Trends in European zoo collections in the 21st century

[MennoPebesma]

Another family that is a zoo staple and most major big zoos will have at least 1 species of bear. That is a big change from the city zoos of the past that would often have multiple bear species displayed next to each other. While the number of available places for bears has probably shrunk a bit, all 8 species are still represented in Europe. Brown bears (Ursus arctos) are still by far the most common species held on the continent, though the North-American subspecies horribilis and middendorfii are on the verge of dying out completely. Syrian brown bears (ssp syriacus) are also in decline, despite being a small and endangered subspecies. Given the overwhelming presence of European brown bears (ssp arctos) overall numbers of brown bears haven’t budged. With Himalayan brown bears (ssp isabellinus) a new subspecies was even imported, though it is still very rare. Somewhat surprisingly the number of American black bears (Ursus americanus) has slightly grown this century (net gain of 4 holders to 25 current holders), especially because of interest of French zoos in this species. Sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) have been relatively stable in number (which means <10 zoos), though interest in this species is low and multiple offspring have been exported to the US. In recent years offspring has been very male-biased which might pose a problem in the future. The current European animals are the nominate subspecies, the always very rare Sri Lankan subspecies inornatus was last kept in 2022 in ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.

As mentioned in the latest EAZA TAG Reports, the latest Regional Collection Plan of the EAZA Bear TAG proposes a monitoring programme to phase out the giant panda. And also a monitoring programme for the American black bear to replace it with other bear species.

 

[Indolencio Aguilar]

The bears situation is weird. The most elusive bear that live in remote mountain jungle is the second common breeded (the spectacled one). Also there was this idea of create a substainable population of ussuri black bear and this was a very feasible project and well...war.

We have a lot of european brown bear. But is also the species (and subspecies) with more protection in his habitat. The syrians are like inbreeded at Targaryen level so is better to phaze out them.

They are very popular species but are so popular that i think the zoo have taken them as granted and stopped to breed them. And we probably will see a future with viable population only of the most common species (seriously why the French zoo are interessed in black bears ?)

Also i think that the problem with sun bears is that the place where they try to breed them are like opposite of their normal habitat. Seriously why the most tropical of the bear species is only in nord Europe zoo ?

 

[remar]

@Indolencio Aguilar you nailed it!

The whole bear situation is indeed quite complex. Finding the right balance between animal welfare (for bad treated east-european bears and most likely more and more "problem bears" in the future) and conservation will not be easy.

For sure the future of this taxon will definitely be highly interesting.

 

[lintworm]

. And also a monitoring programme for the American black bear to replace it with other bear species.

I really don't see how they envision this, it might look nice on paper, not so much in reality. If you look at which zoos are holding (and breeding) American black bears are ones that keep them in large North American themed areas, sometimes in drive-throughs with bison. Hardly any of those holders will replace them with another species given how they are kept and why they were acquired. Especially when polar bear and brown bear are the only managed cold weather bears.

 

[Haliaeetus]

I really don't see how they envision this, it might look nice on paper, not so much in reality. If you look at which zoos are holding (and breeding) American black bears are ones that keep them in large North American themed areas, sometimes in drive-throughs with bison. Hardly any of those holders will replace them with another species given how they are kept and why they were acquired. Especially when polar bear and brown bear are the only managed cold weather bears.

Sigean (in Southern France, near the Mediterranean) has Asiatic Black Bears in its Safari part. Curiously it's one of the rare non-African species to be displayed in this zoo.

I don't know the species that can be mixed with these Bears in a Safari zoo, but in the (now closed) Zoo du Cap Ferrat there were Coatis and Asiatic Black Bears together in a rocky pit. Maybe it should work with Yaks or Wolves.

 

[Fallax]

Sigean (in Southern France, near the Mediterranean) has Asiatic Black Bears in its Safari part. Curiously it's one of the rare non-African species to be displayed in this zoo.

I don't know the species that can be mixed with these Bears in a Safari zoo, but in the (now closed) Zoo du Cap Ferrat there were Coatis and Asiatic Black Bears together in a rocky pit. Maybe it should work with Yaks or Wolves.

Bears and wolves work, here in the UK at Woburn Safari Park there is a mix of American black bears and Canadian timber wolves.

 

[Osedax]

American black bears are ones that keep them in large North American themed areas, sometimes in drive-throughs with bison

Wait, bears and bison mixed in the same exhibit‽

 

[Haliaeetus]

Wait, bears and bison mixed in the same exhibit‽

Yes. I know at least one example of mixed exhibit with these 2 species in Thoiry + Arctic Wolves and Coyotes.
Otherwise, American Black Bears have already been mixed with Bighorns and Capybaras in another French Safari (Planète Sauvage).

