Species that you would like to see in UK zoos

I’d probably have to go with either Tasmanian devils, quokka or platypus, but I can’t really see any of the three species arriving in the UK any time soon
 
JonWild said:
I’d probably have to go with either Tasmanian devils, quokka or platypus, but I can’t really see any of the three species arriving in the UK any time soon
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Platypus still seems a long way off but I think Quokka and Tasmanian Devils have a good chance of coming to the UK reasonably soon with Copenhagen recently receiving 21 Devils and Wilhelma’s new Quokkas!
 
Realistically, with the fresh import of Tasmanian devils, I could see a collection such as Hamerton suiting them very well, I know previously Edinburgh were linked with them. Gerenuk, Chinese pangolin, black-footed cat, Chinese ferret badger, proboscis and the return of musk oxen to the UK would be healthy additions to some collections.
 
Chousingha
Baird's Tapir
Mountain Tapir
Northern Lowland Tapir
Wild Yak (more or less impossible, I know)
Wild Bactrian Camel (ditto)
Saiga (ditto)
Steamer ducks (Flying and Magellanic and Falklands)
Steller's Eider (Pensthorpe had some in the 90s and I was fortunate to see them, but they appear to have died out there)
Endemic bird, herp, fish, and invert species from British Overseas Territories ought IMO to be prioritised, and there are surprisingly few in UK zoos with the main exceptions being Bermuda land snails and the Montserrat Mountain Chicken.
Kagu
Kiwi (Northern Brown being the best bet as there is already a European zoo population)
Pangolins (all seven species, urgently)
Musk Deer (either species)
Brocket (any species)
Hirola

Bit ambitious? Just say. :)
 
Jennings said:
Kiwi (Northern Brown being the best bet as there is already a European zoo population)
Pangolins (all seven species, urgently)
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Kiwi - already held in a UK collection! (though admittedly he is practically off-show)

There are 8 species of pangolin - M. pentadactyla would be the most feasible given there is a (tiny) European population and an import link with Taipei Zoo.
 
Jennings said:
Endemic bird, herp, fish, and invert species from British Overseas Territories ought IMO to be prioritised
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Yes! It is a very good idea. These animals are generally overlooked, even if Britain has sole responsibility of protecting them (or letting them extinct).

Inaccessible Island Rail has been since decades proposed to breed in human care, as introduction of rats will wipe it out. It is a worlds smallest flightless bird, and looks essentially like a chick of a rail which never matures. Other endemics include Gough Bunting, Henderson Fruit-Dove or Henderson Crake, another flightless rail.

There were Gough Moorhens imported to Britain in the 1990s and bred well, but were allowed to hybridize and then go extinct.
 
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