Unusual/uncommon species at Midwest/Great Lakes zoos?

TinyDeer

TinyDeer

Member
I want to keep my eyes peeled for interesting/rare/unusual species at zoos in the Midwest/Great Lakes regions of the U.S. This can be species that are uncommon in the wild, or just species that aren’t often seen in zoos. What are some of your favorites at the following places? :D
  • Toledo Zoo
  • Detroit Zoo
  • Buffalo Zoo
  • Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
  • Columbus Zoo
  • Chicago zoos (Lincoln Park, Brookfield, Shedd Aquarium)
  • Milwaukee County Zoo
  • Erie Zoo
  • Potter Park Zoo (Lansing MI)
  • John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids MI)
  • Indianapolis Zoo
  • Cincinnati Zoo
  • Pittsburgh Zoo (not really Midwest, but close enough)
 
Of the zoos I’ve been to on this list:

  • Toledo - tuatara, saltwater crocodile, pudu, Tasmanian devil, kagu, flashlight fish
  • Buffalo - roan antelope, Sulawesi crested macaque (not there anymore, but were a highlight)
  • Columbus - kiwi, vervet monkey, markhor, bettong, manatee
  • Brookfield - pangolin, bottlenose dolphin, klipspringer, Southern hairy-nosed wombat, short-beaked echidna
  • Lincoln Park - Puerto Rican parrot, Bourke’s parrot, lesser green broadbill
  • Shedd Aquarium - beluga, Pacific white-sided dolphin, blue lobster
  • Milwaukee County - Moholi bushbaby
  • Indianapolis - Guinea baboon, crab-eating macaque, walrus
  • Pittsburgh - elephant seal, blue monkey, Visayan warty pig
 
TinyDeer said:
I want to keep my eyes peeled for interesting/rare/unusual species at zoos in the Midwest/Great Lakes regions of the U.S. This can be species that are uncommon in the wild, or just species that aren’t often seen in zoos. What are some of your favorites at the following places? :D
  • Toledo Zoo
  • Detroit Zoo
  • Buffalo Zoo
  • Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
  • Columbus Zoo
  • Chicago zoos (Lincoln Park, Brookfield, Shedd Aquarium)
  • Milwaukee County Zoo
  • Erie Zoo
  • Potter Park Zoo (Lansing MI)
  • John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids MI)
  • Indianapolis Zoo
  • Cincinnati Zoo
  • Pittsburgh Zoo (not really Midwest, but close enough)
Click to expand...
I would say ther Persian Oneger and the golden belly mangabey at clevland were rare ones in my opinion
 
Specifically for the zoos you asked about that I've visited:

Toledo - Great Black-backed Gull, Southern Pudu, Kagu, Many-colored Fruit Dove, Golden White-Eye, Pink-necked Fruit Dove, Pesquet's Parrot, Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise, Golden-backed Woodpecker (only North American holder), Lesser Bird-of-Paradise, Egyptian Plover, Koala, Lowland Paca, White-headed Vulture (only US holder), Western Capercallie, Santiago Giant Tortoise (only North American holder), Harlequin Duck, Spectacled Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Japanese Isopod, Giant Isopod, sea spider species, Scaly-sided Merganser, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Australian Magpie, Blue-winged Kookaburra, North Island Brown Kiwi, Lake Erie Watersnake, Conant's Mushroom-tongue Salamander (only holder), several native salamander species, Coconut Crab, Ribbed Newt, Oleander Aphid, Anna's Hummingbird, Yellow-lipped Sea Krait (only North American holder), African Pygmy Falcon, Tasmanian Devil, Kodiak Bear, Maned Wolf, Tuatara, Saltwater Crocodile, Ornate Flying Snake, Greater Malayan Chevrotain, Flashlight Fish
Toledo is loaded with rarities, it's kind of amazing. These are only the species I *know* are rare, there's probably others they have that I am simply not aware of how rare they are.

Detroit - Titicaca Water Frog, Stout Salamander (only North American holder), Anderson's Newt, Mountain Chicken, several mantella species, Japanese Giant Salamander, Striped Newt, Narrow-striped Dwarf Siren, Kihansi Spray Toad, Wyoming Toad, White-lipped Deer x American Elk hybrid, Wolverine

Columbus - Moose, Wolverine, many species of US native birds (the only holder of a few species), Siberian Musk Deer, Golden-mantled Flying Fox, Pallas' Cat, Lake Erie Watersnake, West Indian Manatee, Bonobo, Black Duiker, Painted Stork, North Island Brown Kiwi, Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat, Feathertail Glider, Koala, Tasmanian Devil, Village Weaver, Markhor, Greater Malayan Chevrotain

Lincoln Park: Puerto Rican Parrot (only holder), White-lined Tanager, Collared Finch-billed Bulbul, Kagu, Cactus Mouse, Moholi Bushbaby, Klipspringer

Brookfield: Chinese Giant Salamander, Screaming Hairy Armadillo, Lowland Tapir, Klipspringer, Tree Pangolin (only ones on exhibit in the US), Texas Blind Cave Salamander, Gray Gull, Chicago Garter Snake, Masked Bobwhite, Home's Hinge-backed Tortoise

Shedd: Pacific White-sided Dolphin, Beluga, Flashlight Fish, Giant Isopod, Hawk-headed Parrot, many, many, many more

