What U.S. zoo has most primate species?

A

Adam Johnson

Member
I’m sure it’s been asked before, but can’t find a post about it. I’m also been very interested in non human primates, and thought about going into primatology too.
 
Strange as it may sound, the rather small Santa Ana Zoo at Prentice Park may be a contender in this department in the US, or at the very least in terms of primates per acre of display. They used to be essentially a monkey-specific institution; they were originally named the Monkey Zoo on opening! The zoo's founder actually stipulated that there had to be at least 50 monkeys on site at all times when he donated the land to the city of Santa Ana in 1949, which is a fascinating ask in my view but hey, lol. Presently they exhibit 15 species of monkeys, 1 species of ape, and 2 species of lemurs for a total of 18 primates per Wikipedia, though I don't know exactly how accurate that list is any longer as I haven't been in a couple years.

Apparently Twycross Zoo and Singapore Zoo both have claims on the title globally, and presumably San Diego is indeed a primary US contender as their website lists at least 10 species of monkeys alone. It remains wild to me that a small zoo in Orange County has so many though, lmao.
 
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I don't think anywhere else is topping San Diego with their 25 primate species. Up until recently it was 26, although the last lion-tailed macaques died earlier this year and their enclosure is still awaiting new inhabitants.

Apes: 4 (Gorilla, Bonobo, Orangutan, Siamang)

Monkeys: 15 (Angolan Colobus, Red-tailed Guenon, Wolf's Guenon, Lesser-spot Nosed Guenon, Tufted Capuchin, Debrazza Guenon, Black-crested Mangabey, Allen's Swamp Monkey, Francois Langur, Silvery Langur, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet Monkey, Hamadryas Baboon, Gelada, Mandrill)

Prosimians: 6 (Ring-tailed Lemur, Red-ruffed Lemur, Red Collared Lemur, Blue-eyed Black Lemur, Conquerel's Sifaka, Aye-aye)
 
Omaha has possibly 26 primate species and is competitive with San Diego, to my surprise.

Apes: 7 (Gorilla, Orangutan, Siamang, Lar Gibbon, Silvery Gibbon, Buff-Cheeked Gibbon, Agile Gibbon)

Monkeys: 9 (Black Howler Monkey, Common Squirrel Monkey, Black-Handed Spider Monkey, Black-Headed Spider Monkey, Francois Langur, Wolf's Guenon, Blue Monkey, Angolan Colobus, Eastern Black and White Colobus Monkey/Mantled Guereza)

Prosimians: 10 (Ring-tailed Lemur, Red-ruffed lemur, Collared brown lemur, Blue-eyed black lemur, Aye-aye, Gray mouse lemur, Mongoose lemur, Black and white ruffed lemur, Common brown lemur, Crowned lemur)

My lemur count may not be up to date; I did see six of these species on my visit this year, but it was fall so the outdoor enclosures were not in use. The blue monkey and Wolf's guenon are only barely on exhibit, much of which is covered, and two gibbon species rotate with Angolan colobus, so you're likely only seeing closer to twenty-ish species. Three of the gibbon species are down to single individuals and likely on their way out, too, in addition to the blue monkey and guenon.

Sulawesi Crested Macaque, Pygmy Slow Loris, Silvery Langur, Red-backed Bearded Saki and Diana Monkey were in the collection until recently, so there was a time they possibly had close to thirty species.

Fwiw, Lincoln Park Zoo has around 16 primate species (down from a recent 18) and Brookfield Zoo currently has around 10 primate species (down from 18 around fifteen years ago) with no overlap among the monkey species with Lincoln Park, so Chicago actually has 4 apes, 3 prosimians, and 15 monkeys between institutions right now, bringing us to around 22 primate species total, down from almost thirty fifteen years ago.

One further note, but Denver Zoo currently has 15 primate species but once had a famously high number of primates, with howler monkey and coppery titi as very recent losses as well as former holdings for Buff-cheeked gibbon, Hanuman langur, Sulawesi crested macaque, Wolf's guenon, silvery langur, and multiple others.
 
Cincinnati has around 20 species, give or take.
Cleveland has around 26 species, with the former rainforest

Another thing we need to put into consideration, is the fact that many zoos have primates bts, Bronx should be the prime example here. With there closed primate house I think there are multiple species still there for breeding purposes.
On an off topic note, Detroit has 8 (9 if counting bts) species, which is a massive incline in recent years. Just this year we have gained 2 species and with this new director we have gained 5 species (counting our gorillas quick departure).
 
According to Zootierliste, the Bronx Zoo has 24 species of primates:
Grey mouse lemur
Ring-tailed lemur, collared lemur, red ruffed lemur
Coquerel's sifaka
Moholi bushbaby
Pygmy slow loris
Pygmy marmoset, red-crested tamarin, cotton-top tamarin, golden-headed lion tamarin
White-faced capuchin, common squirrel monkey
White-eared titi, white-faced saki
Mandrill, gelada, Wolf's monkey, De Brazza's monkey, Angolan colobus, Javan lutung, silvered leaf monkey
Northern white-cheeked gibbon
Western gorilla
 
Wildlife World in Arizona has a very robust list of 26 species:

Prosimians: Brown Lemur, Ring-tailed lemur, red ruffed lemur

Lesser Apes: Siamang, pileated gibbon, lar gibbon

Great Apes: 0

Monkeys: Cotton topped tamarin, Golden-headed lion tamarin, Hamadryas Baboon, White-headed Capuchin, Black Mangabey, Vervet, olive baboon, black-handed spider monkey, brown-headed spider monkey, black howler, common squirrel, brown capuchin, red handed tamarin, common marmoset, geoffroys tamarin, small-eared bushbaby, de brazzas , red tailed, patas, eastern black and white colobus
 
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This is a close race! ;) Bronx, Cleveland, Omaha, San Diego and Wildlife World all have almost identical numbers. It's amazing that the privately-owned zoo in Arizona is a contender for #1 even without any great apes.
 
