I'd like to note that the zoo has eastern white bearded wildebeest, they may just be a different name and I am just an idiot but the signage has been the same since they had first arrived.Blue Wildebeest have been paired with Grevy's Zebra at Detroit Zoo (USA):
Not an idiot at all, it's a subspecies of blue wildebeest from Tanzania and Kenya. There's about a million different names for both species of wildebeest, and it doesn't help they're often called gnu as well
Ah my mistake! I always get messed up with the sup species! I always find it so odd zoos just label them as the sub species with the generic name included, similar to scientific names.
It's been possible to see various Takin subspecies in Panda Trek or Horn & Hoof Mesa or in off-show paddocks via the Skyfari ride. 
After all, you are the richest zoo in the world, correct? 
No records of takin in South America that I am aware of.Takin are fantastic to see in zoos. A big, stocky, Muskox-like mammal, there are 4 subspecies and here is an example of an animal that used to be fairly unusual to see in a zoo but these days they are found in many captive environments. I've done my best by actually listing all the subspecies in today's post, as in the past some taxonomic experts had 'Takin' broken down into different species but now it's recognized as a single species.
By spending a couple of hours going through photos in the ZooChat gallery, it's become apparent to me that European zoos destroy (to use some modern-day slang) North American zoos when it comes to Takin exhibits. The Takin enclosure at Omaha opened just after my last visit there, and it does look very nice, and there's a few other exhibits for the species that are decent, but also far too many sterile, flat yards. Don't zoos realize that Takin are montane animals that live in high altitudes in mountainous, rocky regions? Several European zoos have world-class exhibits for Takin, far superior to what is seen in the U.S., and even an Indonesian zoo rocks them all.
I've seen Takin at 23 zoos (17 Sichuan, 6 Mishmi, 4 Golden, with 2 zoos having 3 subspecies each):
1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin (2006) & Mishmi Takin (2011) & Golden Takin (2023)
2- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2008
3- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2008
4- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2008
5- Mountain View Conservation Centre (Canada) – Sichuan Takin – 2008
6- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2010
7- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2010
8- Potawatomi Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2012
9- Edmonton Valley Zoo (Canada) – Sichuan Takin – 2012
10- Red River Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2014
11- Hemker Park & Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2014
12- Peoria Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2014
13- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2014
14- Pueblo Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2014
15- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Sichuan Takin – 2018
16- Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) – Mishmi Takin – 2019
17- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Golden Takin – 2019
18- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Mishmi Takin – 2019
19- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Sichuan Takin – 2019
20- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Sichuan Takin, Mishmi Takin, Golden Takin – 2019
21- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Golden Takin – 2022
22- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Mishmi Takin – 2022
23- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Mishmi Takin – 2024
San Diego Zoo (USA) was where I saw my first Takin and the zoo has done well with the species over the years. I've seen Sichuan, Mishmi AND Golden Takin in San Diego, just never all at the same time.
Golden Takins:
@ZooGirlSD
It's now possible to see the Sichuan Takin exhibit at Minnesota Zoo (USA) via the new Treetop Trail walkway, a major reason why Minnesota Zoo is now setting attendance records. The Takin enclosure is in the background and it looks spectacular.
@Dhole dude
Red Rocks at Saint Louis Zoo (USA) is home to a literally reddish rock backdrop for some of the exhibits, including this one for Sichuan Takin. See the Takin on top?
@cubsmaster
When I toured ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) in 2010 there was a Sichuan Takin yard that was at the tail end of the African zone, but it's now all gone and replaced with an Asian expansion area. I wonder what the zoo did with its breeding herd of Takin?
Potawatomi Zoo (USA) had a long yet fairly flat Sichuan Takin yard that same summer, with North American zoos focusing on the Sichuan subspecies.
I saw at least 6 Sichuan Takin at Edmonton Valley Zoo (Canada) on my last visit, in a series of sloping hillside yards. The animals would look amazing in the cold, snow-filled winter months that hit Alberta hard.
