What is the weirdest species you have ever heard of exhibited in a zoo or aquarium?

[Nile Hippo Expert]

This can be from any era as long as it was actually legitimately exhibited in a zoo or aquarium.

Anyways, I think the weirdest species a zoo has ever had on display was that Bronx Zoo had a human on exhibit for a few months in 1906, which shared an exhibit with an orangutan.

 

[NNM.]

I don’t really think you can top that.

 

[oflory]

Agreed - humans in zoos probably 'win' here - plenty of examples from Moctezuma's zoo in Tenochtitlan to Hagenbeck's exhibitions in the early 20th c. to the people who lived on the Mappin Terraces at London for charity some years ago.

The slime mould in Vincennes was (is?) fascinating though - perhaps a worthy runner-up.

 

[Simon Hampel]

Adelaide Zoo had a "Human Zoo" in the old Gorilla exhibit back in 2007 for around a month I think it was. It was part publicity stunt, part research exercise with academics from the University of South Australia selecting the volunteer participants and studying them while on exhibition.

Human Zoo - Jan 2007

• Simon Hampel
• 3 Aug 2008
• 9

Humans on display in the old Gorilla exhibit

Pretty sure other zoos have done similar with volunteers in other parts of the world.