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Dassie rat said:
According to Zootierliste, the Bronx Zoo has 24 species of primates:
Grey mouse lemur
Ring-tailed lemur, collared lemur, red ruffed lemur
Coquerel's sifaka
Moholi bushbaby
Pygmy slow loris
Pygmy marmoset, red-crested tamarin, cotton-top tamarin, golden-headed lion tamarin
White-faced capuchin, common squirrel monkey
White-eared titi, white-faced saki
Mandrill, gelada, Wolf's monkey, De Brazza's monkey, Angolan colobus, Javan lutung, silvered leaf monkey
Northern white-cheeked gibbon
Western gorilla
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The last Debrazza's monkey left Bronx a few years ago, and I'm pretty certain the listing of cottontop tamarin is erroneous. Even so, at 22 species they are very close to the top of the list- and this is growing by at least one species (aye-aye) next year.
 
USZOOfan42 said:
Cincinnati has around 20 species, give or take.
Cleveland has around 26 species, with the former rainforest

Another thing we need to put into consideration, is the fact that many zoos have primates bts, Bronx should be the prime example here. With there closed primate house I think there are multiple species still there for breeding purposes.
On an off topic note, Detroit has 8 (9 if counting bts) species, which is a massive incline in recent years. Just this year we have gained 2 species and with this new director we have gained 5 species (counting our gorillas quick departure).
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Makes sense for Cleveland to be a top contender here, seeing as they have two very primate-heavy exhibits. PCA Building is one of the last "old school" primate houses left in the United States, and houses a really impressive primate collection including the last golden-bellied mangabeys in the United States, Mueller's gibbons, aye-ayes, two galago species, and more. Furthermore, the RainForest has a number of additional species such as orangutans and Francois' langurs.

Cleveland may not be as large or as obvious a contender as San Diego or Bronx, but it's collection overall is very primate-focused.
 
snowleopard said:
This is a close race! ;) Bronx, Cleveland, Omaha, San Diego and Wildlife World all have almost identical numbers. It's amazing that the privately-owned zoo in Arizona is a contender for #1 even without any great apes.
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It isn't too surprising, considering many primate species are far more common in private collections than AZA zoos.

Special Memories, for example, by my count had 21 species before it closed, and Wildlife World is far larger than it.
 
Neil chace said:
Makes sense for Cleveland to be a top contender here, seeing as they have two very primate-heavy exhibits. PCA Building is one of the last "old school" primate houses left in the United States, and houses a really impressive primate collection including the last golden-bellied mangabeys in the United States, Mueller's gibbons, aye-ayes, two galago species, and more. Furthermore, the RainForest has a number of additional species such as orangutans and Francois' langurs.

Cleveland may not be as large or as obvious a contender as San Diego or Bronx, but it's collection overall is very primate-focused.
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Cleveland's roster as of last year:

Primate Cat and Aquatics- Wolf's Guenon, Allen's Swamp Monkey, Golden - belly Mangabey, Western Lowland Gorilla, Aye Aye, Moholi Bush Baby, Pygmy Slow Loris, Northern Tree Shrew, Crowned Lemur, Mongoose Lemur, Ring Tail Lemur, Red Ruffed Lemur, Pied Tamarin, White Faced Saki, Golden Lion Tamarin, Robust Black Spider Monkey, Black Howler Monkey, Bolivian Gray Titi Monkey, Mueller's Gibbon.

The RainForest - Golden Lion Tamarin, Pied Tamarin, Goeldi's Monkey, White Front Marmoset, Boreanan Orangutan, Francois Langur

An impressive roster on its own, but when you consider species they've phased out including Mandrills, Chimpanzees, Hamadrayas Baboons, various Tamarins, Colobus Monkeys, ect... it's no surprise Cleveland has always been listed as a top Primate collection.

There's even more room for improvement with Primate Forest, as Ive heard rumors of more than one species filling the Gorillas 3 exhibits in PC&A. However this is far from confirmed.
 
USZOOfan42 said:
What species?
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I don't know. This was when I was talking to a docent about what would replace the gorillas. They said it could be a species per exhibit, or one species in all 3. It's way too early to tell since the gorillas wont move until 2032
 
Here are a handful of the primate species Cleveland has phased out over the years:
  • Mandrill
  • Chimpanzee
  • Hamadrayas Baboon
  • Common Squirrel Monkey
  • Potto
  • Eastern Colobus Monkey
  • Reed Titi
  • Goeldi’s Monkey (Left the zoo in 2024 prior to RainForest construction)
  • Blue Eyed Black Lemur
  • Geoffroy's Tamarin
  • Moholi bushbaby
 
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