Zoo Life List

OkapiJohn

OkapiJohn

Well-Known Member
Hello,

I had the idea to start a zoo life list, which basically is a tick list of all the species that I come across when I visit zoos. Does anyone has done something similar? If so how do you do it? Is there any phone app that helps with the process?

Thanks
 
I keep a life list for species I've seen in the wild but not captive species. The list feature on iNaturalist may help you keep your life list more easily.
 
I list every mammal, bird, and reptile I've seen in captivity in a Google sheet. I list the common name(s), scientific name, and the facility I've seen it. I don't list duplicates, so even if I've seen a species at a lot of zoos, it'll still only be listed for one zoo. I started this list in 2020, and have been to nine zoos/aquariums since I started.

Here is my list if you are interested in viewing it: My Zoo Lifelist
 
I started a zoo life list last month, just having last month as a starting point instead of thinking back to every zoo I've ever visited. So far two places are covered, a zoo and an aquarium, but I ran into a lot of problems when putting down species for the aquarium. I took a note pad and wrote down names of individual fish species I saw, but then Googled those names the next day and thought to myself "Hmm, I don't actually remember seeing that species, I must've done, but my mind is drawing a blank..." with a lot of the species I wrote. So going forward, instead of documenting every single individual species I see, I'll just put down species I either A) got a good photo of, or B) distincty remember seeing.
 
I think most of us keep some sort of list like this. There's many ways to do it, whatever works for you! I use excel. While at zoos, I take photos of each sign (and each animal if they're visible, especially the herps, since their taxonomy changes so much). It's much quicker than writing down the species while there, and I can always look back to double check things.
 
Interesting to see how many people had this idea and how many options exist. :) I also started a list like this around 2015, but I merely use an office-document. It isn't complete right now, and since I mostly use my photos as proof, I probably have quite a complete overview on mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, but I definitely don't know how many fish and invertebrates I missed. Still, I always like to look out for new species in zoos I visit, and I wouldn't have guessed there's even software you can use, so thanks for this thread!
 
I don't keep a life list but trying to go through my memory to see which animals I saw is pretty fun and does bring back some good memories (my first orangutan, rhinoceros, and brushtail possum) as well as a few bad ones (my first elephant and pallas cat).
 
I made a life list for wild animals around 2 years ago, and one for captive animals a few months after. I document all the animals I see on Google Slides, where on each slide I put the English and scientific name, basic information, and where I saw it. I don't exclusively document a specific group of animals, and both my lists include mammals, birds, herpatiles, fish, & invertebrates, although I don't keep track of domestics. So far, I have animals from 30 different zoos and aquariums on my captive list, and animals from 6-7 U.S. states and 1 foreign country on my wild list.
 
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