The only ones.

P

PAT

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
I don't know if this has been done before but it is a pretty interesting topic.

Does your zoo have any species that are the only ones in captivity, the only ones outside of their native country or seriously the only ones?

Melbourne Zoo is the only zoo to hold and breed Lord Howe Island Stick Insects which is pretty cool.

Are there any others out there? :)
 
A nice little topic to hear about obscurities! :D

We have (bearing in mind I only know about herps and inverts);
Round island keel scaled boa - Casarea dussumieri
Only captive group worldwide.

Morogoro viviparus toads - Nectophrynoides viviparus
Only known group in captivity (could be held privately)

Mauritian lesser night gecko - Nactus coindemirensis
Only captive group worldwide - breeding for specific re-release project.

Not sure how much these count but a sorry story nontheless;
Partula faba, Extinct in the wild, 38 of a total 56 specimens remaining worldwide.

Partula mooreana, Extinct in the wild, 14 of a total 16 specimens remaining worldwide.
 
howletts wild animal park have the only grizzled leaf monkeys outside south east asia, they also hold this record for certain other primates
 
Do the collections make it clear just how unique these are? I often think that zoos don't do enough to communicate just how rare or unusual some species are in ways that are easy for the average visitor to appreciate. Big signs like 'rarer than a giant panda' or 'only chance to see in this country' for example.
 
Marwell has a few UK-onlys (Sable Antelope, Dama Gazelle, Dorcas Gazelle, Puerto Rican Crested Toad) but no only-in-captivitys etc. as far as I know.
 
Mulhouse - very last Red-bellied guenon in captivity
Duisburg - the only Amazon river dolphin outside of South America.
Koln - last doucs and red howler monkeys in Europe, the only Saiga.
Dvur - last Northern white rhinos in captivity, two animals in SDWAP.
Antwerp Zoo - the only Eastern lowland gorilla outside of Africa.
Leipzig Zoo - only pair of pangolins in Europe.
 
I forgot to mention the Round island skink, Leiolopisma telfairii!!!


Shirokuma said:
Do the collections make it clear just how unique these are? I often think that zoos don't do enough to communicate just how rare or unusual some species are in ways that are easy for the average visitor to appreciate. Big signs like 'rarer than a giant panda' or 'only chance to see in this country' for example.
Click to expand...

In our case, none of those species are currently on display.
The Round island skinks will be on display by the end of 2009, the Morogoro viviparus toads are housed in the window of one of the biosecure containers, which have just been surrounded by a decked area, the idea is to open up this whole behind the scenes area to allow the public a view into the kind of work we're doing off show.

We have some ideas in the pipeline for perhaps displaying the round island boas...

The partula snails are not suitable for display, neither are the mauritian lesser night geckos (as part of a breeding for release project they would not be displayed anyway).
 
According to ISIS Birdland has the only Grey Tree Pies (Dendrocitta formosae) in captivity and Europes only Blue Winged Minla (Minla cyanouroptera)
 
Blue Winged Minla is kept in Birdpark Walsrode and in two other institutions in Danemark.
 
This is exactley what I mean and there are some pretty cool species out there...you just have to know where to look. :)

Melbourne Zoo recently renovated their insect area so now they do have a lot of attention brought to the fact that these are probably the only ones you'll ever see but their insects so they don't really make a good display unless you're into that sort of thing.

I just thought of some more at Taronga Zoo in Sydney...The only Leopard Seals in captivity and also the only long-beaked echidnas outside of PNG.
 
Cincinnati Zoo - only pampas cat in U.S. (unless it has died recently)
Georgia Aquarium - only whale sharks (unless they have died)
Southern Nevada Zoo - only barbary macaques in U.S.
Exotic Feline Breeding Compound - only jaguarundis on display in U.S. (and one of only two remaining pairs in country)
Cincinnati Zoo - only sumatran rhinos on display (but another off exhibit at White Oak Center)
San Diego Zoo - I don't know exactly what, but they must have several unique animals in their vast collection (some birds at the very least)
 
Loro Parque, Tenerife, has the only Maroon-fronted Parrots (Rhynchopsitta terrisi) outside Mexico.
It's hard to be sure about many bird species because some of the world's biggest bird collections - Walsrode, Loro Parque, Berlin Zoo, etc. - don't list their stock on ISIS.
 
According to zootierliste, Veszprem zoo in hungary has the only southern lesser long nosed armadillo in Europe. Leipzig zoo has the only pangolin in Europe. Rare species conservation centre has the only little red fruit bats in Europe. And finally Plzen zoo has the only Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bat :D (i'd never heard of it )
 
PAT said:
I just thought of some more at Taronga Zoo in Sydney...The only Leopard Seals in captivity and also the only long-beaked echidnas outside of PNG.
Click to expand...

Actually I think that there is a long-beaked (Bruijin’s) echidna at Moscow Zoo.......
 
Wahlberg's epauletted fruit bats are kept in Pilsen Zoo too, there is a pair of Pangolins in Leizig, the female is probably still off show, in the Poznan Zoo there is the last African Palm Civet ( maybe some private keepers hold them).
 
interesting fact: the grizzled leaf monkeys at howletts came from perth zoo - who no longer wanted them.

the echidna in moscow is a different species of long-beaked echidna. taronga have the only pair of bartonii's.

taronga has the only tuatara in australia (maybe world outside of new zealand?)
 
phoenix said:
taronga has the only tuatara in australia (maybe world outside of new zealand?)
Click to expand...

Chester and Berlin both have Common Tuataras (quite a fair group - 1.4/1.5? - at Chester). I believe San Diego (and maybe some other US zoos?) has Guenther's Tuataras.
 
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