You can see 3 Sichuan Takin in my photo taken at Red River Zoo (USA) in 2014:
Peoria Zoo (USA) has a Sichuan Takin exhibit that is San Diego-ish in appearance:
It's quite disappointing to see so many flat, rather sterile Sichuan Takin exhibits in North American zoos. Pueblo Zoo (USA) is another example, as this yard could easily be for any number of grassland mammals but instead it held Sichuan Takin when I toured the zoo in 2014.
At least Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) has some rocky sections and a slightly elevated area for its Sichuan Takin. Here's my photo from 2018:
After seeing almost nothing but Sichuan Takin my entire life, I then embarked on a huge, 95-zoo tour of Western Europe in 2019 and it was a joy to see Mishmi Takin at Antwerp Zoo (Belgium). It's interesting to note that Antwerp doesn't even have Takin these days!
Mishmi Takin:
@Tim May
@Valvas
If you are Pairi Daiza (Belgium), you might turn your head and sniff at the opportunity to display Sichuan or Mishmi Takin. Go for Golden Takin instead!
@Therabu
In all honesty, Pairi Daiza's Takin exhibit in the Middle Kingdom part of the zoo is actually one of the very best Takin zoo habitats around. Here's my shot from 2019:
I saw Mishmi Takin at Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) in 2019 and since then the zoo has undergone a construction project and created an even better Takin exhibit. Here's a glimpse of the upper section of the natural-looking habitat:
@twilighter
Berlin Zoo (Germany) has Sichuan Takin:
@Goura
Then there is Berlin Tierpark (Germany), a zoo that gets better every day in my mind. It was one heck of a long slog walking around this place at the tail-end of a mammoth road trip, but when I was there in 2019 the ungulate collection was off the charts. Hoofstock, primates and birds around every corner, with rarities up the wazoo! I saw Sichuan, Mishmi AND Golden Takin all during one glorious visit.
I was tempted to do a whole thread just on the various Takin at the Tierpark, but I can only have 20 photos per post and so a single fantastic image of a Golden Takin will have to suffice.
@Jogy
A small, privately-owned Danish zoo called Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) had Golden Takin when I was there in 2022.
It's interesting to note that at Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden), I saw Mishmi Takin mixed with Bactrian Camels (photo below) and the zoo has also mixed its Takin with Kulan and Pere David's Deer on separate occasions. It's all very interesting because those mixes are practically unheard of elsewhere. This Swedish zoo is very bold in mixing numerous species across the zoo, particularly in their massive African and Asian savannas.
At Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia), there's a bus ride that takes visitors away from the rest of the zoo in order to visit the world-class Giant Panda complex. One can easily spend an amazing hour up in the chilly Indonesian mountains, seeing Giant Pandas, Red Pandas, Bactrian Camels and a few small animals like bamboo rats. Unquestionably, the best view to be had, at Indonesia's very best zoo, is via the top of the Mishmi Takin habitat. Yowza!
@GregOz
Family Bovidae: 57 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blue Wildebeest - 47 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Scimitar-horned Oryx - 43 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Addax - 36 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Bontebok - 33 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Takin - 23 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gemsbok - 20 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Arabian Oryx - 16 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Rocky Mountain Goat - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Roan Antelope - 14 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Beisa Oryx - 10 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Black Wildebeest - 4 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Hartebeest - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Rhebok - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
And to the surprise of absolutely nobody...another comment about Tierpark Berlin!
It' really sad that the SDZ has removed them from the panda zone, but there's been Word that Next Major revamp project of the SDZ will be a combined area of the Asian passage and the Urban Jungle, and maybe they could be there, cause the zoo can't move a lot of the takins to other zoos, so it makes sense that there would be put thereTakin are fantastic to see in zoos. A big, stocky, Muskox-like mammal, there are 4 subspecies and here is an example of an animal that used to be fairly unusual to see in a zoo but these days they are found in many captive environments. I've done my best by actually listing all the subspecies in today's post, as in the past some taxonomic experts had 'Takin' broken down into different species but now it's recognized as a single species.
