What are they then? I legitimately thought that's what they were, that's what the zoo claims they are.And none, to the best of my knowledge, are red slender lorises
Species no longer held/nearly gone from US zoos
- Thread starter SusScrofa
- Start date
Another species to completely disappear from US Zoos is the Syke's Guenon. At least a handful of zoos kept this species into the early 2000's, and unfortunately the last individual in the country passed away at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo a few years ago.
Afro-Eurasian Monkeys as a whole are losing quite a bit of diversity in US Zoos in recent years. A number of species have already completely disappeared (such as the red-shanked douc that's been mentioned on here numerous times), but there are a number of other species that are likely to disappear from US Collections in the next decade:
- Golden-Bellied Mangabeys- Cleveland is the final US Holder remaining, and their mangabeys are both elderly.
- Red-Capped Mangabeys- Very few individuals left, the majority of which are elderly
- Spectacled and Javan Langurs- Overall, langurs are not a group of primates well-represented in the US. Spectacled Langurs are rare, and primarily elderly, while Bronx is the only AZA holder of Javans. Tanganyika is breeding Javans and the Wild Animal Park in NY keeps them as well, so that species may have some future outside of the AZA. Inside the AZA, however, it's likely that Francois' Langur and Silvered Leaf Langurs will soon become the only langurs seen.
- Macaques other than Japanese- The phase out of macaques in AZA Zoos has been well-documented on here in the past, and Japanese will likely be the only macaque in the AZA in the near future. DAK and a few other places still have some elderly Lion-tailed Macaques, there are Crab-Eating Macaques at Indianapolis, and a few places should still have some Sulawesi Macaques, but the future of these species in US Zoos is very much uncertain. Japanese Macaques benefit from being one of the few cold-tolerant primates, so are kept and bred by a handful of northern zoos, such as Buffalo, Central Park, Detroit, and Lincoln Park.
- Baboons other than Hamadrayas- Olive baboons are common outside the AZA, but within the AZA any baboon species other than Hamadrayas is hard to come by. Most of the zoos with a different baboon species (such as guinea or olives) are keeping older individuals and/or phasing the species out of their collection.
- Blue Monkeys- a handful of US Zoos are still housing this species, but most of them are elderly individuals and the species is being phased out.
- Talapoins- Audubon Zoo might be the last holder remaining
- Vervet Monkeys- Columbus and possibly a few other places still hold this species (and a number of non-AZA places have hybrids between Vervet/Grivet/Green Monkeys), however their future in US Zoos are rather uncertain, and are by no means a common species.
Unfortunately, the status of these species (and many other Afro-Eurasian Monkeys) in US Zoos is very uncertain. It seems that interest in these primates isn't anywhere near where it needs to be, and it looks like in the not-too-distant future there will be a very small number of Afro-Eurasian Monkey species represented within reputable US Zoos. I sincerely hope this situation turns around (and I feel the AZA TAG could manage more species than they are with better space allocation), but it doesn't look promising. I could honestly count on my fingers the number of Afro-Eurasian Monkey species I am confident have a future in AZA zoos, which is a shame as this is a unique, interesting, popular group of animals- with many species threatened in the wild.
Afro-Eurasian Monkeys as a whole are losing quite a bit of diversity in US Zoos in recent years. A number of species have already completely disappeared (such as the red-shanked douc that's been mentioned on here numerous times), but there are a number of other species that are likely to disappear from US Collections in the next decade:
- Golden-Bellied Mangabeys- Cleveland is the final US Holder remaining, and their mangabeys are both elderly.
- Red-Capped Mangabeys- Very few individuals left, the majority of which are elderly
- Spectacled and Javan Langurs- Overall, langurs are not a group of primates well-represented in the US. Spectacled Langurs are rare, and primarily elderly, while Bronx is the only AZA holder of Javans. Tanganyika is breeding Javans and the Wild Animal Park in NY keeps them as well, so that species may have some future outside of the AZA. Inside the AZA, however, it's likely that Francois' Langur and Silvered Leaf Langurs will soon become the only langurs seen.
- Macaques other than Japanese- The phase out of macaques in AZA Zoos has been well-documented on here in the past, and Japanese will likely be the only macaque in the AZA in the near future. DAK and a few other places still have some elderly Lion-tailed Macaques, there are Crab-Eating Macaques at Indianapolis, and a few places should still have some Sulawesi Macaques, but the future of these species in US Zoos is very much uncertain. Japanese Macaques benefit from being one of the few cold-tolerant primates, so are kept and bred by a handful of northern zoos, such as Buffalo, Central Park, Detroit, and Lincoln Park.
