only people who would choose SDZSP over Berlin are those individuals who haven't visited both.
Nyala herd at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA):
@Anteaterman
This large male Nyala has some impressive horns at Zoo Miami (USA):
@Austin the Sengi
Houston Zoo (USA) had Nyala for years, but my photo from 2015 is the last one to mention the species in the Houston Zoo gallery. What became of this plot of land?
When I visited Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) last year, the zoo had THREE Nyala exhibits. The one in this photo shows how the zoo's train goes through the enclosure and there are Nyala, Scimitar-horned Oryx, Waterbuck, Ostrich and Blue Crane in the exhibit.
Back when I toured ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) in 2012, I took a photo of an exhibit that held 4 species: Nyala, Lesser Kudu, Bay Duiker and Southern Ground Hornbill. Perhaps @SwampDonkey knows what this enclosure looks like now or at least what the inhabitants are these days.
I snapped this pic of 4 female Nyala at Opel Zoo (Germany) in 2019:
A Nyala in the foreground, a Common Hippo lounging in a pool, a glass dome as a backdrop...this must be Berlin Zoo (Germany):
@twilighter
When I visited Phoenix Zoo (USA) last summer, I was surprised to see what a dustbowl it had turned into in comparison to my two previous summer visits in 2008 and 2011. There was parched and desiccated exhibits all across the zoo, including this Nyala, Thomson's Gazelle, Grey Crowned Crane and African Spurred Tortoise yard.
A large herd of Nyala can be found in Khao Kheow Open Range Zoo's (Thailand) African Savanna, alongside species such as Giraffe, Common Eland, Blue Wildebeest, Blackbuck, Gemsbok and Ostrich. Those 7 species are mingled with troops of wild Crab-eating Macaques that literally cross through the savanna and are seemingly oblivious to getting trampled by hoofstock.
This stunning image is of a Nyala at Taiping Zoo (Malaysia):
@Toki
Zoo Negara (Malaysia) has Nyala with Barking Deer and Malayan Tapirs. Geographically wonky, but interesting!
Nyala exhibit at Singapore Zoo (Singapore):
Royal Safari Garden Resort (Indonesia), a small zoo attached to a hotel, has a Nyala exhibit:
As for Northern Bushbuck, I've seen the species once and that was at Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) in southern Texas. My two photos are from 2010 and the zoo still has the species today.
Family Bovidae: 13 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo
Bonus species: (kind of like my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
biggest_dreamer
Well-Known Member
Yep, the bushbucks’ exhibit hasn’t even changed a bit since then. It’s wild seeing how many ungulates have entirely disappeared, or are on the verge of disappearing, from the US, yet despite having only a single holder the bushbuck don’t seem to be going anywhere.
The nilgai at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park can, indeed, only be seen from a paid tour, unless you get lucky and are able to spot them from one of the overlooks of the Asian Plains field exhibit from the Condor Ridge and Tiger Trail trails.Since I've been focusing on physically big mammals such as American Bison, Banteng, Gaur, Yak and Muskox, it's time to look at Asia's largest antelope. Nilgai are an imposing sight, especially the 'blue bull' males who are much more striking than the females. This species can weigh hundreds of pounds and is very common in Southeast Asian zoos as I saw 10 zoos with Nilgai just this past summer on my 3-week Asia trek. The two other years when I saw a lot of zoos with Nilgai were in 2019 (Western Europe) and 2015 (loads of non-accredited American zoos in the dry, hot southern states).
Why hasn't the AZA ever been too excited about Asia's largest antelope? I had long road trips in 2008, 2010 and 2012 and hardly saw a single Nilgai in accredited zoos anywhere. Even right now there's at least 40 zoos in North America with Nilgai and only maybe a half-dozen are AZA accredited, even though this is an impressively-sized species that shouldn't be too difficult to maintain in captivity. Would this species show up on Texas hunting ranches with Blackbuck? I imagine that there's loads of Nilgai in the private sector.
