Species You Wish More Zoos Would Keep

For me the list is:
-Clown Triggerfish
-Scrawled Filefish
-False Gharials
-Andean & James Flamingos
-Herons (Goliath, Sumatran, Purple, Agami, Madagascar Pond)
-Shoebills
-Storks (Greater & Lesser Adjutants, Jabiru, Openbills, Painted & Milky)
-Ibises (Black Headed, South American species)
-Patas Monkeys
-Mangabeys (Golden-Bellied & Gray Cheeked)
-Pure Bengal Tigers
-African & Indian Leopards
-Savanna Baboons (Yellow & Chacma)
-Drills
-Asian Deer (Eld's, Barasingha, Indian Sambar & Bactrian)
-Gaur
-Wild Asian Water Buffalo
-Giant Elands
-Pure Nubian Giraffes
-Southern Black Rhinos
 
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-Olm
-Titicaca Water Frog
-King Cobra
-Electric Blue Day Gecko
-North Island Brown Kiwi
-Green Peafowl (pure bloodline)
-Shoebill
-Secretary Bird
-Harpy Eagle
-Kea
-Cock-of-the-Rock
-Platypus
-Long-beaked Echidna (either eastern and western is fine)
-Tasmanian Devil
-Red and White Giant Flying Squirrel
-Ruffed Lemur and Sifaka
-Aye Aye
-Pangolins (any species)
-Pallas Cat
-Asian Golden Cat
-Okapi
-Saiga Antelope
 
Arizona Docent said:
Pampas cat (all species), margay, golden cat (both species), tigrina (both species), black-footed cat, marbled cat, flat-headed cat, etc...
(Are you seeing a pattern? ;) )
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Some of these species are so rare in zoos I question whether or not it would be worth it, but I would definitely like to see more facilities keeping small cats, in particular the black-footed cat and pallas' cat.
 
Neil chace said:
Some of these species are so rare in zoos I question whether or not it would be worth it, but I would definitely like to see more facilities keeping small cats, in particular the black-footed cat and pallas' cat.
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Some of the South American felid species mentioned are actually not that rare in zoos in Brazil and wider Latin America (I wouldn't call them common either though).

The problem is obtaining individuals of these species and surmounting all of the bureaucratic hurdles to doing so which requires a lot of will, patience, determination and money.

I imagine that it is precisely this bureaucracy that would put many US and European institutions off even trying and I suppose it would have to be a zoo director or curator who really liked his / her small cats to even attempt it.

StellarChaser said:
-Olm
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I'm suprised the olm hasn't been established more widely by European zoos outside of Slovenia.
 
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Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Some of the South American felid species mentioned are actually not that rare in zoos in Brazil and wider Latin America (I wouldn't call them common either though).

The problem is obtaining individuals of these species and surmounting all of the bureaucratic hurdles to doing so which requires a lot of will, patience, determination and money.

I imagine that it is precisely this bureaucracy that would put many US and European institutions off even trying and I suppose it would have to be a zoo director or curator who really liked his / her small cats to even attempt it.



I'm suprised the olm hasn't been established more widely by European zoos outside of Slovenia.
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Olms may be difficult to keep.
In France there are small Olm colonies that live in semi-natural conditions (In caves where they were introduced for scientific purposes) but they never were kept in French zoos.

I add that for few years, it's possible to see Olms in the Zagreb Zoo (it's also a species native from Croatia).
 
For me, the two animals I would like to see more in zoos are pangolins and jacanas. Both of these animals are relatively rare in captivity, and not well known by the general public, but still interesting nevertheless.
 
Haliaeetus said:
Olms may be difficult to keep.
In France there are small Olm colonies that live in semi-natural conditions (In caves where they were introduced for scientific purposes) but they never were kept in French zoos.

I add that for few years, it's possible to see Olms in the Zagreb Zoo (it's also a species native from Croatia).
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Yes, I know that there are introduced colonies in France and Italy (?) but I would have thought that zoos or natural history museums in Western Europe would have taken an interest in keeping them too.

Why would they be so difficult to keep ?
 
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Yes, I know that there are introduced colonies in France and Italy (?) but I would have thought that zoos or natural history museums in Western Europe would have taken an interest in keeping them too.

Why would they be so difficult to keep ?
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Not so much that they are difficult to keep, although they do of course need near constant darkness and a certain humidity, but more that they are not exactly the most attractive species to visitors given the cost of importing one.
 
amur leopard said:
Not so much that they are difficult to keep, although they do of course need near constant darkness and a certain humidity, but that they are not exactly the most attractive species to visitors given the cost of importing one.
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I've always thought that they would probably do best as live displays in natural history museums rather than in zoos.