Milwaukee: Bonobo, Whooping Crane, Spangled Cotinga, Egyptian Plover, Madagascar Teal, Greater Malayan Chevrotain, Pale-mandibled Aracari, Thompson's Gazelle, Senegal Bushbaby, Common Vampire Bat

Indianapolis: Walrus, Crab-eating Macaque, Wild-type Helmeted Guineafowl, Great Green Macaw
 
I see Minnesota isn’t included on the list but some rarities there would Hawaiian monk seal, Moose and Wolverine as listed before for Columbus, Dhole, A few bird species in the aviary, and I guess fisher would count?
 
birdsandbats said:
Specifically for the zoos you asked about that I've visited:

Toledo - Great Black-backed Gull, Southern Pudu, Kagu, Many-colored Fruit Dove, Golden White-Eye, Pink-necked Fruit Dove, Pesquet's Parrot, Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise, Golden-backed Woodpecker (only North American holder), Lesser Bird-of-Paradise, Egyptian Plover, Koala, Lowland Paca, White-headed Vulture (only US holder), Western Capercallie, Santiago Giant Tortoise (only North American holder), Harlequin Duck, Spectacled Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Japanese Isopod, Giant Isopod, sea spider species, Scaly-sided Merganser, Chestnut-breasted Malkoha, Australian Magpie, Blue-winged Kookaburra, North Island Brown Kiwi, Lake Erie Watersnake, Conant's Mushroom-tongue Salamander (only holder), several native salamander species, Coconut Crab, Ribbed Newt, Oleander Aphid, Anna's Hummingbird, Yellow-lipped Sea Krait (only North American holder), African Pygmy Falcon, Tasmanian Devil, Kodiak Bear, Maned Wolf, Tuatara, Saltwater Crocodile, Ornate Flying Snake, Greater Malayan Chevrotain, Flashlight Fish
Toledo is loaded with rarities, it's kind of amazing. These are only the species I *know* are rare, there's probably others they have that I am simply not aware of how rare they are.

Detroit - Titicaca Water Frog, Stout Salamander (only North American holder), Anderson's Newt, Mountain Chicken, several mantella species, Japanese Giant Salamander, Striped Newt, Narrow-striped Dwarf Siren, Kihansi Spray Toad, Wyoming Toad, White-lipped Deer x American Elk hybrid, Wolverine

Columbus - Moose, Wolverine, many species of US native birds (the only holder of a few species), Siberian Musk Deer, Golden-mantled Flying Fox, Pallas' Cat, Lake Erie Watersnake, West Indian Manatee, Bonobo, Black Duiker, Painted Stork, North Island Brown Kiwi, Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat, Feathertail Glider, Koala, Tasmanian Devil, Village Weaver, Markhor, Greater Malayan Chevrotain

Lincoln Park: Puerto Rican Parrot (only holder), White-lined Tanager, Collared Finch-billed Bulbul, Kagu, Cactus Mouse, Moholi Bushbaby, Klipspringer

Brookfield: Chinese Giant Salamander, Screaming Hairy Armadillo, Lowland Tapir, Klipspringer, Tree Pangolin (only ones on exhibit in the US), Texas Blind Cave Salamander, Gray Gull, Chicago Garter Snake, Masked Bobwhite, Home's Hinge-backed Tortoise

Shedd: Pacific White-sided Dolphin, Beluga, Flashlight Fish, Giant Isopod, Hawk-headed Parrot, many, many, many more

Milwaukee: Bonobo, Whooping Crane, Spangled Cotinga, Egyptian Plover, Madagascar Teal, Greater Malayan Chevrotain, Pale-mandibled Aracari, Thompson's Gazelle, Senegal Bushbaby, Common Vampire Bat

Indianapolis: Walrus, Crab-eating Macaque, Wild-type Helmeted Guineafowl, Great Green Macaw
Click to expand...

Columbus no longer has black duiker :(
 
It seems Columbus has been covered by I can try to do the other two Ohio C's :). If I'm not sure if they're actually that uncommon or not I'll mark a (?). I'll highlight those that I think you should look out for most.

Cleveland MetroParks Zoo:
Pied Tamarin (?), Gharial, Giant Malaysian Turtle (?) (they have some rare turtle I can't remember what exactly), Blue-Headed Wood Dove, Green Aracari (?), Crested Oropendola (?), Robust Black Spider Monkey (?), Mueller's Gibbon, probably a few rare fishes (especially Malagasy fish), Mongoose Lemur, Crowned Lemur, Fossa, Pygmy Slow-Loris, Aye-Aye, Golden-Bellied Mangabey, Bolivian Grey Titi, Bontebok, American Beaver (?), Tufted Deer, Persian Onager, Sloth Bear (?), Koala, Matschie's Tree Kangaroo, Brush-Tailed Bettong

Cincinnati Zoo:
Blue Penguin, ducks in the Penguin Exhibit (?), Titicaca Water Frog, Armadillo Lizard (?), Indochinese Spitting Cobra (?), Aardwolf, Potto, Ringtail, Large-Spotted Genet, a handful of insects in the insect building, Florida Manatee, Visayan Warty Pig, Coquerel's Sifaka, Congo Peafowl, Grey's Crowned Guenon, Peruvian Pigeon, White-Breasted Wood Swallow (?), Thick-Billed Parrot, Masked Bobwhite Quail, Common Eider, Horned Puffin, Palawan Binturong, Parma Wallaby, Buff-Cheeked Gibbon

Definitely a lot more you wanna look out for at Cincinnati.
 
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