SUMMARIZING CARNIVORES
Together with primates and ungulates the carnivores are 1 of the 3 main mammal groups that zoos keep and this means that this family is well represented with over ⅓ of all extant species being currently present in European zoos. If you look at popular families like dogs, cats and bears that representation is even higher. With all 8 species of bears kept in Europe this is probably the largest “complete” family of all mammals. The number of carnivore species present in Europe has also increased by around 10% this century from 122-123 species to 135-136 species. That increase is mostly driven by smaller carnivores like mustelids, viverrids, mongoose and the Malagasy carnivores, whereas the number of large carnivore species kept has been mostly stable.
This increase in species kept was driven both by smaller and by larger zoos. Whereas it is the non-EAZA zoos that have gained species more common in the private trade such as genets and Alleghanian spotted skunk, it is the EAZA zoos where species like Sunda leopard cat have ended up. An important role in the import of several new species was played by Todd Dalton, be it in the form of the RSCC or in a private capacity. Fanaloka and smooth-coated otter are 2 examples that likely wouldn’t be around in Europe without him. His recent emigration to the US means that import of new species is less likely. Even in 2023 other zoos have however imported rarely kept carnivores to Europe though in the form of southern aardwolves, black-backed jackals and brown hyenas. So there are still options open.
@Daniel Sörensen While many EAZA zoos are loth to import new (wild-caught) species themselves from overseas, many are happy to take on these species once they become more widely available. As such the departure of Todd Dalton will likely have some consequences
Some of the most popular ABC animals are carnivores and the number of zoos housing the complete small holy trinity of red panda, meerkat and Asian small-clawed otter has only grown. But large and small zoos alike seem also to have discovered there are more attractive carnivores, with interest in Malagasy carnivores surging across the board and species like giant otter, yellow-throated marten and tayra becoming ever more common. An increasing number of zoos seem to have discovered that many small carnivores make perfect display animals with their often attractive appearance and (if lucky) active behaviour. That they also need large enclosures, relative to their body size, seems to be ignored slightly too often. The shift towards more small carnivores is visible both in small and large zoos. While diversity of, especially, genets is driven by smaller, non EAZA zoos, larger zoos have also invested more in e.g. mustelids & Malagasy carnivores. There is however divergence between smaller and larger zoos. Smaller zoo carnivore collections often reflect what is around in the private trade, e.g. African civets and pardine genets. Whereas large zoos are geared somewhat more towards species of conservation concern, though there is considerable overlap.
@twilighter Not every zoos treats their marten with the amount of space their behaviour requires
Overall there has been a slight decrease in the number of large carnivores kept in the traditional larger zoos. The days of carnivore houses with 5 species of big cats or multiple bear grottos next to each other are now mostly behind us. In many cases this hasn’t led to a notable decrease of holders though, or this decrease has at least been compensated for. The rise of French zoos goes a way in explaining the increased popularity of a number of larger carnivore taxa, or at least the smaller decline.
@Animal The way of displaying bears in the average zoo has changed completely. The old bear castle in Leipzig is now a playground
Zoochat appears to be following carnivore trends quite closely. Carnivores in general where quite widely expected to have made gains, with mongooses, viverrids, red pandas, hyenas, Malagasy carnivores and mustelids being listed as the main culprits. That is something generally reflected in the data. While hyenas and red pandas did not see a net increase in number of species kept, spotted hyenas and Nepalese red pandas mean these families are now better represented then at the start of the century. A few people did however expect a decline in popularity of carnivores, with small cats and bears losing out. This doesn’t really reflect what is going on, though in both groups there have been some (big) shifts in which species are favoured.
Apart from the gain in species held, there has been remarkable consistency when it comes to how many species have been kept throughout the past 23 years. Of the 122-123 species kept in 2000 109 have been kept throughout this century (89%). Of these 109 species only 3: marbled polecat, ringed seal and northern oncilla are (near-)certain to disappear in the coming years. Compared to primates that is remarkable stability, especially given how many closely related species are kept.
@ThylacineAlive A marbled polecat looking for a new champion to save it from disappearing from European zoos
Next up are the ungulates and the cetaceans, with only 2 orders remaining we are nearing the completion of the mammals. But not to worry, there will be multiple posts diving deeper in the trends in mammal collections this century with some analyses that test some widely believed hypotheses.