I agree about these animals not being exactly "crowd pleasers" for the average visitor but then again a lot of the invertebrates, fish, amphibians and reptiles kept at zoos in the UK like ZSL London, Bristol zoo, Chester zoo and Jersey wouldn't be classed as such either and are still kept.

Regarding the costs of importing olms why would this be so costly ? No doubt there would also be bureaucratic issues with obtaining animals too ?
 
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
I've always thought that they would probably do best as live displays in natural history museums rather than in zoos.

I agree about these animals not being exactly "crowd pleasers" for the average visitor but then again a lot of the invertebrates, fish, amphibians and reptiles kept at zoos in the UK like ZSL London, Bristol zoo, Chester zoo and Jersey wouldn't be classed as such either and are still kept.

Regarding the costs of importing olms why would this be so costly ? No doubt there would also be bureaucratic issues with obtaining animals too ?
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I don't know the specifics but I think the UK's olm population died out not too long ago so I don't think they in particular will be in a hurry to create a new population. It is my understanding that countries within the olm's range along with Germany and France are generally accepted as those leading the ex situ conservation of the olm.
 
amur leopard said:
I don't know the specifics but I think the UK's olm population died out not too long ago so I don't think they in particular will be in a hurry to create a new population. It is my understanding that countries within the olm's range along with Germany and France are generally accepted as those leading the ex situ conservation of the olm.
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Wait....There was a UK olm population ??!! :eek:
 
Onychorhynchus coronatus said:
Wait....There was a UK olm population ??!! :eek:
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Yes, Cotswold Wildlife Park was the last zoo in the country to hold olms around 20 years ago. So no impossible for a new breeding population, but I see no need really. At least not for now.

As an aside, olms can be seen in several caves in France and Germany, some of which are beautiful in their own right so I would recommend anyone passing by to visit.
 
amur leopard said:
Yes, Cotswold Wildlife Park was the last zoo in the country to hold olms around 20 years ago. So no impossible for a new breeding population, but I see no need really. At least not for now.

As an aside, olms can be seen in several caves in France and Germany, some of which are beautiful in their own right so I would recommend anyone passing by to visit.
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Thats really interesting, I had no idea that they once kept olms.

Yes, I agree with there not really being any pressing need for these at more zoos and I think you are absolutely right that it makes for a much better experience to see these in cave environments.
 
I feel like I came across a similar thread a long time ago but having another chance to say this great.

I wish zoos and the private trade properly managed common brush-tail possums. I don't thing a common animal like the brush-tail possum has to be this rare.
 
Chlidonias said:
Olms are blind, so they do not "need near constant darkness" to be kept in tanks, and they are fully aquatic so by "a certain humidity" do you just mean "water"?
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Actually they do. If they are exposed to excessive light, they can develop skin complications, causing melanin build up that can result in death. Their eyes, despite being blind, are also very sensitive to light.

As for the humidity point, it does in fact matter because if the cave is not humid enough, the water inside evaporates, leaving the olm without a habitat.
 
amur leopard said:
Actually they do. If they are exposed to excessive light, they can develop skin complications, causing melanin build up that can result in death. Their eyes, despite being blind, are also very sensitive to light.

As for the humidity point, it does in fact matter because if the cave is not humid enough, the water inside evaporates, leaving the olm without a habitat.
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Even assuming that is true, "excessive light" as an issue is not the equivalent of saying that "they need near constant darkness"; and what does water evaporating in a cave have to do with keeping Olms in tanks?
 
Chlidonias said:
Even assuming that is true, "excessive light" as an issue is not the equivalent of saying that "they need near constant darkness";
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Don’t appreciate the doubtful tone given I got this information from the people who are currently breeding olms.
Apparently being exposed to light for more than a few minutes at a time can cause a significant rise in cases of skin cancer.

As for humidity, perhaps not an issue in capitivity but certainly is in the wild - it is one of the main reasons why they are only able to survive in certain cave complexes and not others.
 
MRJ said:
Although an animal adapted to total darkness is unlikely to make a great display.
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True but what it lacks in terms of the excitement and this aspect of ecology it could more than make up for in terms of its strangeness and it is quite iconic too in some ways (long lifespan, "baby dragon" myth etc).
 
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