I've seen Nilgai at 40 zoos:
2015 = 8 zoos
2019 = 8 zoos
2024 = 10 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Nilgai – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Nilgai – 1998
3- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2006
4- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2008
5- Zoo Miami (USA) – Nilgai – 2008
6- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2010
7- El Paso Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2010
8- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2014
9- Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
10- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
11- Gone Wild Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
12- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
13- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
14- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
15- Exotic Resort Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
16- Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
17- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
18- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
19- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
20- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
21- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
22- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Nilgai – 2019
23- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – 2019
24- Krefeld Zoo (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
25- Dierenrijk (Animal Kingdom) (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
26- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
27- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
28- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
29- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Nilgai – 2022
30- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2023
31- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
32- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
33- Songkhla Zoo (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
34- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Nilgai – 2024
35- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – Nilgai – 2024
36- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
37- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
38- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
39- Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
40- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) has showcased Nilgai for decades, although can anyone see them these days or are they exclusively in the Asian Savanna area that costs an extra fee?
Nilgai are a perfect species for the Bronx Zoo's (USA) Wild Asia monorail ride, due to the large, forested paddocks that are in that section of the zoo.
@red river hog
Wildlife Safari (USA) has maintained Nilgai for years, often found with Blackbuck and several other species in the drive-through portion of the park.
Nilgai were at El Paso Zoo (USA) when I toured that facility in 2010.
I saw two Nilgai exhibits at Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) in 2014:
Timbavati even had a young Nilgai that visitors could pet in a third area:
Another zoo where visitors can feed and pet a Nilgai is Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA):
@cubsmaster
At Special Memories Zoo (USA), a facility that's thankfully closed down now, Nilgai had a tiny yard with a domestic cow plastic barn as a shelter.
Blackbuck and Nilgai have been kept together at Dortmund Zoo (Germany):
@ralph
Hog Deer are combined with Nilgai in one of the dozens of massive ungulate paddocks at Berlin Tierpark (Germany):
@SivatheriumGuy
I saw Nilgai with Sarus Cranes at Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) last year.
Both Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) and Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand), completely separate zoos, have Nilgai exhibits. Here's the one at Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand):
And the Nilgai enclosure at Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand):
There's a spacious paddock and a trio of Nilgai statues at Songkhla Zoo (Thailand). Is there another zoo in the world with statues of Nilgai? Super cool!
Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) has a whole row of hoofstock exhibits, including one or two for Nilgai, and all fairly small by modern standards:
Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) has two exhibits with Nilgai and the little white markings on this bull's legs are standard for the species.
Family Bovidae: 11 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Bonus species: (kind of like my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
While Asian mixed-species exhibits are much less common than African ones in AZA-accredited zoos, yes, nilgai have another two-fold problem working against them — one: the adult males are particularly aggressive (they are known to be some of the biggest killers of other animals in facilities that do house them in mixed-species facilities), and two: they breed like rabbits. Nilgai cows can regularly twin and triplet, so populations can grow exponentially rather quickly, which makes population management quite difficult.
It looks pretty much the same, but IIRC the ground hornbill's and kudu are not in there any longer. The hornbills were in the aviary for a while, but the have been replaced by other hornbill species since. They both may be on the safari ride. They had kudu on the ride previously, but I have not been on that for a couple of years
Memo to all zoos in Europe and North America - add macaques, mangabeys and guenons as the mixed species to ungulate exhibits wherever possible. Zoo Eindhoven already mixes long-tailed macaques with Asian elephants and two deer species.
Inherently, as a zoo visitor, I understand the appeal of this — it would make for a dynamic display and provide space for multiple taxa. That said, as a zookeeper, specifically a hoofstock keeper (a hoofstock keeper that has, unfortunately, had to also briefly care for a few primates in the past), this sounds like a worst nightmare. The sheer amount of additional and very different regulations, care, management, and exhibit design and safety requirements that goes into caring for primates versus hoofstock (or most other taxa really), is extreme. The skills, knowledge, and experience needed to care for these taxa are completely different. In my opinion, this makes it very hard to maximize the welfare for both taxa, and this opens the door for one taxa to be favored over the other, due to exhibit design constraints or the experience/interest of the staff. Even having the exhibit shared by separate staff for the separate taxa can create issues if the communication is not maintained at the utmost level to insure both parties are aware of where animals are, which doors are open or unlocked, what restrictions specific animals have, etc. I’ve seen this even with shared hoofstock and bird exhibits in the past. As dynamic of an experience such an exhibit might provide for guests, I understand why they are not more common from a keeper perspective… And I, for one, am glad they are not
Saw the last two nilgai in a Brazilian zoo in 2015, in Curitiba. The last one, a cow, passed away last year. There could be some reminiscing at a farm in Maranhão, though I am not sure.Since I've been focusing on physically big mammals such as American Bison, Banteng, Gaur, Yak and Muskox, it's time to look at Asia's largest antelope. Nilgai are an imposing sight, especially the 'blue bull' males who are much more striking than the females. This species can weigh hundreds of pounds and is very common in Southeast Asian zoos as I saw 10 zoos with Nilgai just this past summer on my 3-week Asia trek. The two other years when I saw a lot of zoos with Nilgai were in 2019 (Western Europe) and 2015 (loads of non-accredited American zoos in the dry, hot southern states).