- Baboons other than Hamadrayas- Olive baboons are common outside the AZA, but within the AZA any baboon species other than Hamadrayas is hard to come by. Most of the zoos with a different baboon species (such as guinea or olives) are keeping older individuals and/or phasing the species out of their collection.
- Blue Monkeys- a handful of US Zoos are still housing this species, but most of them are elderly individuals and the species is being phased out.
- Talapoins- Audubon Zoo might be the last holder remaining
- Vervet Monkeys- Columbus and possibly a few other places still hold this species (and a number of non-AZA places have hybrids between Vervet/Grivet/Green Monkeys), however their future in US Zoos are rather uncertain, and are by no means a common species.
Unfortunately, the status of these species (and many other Afro-Eurasian Monkeys) in US Zoos is very uncertain. It seems that interest in these primates isn't anywhere near where it needs to be, and it looks like in the not-too-distant future there will be a very small number of Afro-Eurasian Monkey species represented within reputable US Zoos. I sincerely hope this situation turns around (and I feel the AZA TAG could manage more species than they are with better space allocation), but it doesn't look promising. I could honestly count on my fingers the number of Afro-Eurasian Monkey species I am confident have a future in AZA zoos, which is a shame as this is a unique, interesting, popular group of animals- with many species threatened in the wild.
As far as I know, the North American captive population has entirely consisted of Loris lydekkerianus (the same as the European captive population) for at *least* a decade - the tardigradus identification is likely one of those "captive classification dates back to before the split" things.
I'd be inclined to say they are Grey Slender Loris as well, with confusion via retaining the pre-split scientific name.
The zoo's newsletter thing from last year specifically says they are the last Red Slender Loris in American zoos (page four, here Exzooberance July/August 2021), however I'm not sure this is conclusive in any way because I think they are the only Slender Loris of any species in American zoos?
Conversely Joel Satore specifies them as being Grey Slender Loris of the subspecies nordicus.
I have no opinion either way, but Satore isn't a reliable source. He has dozens of species labelled incorrectly.
He seems to go with whatever the zoo tells him though (hence all his "Bengal Tigers", for example), so it is weird that he calls them one thing and the zoo calls them another.
Many of these species will likely disappear from AZA zoos, however several of the species you listed here are in no danger of disappearing from US zoos as a whole. Crab-eating Macaques and Vervets, for example, and extremely common in roadside zoos and will not disappear from them any time soon.
I thought most of the "vervets" in roadside zoos were hyrbids with green monkeys and/or grivets?
It's really hard to know for sure with most of them, but at the very least Vervet-like monkeys are in no danger of disappearing from US zoos.
Lake Superior Zoo also keeps animals claimed to be Red Slender Loris.
With both Memphis' and National's panda contracts ending at the end of the year, Giant Panda will likely be gone from US zoos very soon. This will leave Atlanta as the last holder in the country.
Ah... finally an animal mentioned that I'd be happy to see gone from US Zoos, and not disappointed!
Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
Don’t speak too soon. National might just start over with a new panda family for all we know.
Lake Superior Zoo does not have Red Slender Lorises, unfortunately. They instead have a family of four Pygmy Slow Lorises, acquired from Columbus about two years ago.
It dawned on me that a few zoological facilities i visited this year have/or perhaps have the last of a species in the U.S. Let me know if I'm mistaken on the following:
Zoo Atlanta: Drill
Carson Springs: Rusty Spotted Cat
Aquatica Orlando: Commerson Dolphin
SDWAP: Platypus, Barbary Deer, Uganda Kob
LA Zoo: Mt. Tapir
GCC: Hoolock Gibbon
Seaworld SD: Pilot Whale, Emporer Penguin, Guadalupe Fur Seal
Mystic Aquarium: Stellar Sea Lion
St. Aug Gator Farm: Mugger Crocodile
I'm sure there was at least one species at Wildlife World Zoo
Zoo Atlanta: Drill
Carson Springs: Rusty Spotted Cat
Aquatica Orlando: Commerson Dolphin
SDWAP: Platypus, Barbary Deer, Uganda Kob
LA Zoo: Mt. Tapir
GCC: Hoolock Gibbon
Seaworld SD: Pilot Whale, Emporer Penguin, Guadalupe Fur Seal
Mystic Aquarium: Stellar Sea Lion
St. Aug Gator Farm: Mugger Crocodile
I'm sure there was at least one species at Wildlife World Zoo
Corangurilla
Well-Known Member
I would like to add in the Duke Lemur Center with their Fat-Tailed Dwarf Lemurs (Cheirogaleus medius), which, as mentioned before, appear to be the only holder of this species in the country. In addition, didn’t Zoo Atlanta already phase out their Drills after relocating them to an overseas facility; or do they still happen to have them off-display?
