Wild Animals on Zoo Grounds

Speaking of wild raccoons at the Phx Zoo, I remember the morning the keepers came in to find one more racoon in the exhibit than had been there the night before.
One night as our night campers were setting up their gear for the night, one of the chaperones (luckily adult) discovered that while we were out on the hike, a king snake had crawled into the auditorium and into his bag. Wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't left a "present" in the bag. What a mess.
One species that fascinates me is the black crowned night heron. We have tons of them roosting in the trees at Phx Zoo and when I was taking a class at the Bronx Zoo, I discovered that they had a lot, too. I know they're also in Florida. I think they're the coyotes of the bird world - extremely adaptable.
 
Blackduiker

In the past, a few L.A. reptile specimans were captured on zoo grounds. Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes come to mind. They've been a nuisance in the past. On one occasion, I remember a zoo patron holding a nice sized San Diego Gopher Snake he found slithering across the ground.

And like in most U.S. zoos I've visited, Squirrels and Rabbits run rampant throughout the grounds. Back in the 1990s, I remember the testimony of a former L.A. Zoo director, complaining that on one of his daily evening strolls through the zoo after closing, he had one of the walkways literally blocked by a large group of Skunks headed towards him. The zoo had to get special permission to remove, and in some cases exterminate hundreds of Skunks from zoo property the numbers were so large. I personally remember on several occasions, especially near closing time, seeing Skunks running across several exhibits.

One night, a number of years ago, there was a terrible tragedy involving Coyotes. Due to openings in the perimeter fence, a large number of American and Chilean Flamingoes were attacked and killed.

On my first visit to the new Los Angeles Zoo, back in 1966, while riding on the tram the guide informed us as we passed the Mule Deer exhibit, that the exhibit Deers numbers were constantly changing, with wild bucks from the surrounding wilds of Griffith Park leaping the fence to breed with zoo does. This park is known to have wild Deer, Bobcats, Raccoons, Skunks, Possums, Coyotes, and even a few reports of Mountain Lions. And there always seem to be Red-tailed Hawks flying overhead.
 
I'll bet wild predators are a problem for most zoos. Phx Zoo had to put an electric wire on the outside of the flamingo exhibit (it's a short fence). Always important to make sure it's turned off when the night campers are hiking by!
 
Chipmunks would be everywhere in Brookfield Zoo. And that’s not getting into the ducks and swans that often swim in all bodies of water in the zoo.

The Children’s Zoo in Lincoln Park also seem to have a nesting ground for the rare Night Herons once in a while during their migration period.
 
I've seen the following at the North Carolina Zoo
White-tailed deer
Eastern gray squirrel
Raccoon
Feral cat
House mouse
Canada goose
Mallard duck
Great blue heron
Green heron
Turkey vulture
Black vulture
Mourning dove
American crow
Blue jay
Northern cardinal
House sparrow
Eastern kingsnake
Black rat snake
Northern water snake
Five-lined skink
Carolina anole
Common snapping turtle
Eastern box turtle
American bullfrog
Green tree frog
 
I remember the San Antonio Zoo gets so many egrets! You'll see a variety of wild birds at the Gladys Porter Zoo as well.

The Houston Zoo gets a lot of grackles, which isn't terribly notable, but when I went in November I saw one with a white tail feather! Always wanted to see a wild animal with a color mutation, now I have! I've been meaning to upload the photo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top