By spending a couple of hours going through photos in the ZooChat gallery, it's become apparent to me that European zoos destroy (to use some modern-day slang) North American zoos when it comes to Takin exhibits. The Takin enclosure at Omaha opened just after my last visit there, and it does look very nice, and there's a few other exhibits for the species that are decent, but also far too many sterile, flat yards. Don't zoos realize that Takin are montane animals that live in high altitudes in mountainous, rocky regions? Several European zoos have world-class exhibits for Takin, far superior to what is seen in the U.S., and even an Indonesian zoo rocks them all.
I've seen Takin at 23 zoos (17 Sichuan, 6 Mishmi, 4 Golden, with 2 zoos having 3 subspecies each):
1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin (2006) & Mishmi Takin (2011) & Golden Takin (2023)
2- Minnesota Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2008
3- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2008
4- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2008
5- Mountain View Conservation Centre (Canada) – Sichuan Takin – 2008
6- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2010
7- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2010
8- Potawatomi Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2012
9- Edmonton Valley Zoo (Canada) – Sichuan Takin – 2012
10- Red River Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2014
11- Hemker Park & Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2014
12- Peoria Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2014
13- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2014
14- Pueblo Zoo (USA) – Sichuan Takin – 2014
15- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Sichuan Takin – 2018
16- Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) – Mishmi Takin – 2019
17- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Golden Takin – 2019
18- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Mishmi Takin – 2019
19- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Sichuan Takin – 2019
20- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Sichuan Takin, Mishmi Takin, Golden Takin – 2019
21- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Golden Takin – 2022
22- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Mishmi Takin – 2022
23- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Mishmi Takin – 2024
San Diego Zoo (USA) was where I saw my first Takin and the zoo has done well with the species over the years. I've seen Sichuan, Mishmi AND Golden Takin in San Diego, just never all at the same time.
Golden Takins:
@ZooGirlSD
It's now possible to see the Sichuan Takin exhibit at Minnesota Zoo (USA) via the new Treetop Trail walkway, a major reason why Minnesota Zoo is now setting attendance records. The Takin enclosure is in the background and it looks spectacular.
@Dhole dude
Red Rocks at Saint Louis Zoo (USA) is home to a literally reddish rock backdrop for some of the exhibits, including this one for Sichuan Takin. See the Takin on top?
@cubsmaster
When I toured ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) in 2010 there was a Sichuan Takin yard that was at the tail end of the African zone, but it's now all gone and replaced with an Asian expansion area. I wonder what the zoo did with its breeding herd of Takin?
Potawatomi Zoo (USA) had a long yet fairly flat Sichuan Takin yard that same summer, with North American zoos focusing on the Sichuan subspecies.
I saw at least 6 Sichuan Takin at Edmonton Valley Zoo (Canada) on my last visit, in a series of sloping hillside yards. The animals would look amazing in the cold, snow-filled winter months that hit Alberta hard.
You can see 3 Sichuan Takin in my photo taken at Red River Zoo (USA) in 2014:
Peoria Zoo (USA) has a Sichuan Takin exhibit that is San Diego-ish in appearance:
It's quite disappointing to see so many flat, rather sterile Sichuan Takin exhibits in North American zoos. Pueblo Zoo (USA) is another example, as this yard could easily be for any number of grassland mammals but instead it held Sichuan Takin when I toured the zoo in 2014.
At least Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) has some rocky sections and a slightly elevated area for its Sichuan Takin. Here's my photo from 2018:
After seeing almost nothing but Sichuan Takin my entire life, I then embarked on a huge, 95-zoo tour of Western Europe in 2019 and it was a joy to see Mishmi Takin at Antwerp Zoo (Belgium). It's interesting to note that Antwerp doesn't even have Takin these days!
Mishmi Takin:
@Tim May
@Valvas
If you are Pairi Daiza (Belgium), you might turn your head and sniff at the opportunity to display Sichuan or Mishmi Takin. Go for Golden Takin instead!
