Which "Wild and Free" Animals live in your zoos grounds?

G

Grant Rhino

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
We usually go to the zoo to see the animals which are on display or "in captivity" - but one thing I've noticed a lot recently in Australian zoos are the large number of wild animals which live within the zoo grounds and come and go as they please.

Which wild animals do you have coming and going (or staying) within your local zoo grounds? Here are mine:

Werribee Open Range Zoo:

Swamp Wallaby
Platypus (yes - this zoo has a river going through it)
Echidna
Brushtail Possum
Ringtail Possum
Australian Pelican
Cape Barren Goose
Cockatoo
Galah
Blue Fairy Wren
Mallard Duck
Various birds of prey
Various owls
Various bats
Assorted birds
Rabbits (not native)

Other Australian Zoos:
Grey Kangaroo (Dubbo Zoo)
Cockatoo + Galah (most Australian zoos)

Overseas Zoos:
Monkeys (Kuala Lumpur Zoo)
Squirrels (various zoos)
 
Here are some I've seen at various zoos I have visited (note that these are just the animals I can think of off the top of my head. Given another visit to these zoos, I could provide you with a LONG list):

Minnesota Zoo:
Trumpeter Swan
Wild Turkey
Common Snapping Turtle
Black-Capped Chickadee
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Northern Cardinal
Mourning Dove
Mucket
Fatmucket
Higgin's Pearly-Eye
House Sparrow

Como Park Zoo:
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
House Mouse

Wildwood Zoo:
Mallard
Wood Duck
Rainbow Trout

DeYoung Family Zoo:
White Admiral
Mallard
Wood Duck
Barn Swallow
House Sparrow

NEW Zoo:
Pileated Woodpecker
Common Raven
Canada Goose
Mallard
Sandhill Crane
American Red Squirrel

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary:
Too much to list.

Wisconsin Rapids Municipal Zoo:
American Toad

Animal Haven Zoo:
House Sparrow
Northern Leopard Frog

Special Memories Zoo:
House Sparrow
Barn Swallow
Ovenbird

Butterfly Gardens of Wisconsin:
Monarch
Yellow Bumblebee
Barn Swallow

Manitowoc Lincoln Park Zoo:
White-tailed Deer
North American River Otter
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel

Menominee Park Zoo:
Chimney Swift
American Robin
Barn Swallow
Rainbow Trout
Common Carp
Shortnose Gar

Glacier Ridge Animal Farm:
House Sparrow
Cattle Egret
Canada Goose

Timbavati Wildlife Park:
House Sparrow
Northern Leopard Frog

International Crane Foundation:
Too much to list.

Henry Vilas Zoo:
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Yellow Warbler
White-throated Sparrow

Milwaukee County Zoo:
Wild Turkey
Sandhill Crane
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Eastern Chipmunk

Animal Gardens Petting Zoo:
White-tailed Deer
House Sparrow
Eastern Gray Squirrel

Racine Zoo:
Barn Swallow
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel

Brookfield Zoo:
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Monarch
Northern Raccoon
House Mouse

Lincoln Park Zoo:
Too much to count

Saint Louis Zoo:
Canada Goose
Mallard
Northern Raccoon
Black-crowned Night Heron
Eastern Gray Squirrel
Barn Swallow
Carolina Wren

Lone Elk Park:
Eastern Fox Squirrel
Wild Turkey

World Bird Sanctuary:
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren
White-Tailed Deer
+stupid overlap zone chickadee

Grant's Farm:
House Sparrow
+stupid overlap zone chickadee
 
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I've seen grey squirrels, rats and mice in many zoos, many times. I once saw a fox at WMSP, and I've seen a stoat at Paignton on my last visit, about three years ago. I only noticed it because the wild rabbits scattered.
 
At Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, I've seen black billed magpies, red-tailed hawks, american crows, wild turkeys, and various other birds. Guests ask all the time about the magpies as they aren't common outside the Rocky Mountains. They also have no fear and regularly steal meat from the tigers, leopards, mountain lions, and bears. Mule deer pass through the zoo all the time and cross paths in front of people without care. I've seen raccoons, striped skunks and black bears on zoo grounds as well as coyote tracks around our chicken coop. We have also caught bobcats on our trail cams before. Another neat animal that I'll see occasionally are long-tailed weasels. There are a few that live on grounds and one lives between the elephants and giraffes. Guests ask all the time if one of our ferrets escaped and are amazed that those animals just live here. Really neat to see their coats change throughout the year.
 
Alaska Zoo:
Red Squirrels
Mallards
American Wigeons
Common Ravens
Black-billed Magpies
Black-capped Chickadees
Dark-eyed Juncos

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center:
Snowshoe Hares
Red Fox
Common Ravens
Black-billed Magpies
Bald Eagles
 
Most zoos probably have rather long checklists of birds that have been seen on premises (I think that is one thing most zoos do a poor job of promoting- though I'm sure the local birders already know that).
For instance in St Louis Forest Park has a checklist of 206 birds, whereas I know none for the zoo itself, but since the forest part of Forest Park adjoins the zoo (mostly) I'd assume most have been seen in the zoo. My zoo list would be around 120. Particularly the waterfowl many people might assume they were "display birds".
As for mammals besides rats, mice and squirrels and bats I have seen
raccoon , Virginia opossum , red fox , gray fox-oddly mostly within exhibits
but wild.

Teams count wildlife in Forest Park
 
Daktari JG said:
Most zoos probably have rather long checklists of birds that have been seen on premises (I think that is one thing most zoos do a poor job of promoting- though I'm sure the local birders already know that).
For instance in St Louis Forest Park has a checklist of 206 birds, whereas I know none for the zoo itself, but since the forest part of Forest Park adjoins the zoo (mostly) I'd assume most have been seen in the zoo. My zoo list would be around 120. Particularly the waterfowl many people might assume they were "display birds".
As for mammals besides rats, mice and squirrels and bats I have seen
raccoon , Virginia opossum , red fox , gray fox-oddly mostly within exhibits
but wild.

