Species Becoming More Common in Zoos

MonkeyBat

MonkeyBat

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Hi all, does anyone have some examples of species that used to be rare in zoos but now are becoming increasingly more common? Off the top of my head I know Tasmanian devils are becoming incredibly prevalent in North America and Europe. If anyone has any other examples, don't hesitate to share.
 
I would say the most classic example would be Komodo Dragon. Just 25 years a go in a few American collections and now in over 50 collections, including two in my area (Greensboro Science Center and NC Zoo) that both brought them in since 2017.
 
Loxodonta Cobra said:
Lake Titiaca frogs are now on show in a number of AZA and EAZA zoos such as Prague, Atlanta, Saint Louis, and Chester; these frogs originate from the Denver Zoo which successfully started a breeding program to protect them in 2017-2018.
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Cincinnati as well :).



Whilst I can't recall any rarer species off the top of my head, I do know one very famous example : Meerkats! :P :D
 
Okapi are another species. From what I know the population was very small until the 1990’s when it began to grow and bring on new institutions. In 2008 their were in 22 collections In the US with them. Today that number sits at about 37 institutions, with at least one new institution planning on getting the species in the next year (so almost doubling in a decade).
 
nczoofan said:
Okapi are another species. From what I know the population was very small until the 1990’s when it began to grow and bring on new institutions. In 2008 their were in 22 collections In the US with them. Today that number sits at about 37 institutions, with at least one new institution planning on getting the species in the next year (so almost doubling in a decade).
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I was scrolling down the thread with the intention of posting either Komodo dragons or okapis, and then you beat me to both :D

I've loved okapis since I was a kid, and I remember marveling over blurry photos taken by a relative who visited the London Zoo in the 90's. There weren't any in CA beyond the San Diego Zoo, which was inaccessible due to cost + distance, so they seemed a whole world away. Now both LA and Sacramento have them too, with the latter getting them just last year. Didn't realize the number of institutions had nearly doubled though, that's great!
 
It may be my imagination but, I believe I am seeing more zoos exhibiting more species of wildlife native to the area where zoos are located.
 
I agree, tasmanian Devils are becoming more and more a common animal, but there are a lot of more species formerly rare , but now belongs to the category"I can't see them anymore".

These are:

Echidna
Tree Kangaroo
Ringtailed-Rock wallaby
Quoll
Common Wombat
Koala
Bear cuscus
Bonobo
Sifaka ( and more of them will follow...Godness, they become the new Hamydyras baboon in europe)
Drill
Okapi
Bongo
Gerenuk
Giant eland
Red River Hog
Visayan warty Pig
Warty Pig
Grevy-Zebra
Red Duiker
Indian Rhino
Malayan tapir
Phillipine Spotted deer
Giant Panda
Red panda
Asian Lion
Red and Roufous Elephant Shrew
Rusty Spotted Cat
Golden Cat
Fishing Cat
Clouded leopard ( the new northern lynx...Godness, why all zoos have to show THEM ?)

Just to name a few.
 
Crossing my fingers and hoping that hyenas become more common. :D

Also, to note the Lake Titicaca frogs, even Detroit has some in their amphibian house. I also feel as if though not many zoos really currently have them, but it seems like more zoos have Kihansi spray toads now than around 12 years ago (previously, only Bronx and Toledo had em). Now, Detroit, Chattanooga, and Omaha all have them, though I'm not sure if all of them are on display (I actually forget if Detroit's were on-display, they were BTS for quite awhile...) Still, they're not that common yet, but it seems promising.
 
Bib Fortuna said:
I agree, tasmanian Devils are becoming more and more a common animal, but there are a lot of more species formerly rare , but now belongs to the category"I can't see them anymore".

These are:

Echidna
Tree Kangaroo
Ringtailed-Rock wallaby
Quoll
Common Wombat
Koala
Bear cuscus
Bonobo
Sifaka ( and more of them will follow...Godness, they become the new Hamydyras baboon in europe)
Drill
Okapi
Bongo
Gerenuk
Giant eland
Red River Hog
Visayan warty Pig
Warty Pig
Grevy-Zebra
Red Duiker
Indian Rhino
Malayan tapir
Phillipine Spotted deer
Giant Panda
Red panda
Asian Lion
Red and Roufous Elephant Shrew
Rusty Spotted Cat
Golden Cat
Fishing Cat
Clouded leopard ( the new northern lynx...Godness, why all zoos have to show THEM ?)

Just to name a few.
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What! I cannot agree.
I’d love to see more of pretty much all of these species in the U.K... Some of my favourites. How can one not stand seeing a species as stunning as bongos or clouded leopards.
And Gerenuk/Giant Eland certainly aren’t common/more common in Europe!
 
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nczoofan said:
Okapi are another species. From what I know the population was very small until the 1990’s when it began to grow and bring on new institutions. In 2008 their were in 22 collections In the US with them. Today that number sits at about 37 institutions, with at least one new institution planning on getting the species in the next year (so almost doubling in a decade).
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I didn't know they used to be rare in zoos, I always saw them as a "staple" of zoos! Pretty cool how fast things can change.
 
Manatees are becoming more common in zoos in Europe and Asia. In the last decade Singapore, Wroclaw, Beauval, Paris, and Burgers Zoo have all either opened new exhibits or enlarged existing ones for West Indian manatees. African Manatees are becoming increasingly popular in Asia aquariums and many aquariums in China and Japan particularly now have them.
 
I got no real proof for this hypothesis, but i can imagine that coatis are getting more common in zoos over the past decades. In many zoos old enclosures for bears or monkeys are to old and small for such big animals and in order to that the zoos put coatis in there. I saw this in quite many zoos i`ve visited and in order to that i can imagine that the number of zoos holding coatis increased over the last few years or decades.
 
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