@Therabu
In all honesty, Pairi Daiza's Takin exhibit in the Middle Kingdom part of the zoo is actually one of the very best Takin zoo habitats around. Here's my shot from 2019:
I saw Mishmi Takin at Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) in 2019 and since then the zoo has undergone a construction project and created an even better Takin exhibit. Here's a glimpse of the upper section of the natural-looking habitat:
@twilighter
Berlin Zoo (Germany) has Sichuan Takin:
@Goura
Then there is Berlin Tierpark (Germany), a zoo that gets better every day in my mind. It was one heck of a long slog walking around this place at the tail-end of a mammoth road trip, but when I was there in 2019 the ungulate collection was off the charts. Hoofstock, primates and birds around every corner, with rarities up the wazoo! I saw Sichuan, Mishmi AND Golden Takin all during one glorious visit.
I was tempted to do a whole thread just on the various Takin at the Tierpark, but I can only have 20 photos per post and so a single fantastic image of a Golden Takin will have to suffice.
@Jogy
A small, privately-owned Danish zoo called Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) had Golden Takin when I was there in 2022.
It's interesting to note that at Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden), I saw Mishmi Takin mixed with Bactrian Camels (photo below) and the zoo has also mixed its Takin with Kulan and Pere David's Deer on separate occasions. It's all very interesting because those mixes are practically unheard of elsewhere. This Swedish zoo is very bold in mixing numerous species across the zoo, particularly in their massive African and Asian savannas.
At Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia), there's a bus ride that takes visitors away from the rest of the zoo in order to visit the world-class Giant Panda complex. One can easily spend an amazing hour up in the chilly Indonesian mountains, seeing Giant Pandas, Red Pandas, Bactrian Camels and a few small animals like bamboo rats. Unquestionably, the best view to be had, at Indonesia's very best zoo, is via the top of the Mishmi Takin habitat. Yowza!
@GregOz
Family Bovidae: 57 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blue Wildebeest - 47 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Scimitar-horned Oryx - 43 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Addax - 36 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Bontebok - 33 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Takin - 23 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gemsbok - 20 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Arabian Oryx - 16 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Rocky Mountain Goat - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Roan Antelope - 14 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Beisa Oryx - 10 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Black Wildebeest - 4 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Hartebeest - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Rhebok - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
Barbary sheep are one of the most common exotic ungulates in Brazil.On a side note, before I begin today's post, I corresponded with a zoo nerd yesterday and they confirmed that my original assumption of seeing Sand Gazelles at two zoos (San Diego Zoo Safari Park and San Antonio Zoo) was correct all along. Aha! They are back on my Bovidae list at the bottom of this post.
Aoudad, quite often labeled as Barbary Sheep, are an incredibly common sight at more than 200 zoos in the world. This is a mammal that perhaps some zoo nerds yawn at when they come across them in zoos, but on a grandiose mock-rock mountain Aoudad can be amazing to see. If there's a sterile, flat paddock like at many North American zoos, then Aoudad become boring animals. Place them in a mountainous enclosure, or even combine them with primates, and suddenly Aoudad are in a world-class exhibit. It seems so elementary, and yet too many zoos neglect the climbing abilities of Aoudad or simply do not wish to spend the money to construct elaborate, tall exhibits.
