They were still together last August.
Worst Mixed-Species Combinations?
- Thread starter Emanuel Theodorus
- Start date
Kolmården in Sweden mixed (if I remember it correctly) Grey seals, Brown fur seals, and Harbor seals together with Humboldt penguins years ago. It was a bad mix. The penguins always seemed to be scared and worried, they were rarely swimming (what I've seen, and heard). Not that shocking as pinnipeds have been documented killing/eating penguins.
Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
Brookfield combined grant's zebras with giraffes,the zebra ended up biting the giraffe so they were separated in a short time.
Here's one I find very funny. Milwaukee Zoo tried to do a mixed species yard with Bongo, African Spurred Tortoise and Yellow-backed Duiker. For whatever reason the duiker was terrified of the tortoises so they put them off-exhibit.
Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
The book 'Wild Mammals in Captivity: Principles and Techniques for Zoo Management' has a chapter on mixed exhibits for mammals. The one example in there that sounded like a disaster waiting to happen was at Miami Seaquarium, housing bottlenose dolphins and tiger sharks in a mixed exhibit.
I think these depend on the exhibit and temperament of the individuals involved, given I can think of a few zoos with those mixes that appear to have had no problems.
Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
Yes,some of the cases were because of the animals temperament but if we put the same species together but this time quiet animals it would function.
Oh geez! Which species had a casualty first?
Ooh, boy. And I thought Chimps and Jackals were bad enough...
Wonder what happened after that?
Never saw it myself, but read about it on ZooChat, was the Andean Bear/Tapir mixed exhibit at South Lakes Safari Zoo. Thankfully, recent reports are that this mix is no longer there.
Also heard about a Bush Dog/Coati mix at Twycross Zoo. It seems to have worked OK until the Bush Dogs started breeding and reached numbers capable of taking down a Coati. As far as I am aware, the Coatis were removed before any were eaten, thankfully!
Also heard about a Bush Dog/Coati mix at Twycross Zoo. It seems to have worked OK until the Bush Dogs started breeding and reached numbers capable of taking down a Coati. As far as I am aware, the Coatis were removed before any were eaten, thankfully!
Also, the very, very short-lived Patas Monkey/Barbary Macaque mix at Cholchester Zoo.
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
This thread reads like a work of fiction. Either it's April the first, or this will be pretty good fodder for any anti-zoo activists. Worse still, there is more coming up from what I hear, but many on this site seem to fantasize about this subject...
What? I'm just looking for which two animals don't mix together in a zoo. Why would you assume this is for anti-zoo activist?
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
I never for one moment accused you of this. My point was that this is turning into a list of incredible, sometimes stupid, decisions made by apparently professional zoo people, which does not show them in a very good light.
Getting back on topic, let’s not forget that this place exists:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.da...hai-zoo-puts-two-pigs-big-cats-enclosure.html
No more sandhill cranes but the exhibit still has wild turkeys and now wood ducks. The moose has mellowed in his later years
Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
That moose was a really bad guyNo more sandhill cranes but the exhibit still has wild turkeys and now wood ducks. The moose has mellowed in his later years
Andrew Swales
Well-Known Member
Am I really the only one on here not to find all this funny?
Are the birds really considered disposable, and the exhibitry more important than animal welfare?
Are the birds really considered disposable, and the exhibitry more important than animal welfare?
Jungle Man
Well-Known Member
I understand you, birds are not disposable,they are sentient beings and we are not laughing at the dead of an animal,animal welfare is more important than exhibitry.But sometimes we laugh because people in that time didn't know what could happen if they mixed violent,territorial or predatorial species with herbivores.Haven't you seen the case of tiger shark with dolphin?