 

[lintworm]

Two small corrections, one based on new information, the other based on an error of mine:

Benin tree hyrax - Dendrohyrax interfluvialis B3*
Zoo Ostrava definitely didn’t have enough tree hyraxes yet, so in 2016 it imported 2.2 animals from Togo of a second Dendrohyrax species. They started to breed quickly and are now kept in Zoo Jihlava and Zoo Plzen too. As those two zoos are also getting excellent breeding results it is probably only a matter of time until we will see real spread of this species and leave Czechia. Until recently the tree hyraxes from Togo were thought to be western tree hyrax (Dendrohyrax dorsalis), until a recent paper split the hyraxes from between the Niger and Volta Rivers, which includes Togo, into a previously undescribed species. Which means the animals from Ostrava are the newly described species. The origin of a mother-daughter pair that was confiscated and sent to Zoo Leipzig is unknown though. These animals went to Zoo Ostrava and are listed as western tree hyrax like all the Benin tree hyraxes there are. Whether they are bred with the Togo lineage is unclear, but that raises the possibility of the establishment of a hybrid population in European zoos.

The western tree hyraxes (Dendrohyrax dorsalis) imported to Czechia are indeed western tree hyraxes and not Benin tree hyraxes. They have been identified as the former and while the origin was always given as Togo, that seems to be in doubt.

Small Indian civet - Viverra tangalunga B4*
In 2002 Diergaarde Blijdorp, Rotterdam, imported a pair of these animals from Zoo Singapore. Breeding quickly started and the population grew so that within a few years there were multiple enclosures in Rotterdam filled with this species. But after the boom came the bust. Tierpark Berlin acquired 2.2 animals from Rotterdam in 2009-2010, but managed to breed only once. After the last animal in Rotterdam died in 2013, the final animals in Tierpark Berlin also died relatively soon, with the species disappearing again from Europe in 2018.

@Therabu Despite regular breeding at Diergaarde Blijdorp, small Indian civets never established themselves

I somehow mixed up common names, Viverra tangalunga is of course the Malay civet, not the small Indian civet.

Otherwise, American Black Bears have already been mixed with Bighorns and Capybaras in another French Safari (Planète Sauvage).

In Planete Sauvage the mix is currently black bears + bison. The same mix also exists in Parc Animalier de Sainte Croix (where they have another enclosure with American black bears + coyote). Thoiry also should have coyote in their mix now with the bisons and the bears.

 

[ralph]

I once saw the very unique mix of American black bear, dromedary camel, ostrich, Asian wild ass and Hamadryas baboon in a drive-though enclose at the Serengeti-park in Hodenhagen, Germany.

Didn't the AZA and EAZA have a sort of 'agreement' with one another that the former would focus on keeping and breeding sloth bears, while the latter would do the same with the sun bear, while phasing out the other one?

 

[lintworm]

Spoiler: Key to abbreviations & symbols

Number of zoos kept (current and former during the holding period):
A 1 zoo
B 2-5 zoos
C 6-10 zoos
D >10 zoos

Time period kept:
1 < 1 year
2 1-5 years
3 6-10 years
4 11-20 years
5 > 20 years

* Species successfully bred
♱ Dead end (in case of species gained)
↑ Species gaining popularity (in case of species gained)

Red pandas - Ailuridae
# Species kept 1-1-2000: 2
# Species kept currently: 1 (-1)
# Species gained: -
# Species lost: 1

These popular small carnivores were long thought to be 1 species with 2 subspecies, but in recent years this species was split into 2. Contrary to Asian and North American zoos, only a single species is currently maintained.

Species lost

Chinese red panda - Ailurus styani C5*
In the 1980s and early 1990s a few European zoos received Chinese red pandas from China. Of these zoos both Lisbon Zoo and Zoo Budapest were successful in breeding this species, both zoos acquired the species in 1990. The final Chinese red panda was an animal bred in Lisbon that died in Touroparc in Romaneche-Thorins, France, in 2010.

@Little orca Chinese red panda weren't recognized as a species when they were kept in Europe and never made any real inroads

Species gaining popularity

Nepalese red panda - Ailurus fulgens
This charismatic endangered red tree fungus is now on its way to reach 200 holders in Europe alone, this is a significant achievement given that this species is only kept in EAZA member zoos. The number of zoos keeping this species has grown considerably over the past 20 years, but there isn’t much more room for growth if the species is to be limited to EAZA zoos.

@Kaelio Nepalese red panda more then compensate for the absence of their family member in Europe

Progress
19/22 orders completed
86/106 families completed
453-462 species present in 2000
469-471 species present in 2023
206-215 species gained this century
197-200 species lost this century

 

[lintworm]

Procyonids - Procyonidae
# Species kept 1-1-2000: 7
# Species kept currently: 6 (-1)
# Species gained: -
# Species lost: 1

The “small bears” are a group that contain the well known raccoons and coatis, but also some rarer nocturnal species.

@Therabu Ringtails are one of the more rarely seen Procyonids with less then a dozen animals in Europe currently

Species lost

Northern olingo - Bassaricyon gabbii B5*
This century only a single individual was held, which was born in the now closed Kilverstone Wildlife Park. After that zoo closed this animal lived from 1991-1999 in the Wilhelma, Stuttgart, and from 1999-2005/2006 in Papiliorama, Kerzers, in Switzerland.

