Today I am going to look at
FOUR species because it's time to tackle ibex. It was a bit tricky to figure out which species I've seen, but the ZooChat gallery and particularly
Zootierliste have proven to both be enormously helpful in compiling this massively long thread. I've seen
Alpine Ibex,
Iberian Ibex,
Nubian Ibex and
Siberian Ibex.
Why don't North American zoos build big mountain exhibits for a variety of hoofstock species such as ibex? There's a lot of mock-rock 'blobs' that were often constructed in the WPA-era of the 1930s, but not many have stood the test of time in U.S. zoos and most have been demolished. Even the ones that were constructed in America pale in size and significance in comparison to the enormous zoo mountains in places like Paris, Budapest and Hamburg that often have a range of mammal and bird species all around them in satellite exhibits.
I have seen ibex at
28 zoos and that includes
4 species (13 Alpine, 9 Nubian, 5 Siberian, 1 Iberian):
2019 = 10 zoos
1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Siberian Ibex – 1975
2- Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) – Alpine Ibex – 1998
3- Langenberg Wildlife Park (Switzerland) – Alpine Ibex – 2003
4- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Iberian Ibex – 2006
5- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Nubian Ibex – 2006
6- Bronx Zoo (USA) – Nubian Ibex – 2008
7- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Nubian Ibex – 2008
8- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Nubian Ibex – 2008
9- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Nubian Ibex – 2010
10- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Nubian Ibex – 2010
11- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Nubian Ibex – 2010
12- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Alpine Ibex – 2012
13- Hemker Park & Zoo (USA) – Alpine Ibex – 2014
14- Frank Buck Zoo (USA) – Nubian Ibex – 2015
15- Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) – Alpine Ibex – 2018
16- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Alpine Ibex – 2019
17- Wildpark Gangelt (Germany) – Alpine Ibex – 2019
18- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Siberian Ibex – 2019
19- Tiergehege Kaisergarten (Germany) – Alpine Ibex – 2019
20- Zoo Veldhoven (Netherlands) – Alpine Ibex – 2019
21- Dierenrijk (Animal Kingdom) (Netherlands) – Alpine Ibex – 2019
22- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Siberian Ibex – 2019
23- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Siberian Ibex – 2019
24- Olderdissen Zoo (Germany) – Alpine Ibex – 2019
25- Nordhorn Zoo (Germany) – Siberian Ibex – 2019
26- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Alpine Ibex – 2022
27- Kristiansand Zoo (Norway) – Alpine Ibex – 2022
28- Singapore Zoo (Singapore) – Nubian Ibex – 2024
For years,
Greater Vancouver Zoo (Canada) had a herd of at least 15 Alpine Ibex and then one day (poof!) they were all gone and never to return.
On my first visit to
San Diego Zoo (USA) in 2006, I saw Iberian Ibex and I am of the belief that
Horn & Hoof Mesa was far superior to the hit-and-miss
Elephant Odyssey complex. Yes, there used to be a whole row of dusty hoofstock enclosures, but what species they had!
@Zebraduiker
When I was at
San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) in 2011, the zoo had baby Springbok, Nubian Ibex, Mouflon and Red River Hog
all together in the
Nursery Kraal. That's quite the mix! There's also been Nubian Ibex occasionally visible on the distant hillside enclosures of the park.
@Otter Lord
I saw Geladas, Rock Hyrax and Nubian Ibex all together at
Bronx Zoo (USA) in the fantastic exhibit complex called
Baboon Reserve:
@RatioTile
I missed seeing the Nubian Ibex at
Fort Worth Zoo (USA) on my first visit in 2008 (they were hiding or off-show), but the second time around in 2015 I saw a few in their very steep hillside habitat. This enclosure sits completely empty these days...what a shame!
The horns on some ibex are insane. Here's a huge male Nubian Ibex at
Los Angeles Zoo (USA) and the last ZooChat images of ibex at this zoo were in 2017.
@Blackduiker
BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) had this Nubian Ibex mock-rock mountain when I toured the zoo in 2010. These sort of 'blobs' used to be all the rage a half-century ago.
This ugly old Nubian Ibex exhibit was what I saw at
San Antonio Zoo (USA) in 2010:
@Baldur
Frank Buck Zoo (USA), which I really was not impressed with, has Giraffes and Ostriches on their
African Savanna...as well as Nubian Ibex!
@MGolka
Seeing Alpine Ibex at
Assiniboine Park Zoo (Canada) in 2018 makes me think that there's probably not very many left of that species in North American zoos.
Now onto Europe and the good stuff. If you are a zoo nerd and you've never toured a bunch of European zoos then you are unfortunately missing out on the bulk of the best zoo exhibits ever made. Check out this highly memorable Alpine Ibex exhibit at
Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands). It has more 'character' than any single North American enclosure for ibex. That's what you get with European zoo exhibits:
character. I recall this ibex exhibit very well from my 2019 visit.
@twilighter
There are a few close-up views of the Siberian Ibex mock-rock mountain exhibit at
Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) in the ZooChat gallery, but I am drawn to this panorama shot. There's the California Sea Lion pool in the foreground, the Polar Bear exhibit just behind (and the bears are now gone) and at the very back is the Siberian Ibex mountain. Fantastic stuff and very 'Hagenbeckian'.
@Green_mamba
At
Dierenrijk (Animal Kingdom) (Netherlands), now onto its 3rd name of Eindhoven Zoo, I saw a big grassy mountain with Alpine Ibex in 2019.
Ungulate heaven in Berlin! My image from
Berlin Zoo (Germany) shows how steep the Siberian Ibex exhibit is, which is perfect for this nimble-footed species. The sign on the enclosure actually said
Asiatic Ibex, which is interesting.
No one has uploaded any photos from
Olderdissen Zoo (Germany) since I was there in 2019, so I'm curious to know if the mixed-species combination of Alpine Ibex and Alpine Marmot still exists.
Tierpark Nordhorn (Germany) has a lot of domestic animals, but one of their truly great exhibits is for Siberian Ibex, Griffon Vultures and Waldrapp Ibis. This is actually a
walk-in enclosure, meaning that visitors have their own area inside the exhibit. Fantastic.
@lintworm
If you zoom in and squint, you can see more than a dozen Alpine Ibex in this photo taken at
Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden). That species, and plenty more, are viewed via the 30-minute gondola ride.
@twilighter
There's a half-dozen fallen tree trunks that the Alpine Ibex can walk across at
Kristiansand Zoo (Norway) in this spacious habitat that can also be seen via a trail that goes around to the peak.
Lastly, there is the phenomenal exhibit called
The Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia at
Singapore Zoo (Singapore). Nubian Ibex and probably 75+ Hamadryas Baboons exist in a habitat that can be seen via multiple vantage points. Absolutely brilliant and I even saw a wild Colugo in this part of the zoo, one of 4 wild Colugos that
@twilighter and I saw in the space of a few hours.
@Zooish
Family Bovidae: 65 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
Alpine Ibex -
13 zoos
Nile Lechwe -
12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle -
11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle -
11 zoos
Beisa Oryx -
10 zoos
Himalayan Tahr -
10 zoos
Nubian Ibex -
9 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
Siberian Ibex -
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)
Iberian Ibex -
1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
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