I've seen Aoudad at 40 zoos:
2015 = 10 zoos (southern USA)
2024 = 7 zoos (Southeast Asia)
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Aoudad – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Aoudad – 1998
3- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Aoudad – 2006
4- Taronga Zoo (Australia) – Aoudad – 2007
5- Adelaide Zoo (Australia) – Aoudad – 2007
6- Monarto Zoo (Australia) – Aoudad – 2007
7- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Aoudad – 2008
8- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Aoudad – 2010
9- Roger Williams Park Zoo (USA) – Aoudad – 2010
10- Dakota Zoo (USA) – Aoudad – 2014
11- Wildwood Wildlife Park (USA) – Aoudad – 2014
12- Niabi Zoo (USA) – Aoudad – 2014
13- Grant’s Farm (USA) – Aoudad – 2014
14- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Aoudad – 2015
15- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Aoudad – 2015
16- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Aoudad – 2015
17- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Aoudad – 2015
18- Exotic Resort Zoo (USA) – Aoudad – 2015
19- Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (USA) – Aoudad – 2015
20- Hillcrest Park Zoo (USA) – Aoudad – 2015
21- Spring River Park & Zoo (USA) – Aoudad – 2015
22- Out of Africa (USA) – Aoudad – 2015
23- Sierra Safari Zoo (USA) – Aoudad – 2015
24- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Aoudad – 2017
25- Shalom Wildlife Zoo (USA) – Aoudad – 2018
26- Animal Haven Zoo (USA) – Aoudad – 2018
27- Special Memories Zoo (USA) – Aoudad – 2018
28- Van Blanckendaell Park (Netherlands) – Aoudad – 2019
29- Apenheul Primate Park (Netherlands) – Aoudad – 2019
30- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – Aoudad – 2019
31- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Aoudad – 2019
32- NaturZoo Rheine (Germany) – Aoudad – 2019
33- Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands) – Aoudad – 2019
34- Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand) - Aoudad – 2024
35- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – Aoudad – 2024
36- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) - Aoudad – 2024
37- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) - Aoudad – 2024
38- Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) - Aoudad – 2024
39- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) - Aoudad – 2024
40- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) - Aoudad – 2024
Aoudad can have very long hair at the front, which if not careful can become matted and dirty.
@zoo_enthusiast
When I toured some Australian zoos in 2007, I came across Aoudad at Taronga Zoo (Australia) as well as at Monarto and Adelaide. (I don't have Melbourne Zoo on my list, but would Aoudad have been there as well?) A rocky exhibit at Taronga was situated just below the Chimpanzee enclosure, which you can see in this photo. I remember the awkward viewing through the wooden poles.
@Baldur
I wandered through Fabric of Africa at Roger Williams Park Zoo (USA) in 2012 and saw Aoudad on a rocky mini-mountain. Now this whole area has been demolished. Gone baby gone.
An odd-looking stone structure for Aoudad could be found at Niabi Zoo (USA) when I toured that establishment in 2014 and I'd be intrigued to know if it still exists. You can see an Aoudad lying down on top.
Of the 10 zoos where I saw Aoudad in a single summer in 2015, SEVEN of them had drive-through sections where this species was allowed a significant amount of space to roam. There weren't any mountains anywhere, but definitely lots of space. An example would be Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA), with Aoudad hanging around on the road. This photo best exemplifies why I've never been a big fan of drive-through safari parks, as it seems almost inevitable that there's a long line of vehicles slowly making their way down a road, while a zoo nerd is behind them all and sucking in exhaust fumes while catching glimpses of mammals moving off into the undergrowth. Driving and taking photos at the same time is also tricky.
@geomorph
At The Exotic Resort Zoo (USA) in Texas, there's a ridiculous tractor tour with families purchasing buckets of food and tossing the edibles out the back of the tractor for the hordes of Aoudad chasing after the vehicle. The animals would be swatted in their heads with food while gas fumes spiraled around their horns.
I never quite understand naff zoos like Spring River Park & Zoo (USA) giving a mammal species like an Aoudad a tiny little pile of rocks in one section of an otherwise completely flat, barren swathe of land. I suppose that tiny hill is better than nothing, but it almost seems like an insult to the Aoudad.
Even Special Memories Zoo (USA), another naff place that has since closed down, had a pile of rocks for its Aoudad.
@Milwaukee Man
Apenheul Primate Park (Netherlands) had a lot of mentions by me back when I began this thread in January and I was focusing on primates for several months. But, believe it or not, there's a spectacular walk-through exhibit for Aoudad and Barbary Macaques at that zoo which is genuinely a memorable habitat. It's not all simians there!
Quick, without looking at the name...figure out the next zoo in your head! This particular exhibit has a vertiginous cliff face on the left, which is made of mock-rock but has aged well as it looks weathered and real. A herd of Aoudad at the base appear tiny set against such an imposing structure and of course this enclosure is obviously to be found at Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany).
@twilighter
Ahhh, European zoos, you never fail to disappoint. NaturZoo Rheine (Germany) has two splendid exhibits for Geladas and Aoudad, both looking magnificent at all times. When I was there in 2019, Rheine had exactly 78 Geladas, then they blossomed up to close to 120 of them, before helping support populations at other zoos and bringing that total down a little. Barbary Sheep are mixed with the Geladas and it creates an amazing, bustling atmosphere of activity. In fact, it's one of the great zoo exhibits of the world. Even with all those animals, I managed to take a photo showing almost none of them.
@Maguari
At Amersfoort Zoo (Netherlands), in the unique Ancient City part of the zoo, there's an impressive Aoudad exhibit with at least 30+ Hamadryas Baboons scrambling around everywhere. When I visited in 2019, it was difficult to see how many monkeys there were because of their non-stop movement, and the enclosure also has several vantage points. If only North American zoos would have these fantastic baboon/hoofstock mixed-species exhibits.
@KevinB
Aoudad are common in Southeast Asia, just as they are seemingly everywhere else, and I saw them for the first time in Asia at Sriayuthaya Lion Park (Thailand):
One of the very best Aoudad exhibits I've ever seen is to be found at Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand), with around 20 Aoudad, a spectacular cliff setting and a jungle backdrop. Here's a perfect example of taking a commonly seen zoo animal and creating a fantastic enclosure to even cause zoo nerds to stand still for a few minutes in awe.
There's a steep visitor trail that winds around and here's the view from the very peak of the exhibit:
Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) also has a nice exhibit for Aoudad, with wild monitor lizards nearby and a rocky cliff for the ungulates.
Another Aoudad moated exhibit with a rocky mini-mountain can be found at Surabaya Zoo (Indonesia) and there's apparently wild Proboscis Monkeys at this zoo.
The best photo I could get via the safari tour at Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) is this one, showing the Aoudad remarkably close to the road on a huge mock-rock mountain that's quite a bit bigger than what is shown in this image.
Family Bovidae: 59 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blue Wildebeest - 47 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Scimitar-horned Oryx - 43 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Aoudad - 40 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Addax - 36 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Bontebok - 33 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Takin - 23 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gemsbok - 20 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Arabian Oryx - 16 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Rocky Mountain Goat - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Roan Antelope - 14 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Beisa Oryx - 10 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Black Wildebeest - 4 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Sand Gazelle - 2 zoos
Hartebeest - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Rhebok - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
I first heard about blue sheep when I played Far Cry 4. In this game, if one wants to achieve its full completion, they will have to get all the upgrades for the main character's storage items (quiver, wallet, gun holsters, backpack, etc.). This means it is necessary to hunt many different animals (so it is possible to craft the upgrades using their skins), including a few bharal. Their meat can also be used as bait for predators.From Rocky Mountain Goats to Takin to Aoudad. We keep rolling! Today I will discuss TWO more species.
Zootierliste has Arabian Tahr as being at only 3 zoos (all in the United Arab Emirates) and I have never seen that species. I've also never seen Nilgiri Tahr, but San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) has recently added the species and I know that's a bucket list animal even for hardcore species hunters such as @Giant Eland.
I have seen Himalayan Tahr though, but admittedly in very low numbers. Zoos around the world have never really been that invested in maintaining any of the Tahr species in captivity, as I suppose that Aoudad have filled that 'caprine vortex'. That being said, Himalayan Tahr can still be found at close to 50 zoos worldwide and they are darker and shaggier than Aoudad.
Bharal, also commonly called Blue Sheep, are extremely rare in zoos and Zootierliste only has 18 zoos listed. This species is really neat to see, with a blueish tinge to their hair and the males have striking black lines on their flanks. It would seem that there's zero Bharal in North American zoos.
I've seen Himalayan Tahr at 10 zoos:
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Himalayan Tahr – 1975
2- Perth Zoo (Australia) – Himalayan Tahr – 1987
3- Taronga Zoo (Australia) – Himalayan Tahr – 2007
4- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Himalayan Tahr – 2008
5- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Himalayan Tahr – 2008
6- Akron Zoo (USA) – Himalayan Tahr – 2010
7- Zoo Antwerp (Belgium) – Himalayan Tahr – 2019
8- Dortmund Zoo (Germany) – Himalayan Tahr – 2019
9- Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany) – Himalayan Tahr – 2019
10- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Himalayan Tahr – 2019
AND...
I've seen Bharal at 3 zoos:
1- Pairi Daiza (Belgium) – Bharal – 2019
2- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Bharal – 2019
3- Night Safari (Singapore) – Bharal – 2024
Taronga Zoo (Australia) is the 'zoo with a view' and the Himalayan Tahr have a mock-rock 'blob' that is a historic element of the zoo. It would be interesting to note when this structure was built, because when I visited in 2007 it was certainly a memorable element of Taronga and the mini-mountain still exists today.
@boof
@Baldur
This is the best photo in the ZooChat gallery that shows the mini-mountain for Himalayan Tahr at Toronto Zoo (Canada). There was once a big herd here, but the numbers have steadily dwindled over the years.
@Akula
If you take the Wild Asia monorail ride at the Bronx Zoo (USA), it's still possible to see Himalayan Tahr, if only for seconds at a time.
@Baldur
When I visited Akron Zoo (USA) in 2010, there was the Legends of the Wild zone and side-by-side exhibits for Snow Leopard and Himalayan Tahr. The viewing was a bit awkward and the tahr are no longer at the zoo. What's in their spot now?
I mentioned Antwerp Zoo (Belgium) in my post about Takins, and when I toured this zoo in 2019 there was also Himalayan Tahr there as well. Here's a different angle of the mountain exhibit.
Dortmund Zoo (Germany) has a very long enclosure for Himalayan Tahr, which were combined with Yak back when I visited in 2019. Notice the typically pleasant German 'house' for the animals at the base of the hill.
@gulogulogulo
Himalayan Tahr and Red Pandas are combined together at Tierpark Hagenbeck (Germany), with the tahr able to access some of the steep cliffsides in this phenomenal exhibit. To see huge, human-made mountains at some European zoos makes me wonder why so few North American zoos ever jumped on that bandwagon.
@twilighter
Berlin Zoo (Germany) is a 3rd German zoo where I saw Himalayan Tahr, set on a sloping, rocky exhibit. Apparently this enclosure held Klipspringers 20 years ago.
@twilighter
@Maguari
Just for the heck of it, here's a shot of some Nilgiri Tahr at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA). A truly rare species in any zoo!
@King of Komodo Dragons
As for Bharal, I saw this species for the first time ever at Pairi Daiza (Belgium). It's a bit of an odd exhibit there, with the Bharal combined with Binturongs, amidst poles painted to look like bamboo and a moated edge to the enclosure.
Both photos via @KevinB
Berlin Tierpark (Germany) also had Bharal when I was there in 2019.
@Tamandua
This is a photo of the Bharal exhibit from 20 years ago:
@Baldur
Bharal are easily seen at Singapore Night Safari (Singapore), scampering around on a rocky section of their exhibit.
@Nadchew_
The Bharal are viewed via the safari tram tour:
@Zooish
Family Bovidae: 61 species so far
American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blue Wildebeest - 47 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Scimitar-horned Oryx - 43 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Aoudad - 40 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Addax - 36 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Bontebok - 33 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Takin - 23 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gemsbok - 20 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Arabian Oryx - 16 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Rocky Mountain Goat - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Roan Antelope - 14 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Beisa Oryx - 10 zoos
Himalayan Tahr - 10 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Black Wildebeest - 4 zoos
Bharal - 3 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Sand Gazelle - 2 zoos
Hartebeest - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Rhebok - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)
Gayal - 2 zoos
