Both of these species are present in US zoos and have established breeding programs. Chacoan peccaries are held by around 20 facilities, while desert bighorn sheep are limited to a handful of institutions.
Species you'd like to see in zoos
- Thread starter DragonDust101
- Start date
Both of these species are present in US zoos and have established breeding programs. Chacoan peccaries are held by around 20 facilities, while desert bighorn sheep are limited to a handful of institutions.
There's a lot of species I'd love to see,
I still think that it would be plausible to hold Amazon river dolphins in captivity again. Only a handful of the individuals collected in the eighties survived, but some of them lasted quite a while, and I believe some of the issues were solved with those animals after the initial deaths. I know it's incredibly unlikely, especially after the DWA debacle, but I find them one of the most fascinating creatures out there and think they could be popular with guests. This doesn't mean I want some private collector to pluck a few for kicks, but I would really like to see a coordinated, cooperative effort to bring this species to greater attention.
I would say small mammals feel as if they've been on the decline in many of my local facilities and I would like to see more of these species. Many of them have guest appeal - but I have to confess no individual species come to mind as especially provocative. I know civets have been mentioned, and I'm inclined to agree.
I still think that it would be plausible to hold Amazon river dolphins in captivity again. Only a handful of the individuals collected in the eighties survived, but some of them lasted quite a while, and I believe some of the issues were solved with those animals after the initial deaths. I know it's incredibly unlikely, especially after the DWA debacle, but I find them one of the most fascinating creatures out there and think they could be popular with guests. This doesn't mean I want some private collector to pluck a few for kicks, but I would really like to see a coordinated, cooperative effort to bring this species to greater attention.
I would say small mammals feel as if they've been on the decline in many of my local facilities and I would like to see more of these species. Many of them have guest appeal - but I have to confess no individual species come to mind as especially provocative. I know civets have been mentioned, and I'm inclined to agree.
I agree with many of the animals said so far, tree kangaroos, birds of paradise and animals from the Galapagos all sound great. The animals I would like to add to this list are vangas, tenrecs, Cotingidae birds, civets, more macaws apart from Scarlett and blue and Yellow, flat lizards and mongooses.
Falanouc
Well-Known Member
So? I still want to see them.
For those who have not discovered it yet, the Scientific American blog Tetrapod Zoology has many articles on weird and wonderful mammals and others which as far as I know have never been kept in captivity and might male interesting exhibits. The latest article covers the vast range of rodents in the Americas, like the fish-eating rat Icthyomys - see here: The Sigmodontines
Some species that I would definitely like to see more of after a recent visit to the Barcelona zoo and Aquarium (despite being common in some places) include:
- Nautilus
- Wisent
- Congo Buffalo (Non-existent in North Amerca now)
- Sir Lankan Leopard
- Barbary Macaque
- Siamese Crocodile
- Eurasian Spoonbill
- Bearded Vulture
One Species I would like to see more since having a discussion wth someone related to it is the Pronghorn Antelope. I know a few different zoos have them but I feel like most zoos generally don't think about them when it comes to their North American exhibits despite having such a fascinating natural history.
- Nautilus
- Wisent
- Congo Buffalo (Non-existent in North Amerca now)
- Sir Lankan Leopard
- Barbary Macaque
- Siamese Crocodile
- Eurasian Spoonbill
- Bearded Vulture
One Species I would like to see more since having a discussion wth someone related to it is the Pronghorn Antelope. I know a few different zoos have them but I feel like most zoos generally don't think about them when it comes to their North American exhibits despite having such a fascinating natural history.
SealPup
Well-Known Member
I was told that pronghorn do poorly. I don't know if anyone can confirm this but yes, they would be the most habitat appropriate species to combine with plains bison.
The Minnesota Zoo,has had pronghorns since at least 1990 and I'm pretty sure San Diego, LA, and Queens have them as well so they must not do too poorly in captivity.
They all still do, yes. The Beardsley Zoo here in Connecticut and the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island both also keep and have bred them. Two subspecies are managed in zoos as well. I think, for whatever reason, they do very poorly outside of North America so that's why they've never been established elsewhere.
@HowlerMonkey I believe there are still some Forest Buffalo in North America. At least in the private sector if not public.
~Thylo
Along with the sheep and peccary, two Onager subspecies have breeding programs in Europe, wild horses are kept commonly in zoos in both America and Europe, and Giant Eland have a small but present population in America.
The macaws are bred in good numbers I think, it's just that the Spix's Macaw is handled in private breeding centers and what not. The condor is common in captivity.
As for those who mentioned Saiga, I believe several captive populations were attempted but the usually did very poorly.
~Thylo
With a lot of the species I mentioned, it's probably just me not having been to the proper collections or just having plain bad timing (looking at just missing the Bearded Vultures in Barcelona).
I wonder why the Pronghorn never fared well outside of North Amerca?
I remember reading somewhere that the captive Saiga populations had a pretty high mortality rate among their calves. I believe the San Deigo Wild Animal Park mentioned as well about having aggression issues with the males on their Asian Savanna Exhibit when they held them which caused some problems.
Kawekaweau
Well-Known Member
I'd love to see terror skinks in zoos, and more American and Cuban crocodiles. Other interesting ones that come to mind include river sharks, smalleye hammerheads, Mekong giant catfish, Wels catfish, pygopodids and coconut crabs.
Last I heard about Forest Buffalo, the final specimens in the U. S. were at the San Diego Zoo.. There used to be quite a few here at Brookfield, but they've been gone a few years now as a result. Shame, as I think the Congo habitat is a bit less compelling without them.
SealPup
Well-Known Member
Mekong giant Pangasius are held in Siam Ocean World and I believe also in the Arab world. American crocs are common in S Am zoos. Coconut crabs are held in Siam Ocean World (again). I held the latter in the past so they should be easy to obtain for zoos.
Personally I am frustrated aquaria tend only to showcase their own local marine fauna else common reef species seen in the aquarium trade. Few N Pacific or S Hemisphere temperate species are held in Europe.
Personally I am frustrated aquaria tend only to showcase their own local marine fauna else common reef species seen in the aquarium trade. Few N Pacific or S Hemisphere temperate species are held in Europe.
Giant Pangasius refers to P. sanitwongsei, and the Mekong Giant Catfish isn't in the genus Pangasius. American Crocodiles can also be found in American zoos as well as two collections in Europe.
Remember that most marine fauna held in captivity are still wild-caught as oppose to being bred in captivity, so local species and ones common in the trade are generally the easiest and most cost-effective to obtain. Since there won't be much of any captive breeding, why spend all the extra money and effort getting species that will only be there a certain amount of time and then have to be recollected again? Besides, I personally enjoy visiting places that specialize in the native fauna of that area, especially marine life. I look forward to the New York Aquarium opening their new exhibit on local shark species for instance.
~Thylo
SealPup
Well-Known Member
Pangasius, Pangasiodon. So far as I'm aware they are sister taxa anyway and were formerly congeneric in any case though the difference is visible. Yes, Siam Ocean World has them.
Not everyone can travel to see locally themed aquaria. Besides if SOW can exhibit Japanese spider crabs, spotted chimeras and hagfish from the N Pacific why can't they be displayed in Europe.
Not everyone can travel to see locally themed aquaria. Besides if SOW can exhibit Japanese spider crabs, spotted chimeras and hagfish from the N Pacific why can't they be displayed in Europe.
-Hyenas. I'm aware a lot of private places have them, but it's a shame they're not really held in zoos, typically in the U.S.. They're very underrated and I'd definitely love to see them over the more popular animals the public would rather see, and I'd totally be satisfied with seeing a spotted hyena.
-Secretary birds. Never seen one before, it would definitely be cool seeing one. I know various places have them, but unfortunately (as with the hyena case) none of the facilities I went to have them.
-Lowland nyala. Basically, like the other species mentioned, they're species I greatly admire but unfortunately never got to see one.
-A lot of rarely held species. It gets boring seeing the same species over and over again. I think though that's a lot of Zoochatters here however
-Secretary birds. Never seen one before, it would definitely be cool seeing one. I know various places have them, but unfortunately (as with the hyena case) none of the facilities I went to have them.
-Lowland nyala. Basically, like the other species mentioned, they're species I greatly admire but unfortunately never got to see one.
-A lot of rarely held species. It gets boring seeing the same species over and over again. I think though that's a lot of Zoochatters here however
Pangasius and Pangasianodon are also held in European and North American aquariums and (rarely) in private aquaculture as well, although they are not very common. Fun fact: the Shedd Aquarium recently took stewardship of a very large (~100?) population of P. sanitwongsei confiscated at O'Hare Int'l Airport.
My understanding is that they did do poorly in Europe for unknown reasons. They seem to do fine here in the States, and as elefante pointed out several zoos keep and breed them with no issue. In fact, there is a conservation breeding program currently in place for the Baja Peninsula subspecies.
Tangent: does anyone know what the deal is with vampire bats in Europe? From ZTL's records, it seems like Berlin TP's and Poznan's colonies are just shrinking with no visible reproduction; are all of them sterile? And is the Szeged group breeding?