Why hasn't the AZA ever been too excited about Asia's largest antelope? I had long road trips in 2008, 2010 and 2012 and hardly saw a single Nilgai in accredited zoos anywhere. Even right now there's at least 40 zoos in North America with Nilgai and only maybe a half-dozen are AZA accredited, even though this is an impressively-sized species that shouldn't be too difficult to maintain in captivity. Would this species show up on Texas hunting ranches with Blackbuck? I imagine that there's loads of Nilgai in the private sector.
I've seen Nilgai at 40 zoos:
2015 = 8 zoos
2019 = 8 zoos
2024 = 10 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Nilgai – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Nilgai – 1998
3- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2006
4- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2008
5- Zoo Miami (USA) – Nilgai – 2008
6- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2010
7- El Paso Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2010
8- Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2014
9- Arbuckle Wilderness Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
10- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
11- Gone Wild Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
12- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
13- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
14- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
15- Exotic Resort Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
16- Capital of Texas Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2015
17- Wilderness Trails Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
18- Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
19- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
20- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – Nilgai – 2018
21- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
22- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Nilgai – 2019
23- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – 2019
24- Krefeld Zoo (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
25- Dierenrijk (Animal Kingdom) (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
26- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Nilgai – 2019
27- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
28- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Nilgai – 2019
29- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Nilgai – 2022
30- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Nilgai – 2023
31- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
32- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
33- Songkhla Zoo (Thailand) – Nilgai – 2024
34- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Nilgai – 2024
35- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – Nilgai – 2024
36- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
37- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
38- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
39- Gembira Loka Zoo (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
40- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Nilgai – 2024
San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) has showcased Nilgai for decades, although can anyone see them these days or are they exclusively in the Asian Savanna area that costs an extra fee?
Nilgai are a perfect species for the Bronx Zoo's (USA) Wild Asia monorail ride, due to the large, forested paddocks that are in that section of the zoo.
@red river hog
Wildlife Safari (USA) has maintained Nilgai for years, often found with Blackbuck and several other species in the drive-through portion of the park.
Nilgai were at El Paso Zoo (USA) when I toured that facility in 2010.
I saw two Nilgai exhibits at Timbavati Wildlife Park (USA) in 2014:
Timbavati even had a young Nilgai that visitors could pet in a third area:
Another zoo where visitors can feed and pet a Nilgai is Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park (USA):
@cubsmaster
At Special Memories Zoo (USA), a facility that's thankfully closed down now, Nilgai had a tiny yard with a domestic cow plastic barn as a shelter.
Blackbuck and Nilgai have been kept together at Dortmund Zoo (Germany):
@ralph
Hog Deer are combined with Nilgai in one of the dozens of massive ungulate paddocks at Berlin Tierpark (Germany):
@SivatheriumGuy
I saw Nilgai with Sarus Cranes at Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) last year.
Both Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) and Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand), completely separate zoos, have Nilgai exhibits. Here's the one at Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand):
And the Nilgai enclosure at Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand):
There's a spacious paddock and a trio of Nilgai statues at Songkhla Zoo (Thailand). Is there another zoo in the world with statues of Nilgai? Super cool!
Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) has a whole row of hoofstock exhibits, including one or two for Nilgai, and all fairly small by modern standards:
Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) has two exhibits with Nilgai and the little white markings on this bull's legs are standard for the species.
Family Bovidae: 11 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Bonus species: (kind of like my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos