What groups of animals are "obligatory" for zoos?

PossumRoach said:
Negatory. The only other large carnivores in Ueno are Sumatran tigers and five species of bears.

Until a few years ago Ueno also used to have dhole and maned wolf the latter of which being the last of its kind in Japan.
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I remember the Maned Wolf, but not the dhole. It would have been nice to see dholes, especially since I found that they were in the current tapier enclosure, which would have been a really good place for dholes, compared to Zoorasia's dhole enclosure.
 
dillotest0 said:
Though to talk about canids...
I think part of the problem may be that they have quite a few of the same problems as small cats. Bush dogs naturally are fond of bushes, as are maned wolves and jackals. Small foxes can be quite showy, but given that many of them aren't endangered many zoo directors don't see great incentive to add them to the collection. Some do, however.
Painted dogs can also be reclusive; and on hot days are quite lazy; for as aesthetically and ecologically interesting as they are.
I think in my experience fennecs are the most common species of small canid; though even then they face a few dilemmas. I think part of the problem is that many zoos these days don't really intend on investing in either a nocturne or desert exhibit, so fennecs have no placement in most major zoos. Though somehow they are more popular in small establishments.
Wolves are popular with the public - but for most zoos even within the United States only one species, the Gray Wolf, is popular and charismatic enough for most directors to bother obtaining. And even then to have wolves you need to plant a wolf wood most of the time, which requires investment and patience for maximal effect.
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Yeah, the only large canids I can see remaining in the USA for long are painted dogs, maned wolves, and gray wolves. Those are also by far the most active - others, like dholes, while interesting, aren’t really worth it (I’ve missed dholes in two out of the three USA holdings for them lol)
 
Brayden Delashmutt said:
Yeah, the only large canids I can see remaining in the USA for long are painted dogs, maned wolves, and gray wolves. Those are also by far the most active - others, like dholes, while interesting, aren’t really worth it (I’ve missed dholes in two out of the three USA holdings for them lol)
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Did you forget red wolves? I'd be very surprised if that program stops anytime soon. There will also likely always be a small population of non-releasable coyotes in zoos. As it stands right now though, you are likely correct that the dhole population is a dead end, unless there is interest in a new import from Europe.
 
Neil chace said:
Did you forget red wolves? I'd be very surprised if that program stops anytime soon. There will also likely always be a small population of non-releasable coyotes in zoos. As it stands right now though, you are likely correct that the dhole population is a dead end, unless there is interest in a new import from Europe.
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True, unless the situation with red wolves improves in the wild I see them staying too. I don’t see them being as common if their situation in the wild improves…

As far as dholes go, I see them disappearing like bush dogs have. They’re not breeding much in the USA, and the number of collections with them is slowly but surely dropping. I could see most of their current holders losing them in the next few years. Unfortunately they’re not as popular as maned wolves, and there just doesn’t seem to be much incentive for zoos to keep them, unfortunately. As a canid fan, it’s quite disappointing
 
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They actually did a poll on this a while back. The results were:

Tiger
Lion
Elephant
Giraffe
Panther (not sure if they were referring to leopard or jaguar)
Panda
Cheetah
Polar Bear
Wolf
Gorilla
Chimp
Zebra
Hippo
Shark
Crocodile
Dolphin
Rhino
Bear
Koala
Whale (?)IMG_3616.png
 

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Brayden Delashmutt said:
They actually did a poll on this a while back. The results were:

Tiger
Lion
Elephant
Giraffe
Panther (not sure if they were referring to leopard or jaguar)
Panda
Cheetah
Polar Bear
Wolf
Gorilla
Chimp
Zebra
Hippo
Shark
Crocodile
Dolphin
Rhino
Bear
Koala
Whale (?)View attachment 681416
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I would imagine that “Panthers” refers to other members of Panthera which aren’t already listed, namely species like Leopards and Jaguars.
 
Brayden Delashmutt said:
Unfortunately they’re not as popular as maned wolves, and there just doesn’t seem to be much incentive for zoos to keep them
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That is because in addition to the US Endangered Species Act, dholes are also subjected to the Lacey Act as injurious species. That is not only double the paperwork needed to import new bloodlines into the US, but zoos also have to provide a much more secure enclosure than what is usually given to other canines. I am sure that would hamper the interest of any curator whose zoo cannot afford building an extra secure enclosure for what is basically wolf but smaller, more hyper, and red.
 
zoogeekmaelstrom said:
My local zoo has no ungulate, but the Kadoorie Farm, which is like a tourist ranch has ungulates.
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The better description would be a rescue center, ranch is more like a farm. despite the name (and they do a bit of farming) more of their focus nowadays is on conservation work, and most of their animals are rescued individuals or caught in traffiking etc.
Also, bottlenose dolphins are also ungulates ;)
 
aardvark250 said:
The better description would be a rescue center, ranch is more like a farm. despite the name (and they do a bit of farming) more of their focus nowadays is on conservation work, and most of their animals are rescued individuals or caught in traffiking etc.
Also, bottlenose dolphins are also ungulates ;)
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Oh right, my bad. Just went to the Edward Youde Aviary and it was great.
 
My boring answer is none, but some groups of animals I think are almost certainly going to be represented at a zoo that doesn’t have a specific taxonomic or regional focus, at least in my experience:
  • Carnivora (especially Canidae, Felidae)
  • Artiodactyla (particularly Bovidae)
  • Rodentia
  • Primates
  • Passeriformes
  • Accipitriformes
  • Galliformes
  • Anseriformes
  • Squamata
  • Testudines (particularly Testudinidae, Emydidae)
  • Anura
 
evilmonkey239 said:
My boring answer is none, but some groups of animals I think are almost certainly going to be represented at a zoo that doesn’t have a specific taxonomic or regional focus, at least in my experience:
  • Carnivora (especially Canidae, Felidae)
  • Artiodactyla (particularly Bovidae)
  • Rodentia
  • Primates
  • Passeriformes
  • Accipitriformes
  • Galliformes
  • Anseriformes
  • Squamata
  • Testudines (particularly Testudinidae, Emydidae)
  • Anura
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Maybe for large zoos, although I've been to small zoos that have lacked multiple of these categories. I think for an argument about what animals are "obligatory" for zoos, the small zoos are the most relevant ones anyways as they will inevitably have the more difficult decisions of what animals to keep or not keep given the spatial constraints.
 
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