@Giant Eland Northern olingo are basically small kinkajous and hardly ever seen outside of their countries of origin

Species gaining popularity

White-nosed coati - Nasua narica
Given that their closely-related and ever popular cousins the ring-tailed coati (Nasua nasua) are banned from breeding under the new EU invasive species legislation, multiple zoos have imported this species from the Americas. While before this species seemed to slowly disappear it’s population is now clearly expanding again.

Crab-eating raccoon - Procyon cancrivorus
For most of the century this was an extremely rarely kept carnivore. At the start of the century 2 zoos kept this species, with the last of the original stock living in Usti Zoo, Czechia until 2009 and not having bred for years. The new era started with an import by the Zodiac Zoos in the Netherlands (BestZoo, Dierenpark de Wissel, Epe) in 2008. The species was then transferred to Zooparc Overloon where breeding started from 2011 onwards. In 2019 the Domaine de Pescheray, France, also imported animals from South America and has been breeding since 2022. So with 5 zoos holding the species currently it is distinctly more common than at the start of the century. But it remains to be seen whether it can spread as an alternative to North-American raccoons (Procyon lotor). Probably more imports are needed for that.

@KevinB Crab-eating raccoons might not be cuddly enough to act as an alternative to their invasive cousins

Species losing popularity

Both the ring-tailed coati and the North American raccoon are officially banned from breeding by the EU invasive species regulation. These 2 popular carnivores are still some of the most widespread kept mammals, but the consequences of this legislation will probably soon become apparent. Given that raccoons are already quite widespread in the wild in Europe it is quite likely zoos can obtain wild caught animals for display purposes. For ring-tailed coati there is no such safety net and their inclusion on the list seems highly arbitrary.

@qthemusic From hero to zero: banning of ring-tailed coati will see their popularity severely diminish in the future

Progress
19/22 orders completed
87/106 families completed
460-469 species present in 2000
475-477 species present in 2023
206-215 species gained this century
198-201 species lost this century

 

[TeaLovingDave]

This century only a single individual was held, which was born in the now closed Kilverstone Wildlife Park.

I suspect this animal will have established a lifespan record for the genus.

. For ring-tailed coati there is no such safety net and their inclusion on the list seems highly arbitrary.

Indeed; I believe that this is a species which was largely included on the grounds of a feral population in northwest England which bred for a time but quickly dwindled, and is believed to have been killed off by the particularly harsh winter of 2009/2010.... so certainly not a species with a demonstrated risk of becoming an established invasive!

 

[Komodo Dragon]

Given these are not the most popular animals in general that might not be surprising, but the near absence of shrews, microbats and smaller rodents from most zoos is staggering.

One thing to consider about shrews is that many species are extremely sensitive to noise and can die of stress and shock from hearing loud sounds. Their voracious appetites, dying after going without food for just a few hours, is another turnoff. Also, some are venomous. Not enough to kill a human, but certainly to cause great pain.

All are factors in why zoos might not wish to acquire them.

 

[lintworm]

I suspect this animal will have established a lifespan record for the genus.



Indeed; I believe that this is a species which was largely included on the grounds of a feral population in northwest England which bred for a time but quickly dwindled, and is believed to have been killed off by the particularly harsh winter of 2009/2010.... so certainly not a species with a demonstrated risk of becoming an established invasive!

There was also a small, but growing, feral population of coati on Mallorca which was eradicated about 10 years ago. At time of eradication there were about 45 individuals, which certainly had some potential.

 

[DDcorvus]

There was also a small, but growing, feral population of coati on Mallorca which was eradicated about 10 years ago. At time of eradication there were about 45 individuals, which certainly had some potential.

It was this population that caused the inclusion.

 

[PossumRoach]

It was this population that caused the inclusion.

Should an island invasion really warrant a ban on the keeping of animals in the main land though?

 

[Haliaeetus]

Should an island invasion really warrant a ban on the keeping of animals in the main land though?

Of course the invasiveness concern for this species is really thin.
It may be the case in tropical or subtropical islands, but even that deserves local bans (at sub-national level) and not a general one across all the EU where these conditions aren't met on 99% of the its territory.
Those bans would be quite easy to apply on islands with limited levels of imports/exports (and only by vessel/airplane), and obviously not harder than EU-wide bans.

 

[lintworm]

Of course the invasiveness concern for this species is really thin.
It may be the case in tropical or subtropical islands, but even that deserves local bans (at sub-national level) and not a general one across all the EU where these conditions aren't met on 99% of the its territory.
Those bans would be quite easy to apply on islands with limited levels of imports/exports (and only by vessel/airplane), and obviously not harder than EU-wide bans.

Given how well they did on a Mediterranean island there is a clear case to be made they could do well on the mainland too. So looking at how the EU law is set up, it is defendable. It does however point to the great weakness of this law as it until nowcovers only species known to be alien/invasive somewhere. Based on climate and potential competitiveness I could build you a risk assessment which would justify banning basically every non-native temperate or subtropical mammal. White-nosed coati should be banned too if one is applying the rules strictly.

 

[Batto]

Also, some are venomous. Not enough to kill a human, but certainly to cause great pain.

Now that hasn't stopped humans from keeping all kinds of animals, including honey bees. ^^