Teams count wildlife in Forest Park
Click to expand...
Many zoos are great birding sites.

Saint Louis Zoo is great for wildlife! Raccoons really seem to love Red Rocks.

People usually seem to assume any animals within a zoo is a display animal, even if it is wild. This especially annoys me when Wild Turkeys are involved.
 
I don't have a local zoo, but during my visits to various zoos of the world I saw a lot of wildlife, as every zoochatter does. However I don't keep track of them so I can't ellaborate a list. I remember many with jackdaws, white storks, grey herons, great cormorants, one with a colony of black-crowned night herons, blackbirds, jungle mynah, red squirrel, wood pigeon, of course common pigeon, house sparrow, rats and mice, and a quite long etc... The dragonfly Neurothemis ramburii (that didn't allowed me to photograph it :( :( ) is one of the most remarkable to me.

Are we including here animals that are brought by the zoo but that live wild and free without enclosures, such as peafowl, guineafowl, demoiselle cranes, black-tailed prarie dogs and lot of waterfowl? Even red ruffed lemurs can fit into this category (at Artis zoo) too...
 
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Kakapo said:
I don't have a local zoo, but during my visits to various zoos of the world I saw a lot of wildlife, as every zoochatter does. However I don't keep track of them so I can't ellaborate a list. I remember many with jackdaws, white storks, grey herons, great cormorants, one with a colony of black-crowned night herons, blackbirds, jungle mynah, red squirrel, wood pigeon, of course common pigeon, house sparrow, rats and mice, and a quite long etc... The dragonfly Neurothemis ramburii (that didn't allowed me to photograph it :( :( ) is one of the most remarkable to me.

Are we including here animals that are brought by the zoo but that live wild and free without enclosures, such as peafowl, guineafowl, demoiselle cranes, black-tailed prarie dogs and lot of waterfowl? Even red ruffed lemurs can fit into this category (at Artis zoo) too...
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No list?????? :( You're the king of lists!!!!!! :) You've now got a new list to make if you want to! ;)

I hadn't included free range zoo animals though.
 
Hahaha, good point :D true, maybe I'm a bit list-obsessed but I just never made one for such specific matter :)
 
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is right on the ocean's edge so naturally, there are a plethora of species to list. They do a good job of promoting this on their social media accounts and I believe id you download their app for your visit they will alert you if any whales or dolphin have been spotted.
Some of the species that I personally have seen include dolphins (I'm not sure what species), orca, harbor seals, sea lions, sea otters, brown pelicans, cormorants, and many species of gull. I'm sure a full list would be extensive, as Monterey Bay is known for being incredibly biologically diverse (which I can attest to having scuba dived in the bay), but I also recall the aquarium posting videos on Instagram of Grey Whales, Blue Whales, Humpback Whales, and recently a rare albino Risso's Dolphin (which was not actually seen from the aquarium, but potentially could be if you got really lucky)

As for other zoos, I have seen a grey fox out in the middle of a grass lawn at the Fresno Chaffee zoo, likely hunting a gopher.
 
As far as my local facility, I have seen Striped Skunk on several occasions, as well as the ubiquitous squirrels and Black-tailed Deer. And the raccoons frequently raid the trash cans, try as one does... never seen them, but the sporadic mess and frequent tracks are enough. Trail cams have shown wild Gray Fox interacting with the captive Gray and Red. I've seen wild ravens and Turkey Vultures visiting their captive counterparts many times. I know people who have seen Bobcat on the grounds, albeit rarely. My personal bird list is just over 100, notables being Wood Duck, Wild Turkey, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Cooper's Hawk, Calliope Hummingbird, Merlin, Yellow-billed Magpie, Varied Thrush, Phainopepla, Western Tanager, and Bullock's Oriole.

Also I have seen various sealife from MBA's deck, and a variety of birds and a few mammals in other zoos.
 
The National Zoo in DC often has white-tailed deer roaming around, even going into exhibits.

The El Paso Zoo had to close recently because of a wild mountain lion deciding to hang out for the day!
 
At the Saint Louis Zoo, there are so many American wood ducks, great egrets, and black-crowned night herons that visit the two lakes that they are actually signed. There are also tons of groundhogs. There used to be some individuals that would regularly raid the black-tailed prairie dog exhibit before said individuals were apparently relocated. There are also feral rock pigeons, and they especially like to congregate in Big Cat Country, which is a questionable choice on their part. There are also too many songbirds that have established themselves at the zoo to list, but notably I see a lot of gray catbirds and Northern cardinals in the River's Edge as well the wooded areas around the Bird Garden Trail and the Cypress Swamp. Of course, there are always the inevitable common grackles, house sparrows, and European starlings around any of the outdoor dining areas so long as there are people eating there. Notable sighting of less regular visitors include yellow-crowned night heron, gadwall, hooded merganser, belted kingfisher, and snowy egret. Its also worth mentioning that the park the zoo is in, Forest Park, is also a decent spot to observe naturally occurring animals. My favorite sighting there thus far is an osprey,
 
NMM said:
Last week BIAZA (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) had a "Spotted on Site" campaign where sightings of native species on zoo sites were recorded.

Details and results BIAZA Spotted on Site · iNaturalist United Kingdom
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Whipsnade did a good promotion on the day on Sunday with a stand at the entrance, sightings board and information pictures and the event was also promoted in talks on the day - was great to see the emphasis on our native wildlife.
 
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