Zoobat Collections (N. America)

I think getting kicked out of the EAZA holds less weight than being kicked out of the AZA. Some of Europe's largest and most well-known collections are outside of the EAZA, such as the Berlins. I know a good few people on here thought that the trend of certain major zoos like Pittsburgh leaving the AZA would be the beginning of the end of taking them so seriously but that does not seem to be the case.

~Thylo
 
nczoofan said:
Earlier today on this forum i was discussing the bear TAG. Especially how it was important to reduce the amount of species held due to a lack of sustainability of basically any species. Yet the Bat TAG is doing pretty well. Most of the species have met their targets for population size.
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A lot of the species recommended by the Bat TAG were actually *over* their targets for population size, as overcrowding is currently (and has historically been) an issue for small and medium-sized bats like straw-colored fruit bats, Egyptian rousettes, Seba's fruit bats and vampire bats. The 2015 RCP and the initiation of several formal breeding programs was a huge step forward in bat management for AZA zoos, as before it was based more on institutional whim and there was a lot of mismanagement, including inbreeding, overcrowding, castration of males to control population growth, and shuffling off of surplus to roadside zoos and private buyers. I hope that these practices will now begin falling by the wayside.

To be fair, sustainability has a lot to do with the type of animal. Since most bats are social and can live in large groups, a species only needs to be held by a few zoos to sustain itself. On the other hand, most zoos will only hold two or three individual bears max, which means a lot more holding institutions need to be on board to keep a program afloat.
 
@Coelacanth18 I agree that the selling of surplus animals to roadside zoos in often a bad idea, but I think the AZA (and EAZA for that matter) needs to get over themselves when it comes to working with private keepers. I can think of more than one occasion where a program has been hindered or even failed due to the AZA's refusal to work with the private sector over the years for no other reason than them being a private keeper. This seems to thankfully be changing a little bit, at least with ungulates anyway.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
I think getting kicked out of the EAZA holds less weight than being kicked out of the AZA. Some of Europe's largest and most well-known collections are outside of the EAZA, such as the Berlins.
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While I agree with your overall point, I'm pretty sure the Berlins are in the EAZA? They are listed as full members on the EAZA website.

ThylacineAlive said:
I know a good few people on here thought that the trend of certain major zoos like Pittsburgh leaving the AZA would be the beginning of the end of taking them so seriously but that does not seem to be the case.
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Probably because that decision didn't turn out well for Pittsburgh. They lost their sea turtle rehab program, a grant for a new playground, and quite a few of their animals and breeding opportunities because of their decision to leave. I never expected other zoos to follow suit because I knew that's how it would go down, but I think some were hopeful that they would lead a resistance against the AZA and its supposed overreach of power.
 
If they are in the AZA that's a more recent change then. They certainly weren't whenever the New Guinea Echidnas came in.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
I think it's a shame that that the Pallas's Long-Tongued Bat, Grey-Headed Flying Fox, and Ruwenzori Rousette are not planned to be worked with by AZA zoos in the future, with the latter two being active phase-out programs. All are very cool species and the flying fox is listed as Vulnerable. I'm bummed I missed them at the National Aquarium, I think they're the only collection with them...
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Lubee Bat Conservancy imported and still holds the species.
ThylacineAlive said:
Interesting to see that the Marianas Flying Fox is being looked at as a potential species, though I'm fairly certain there's a ban on exporting the species which is why we never received any.
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Coelacanth18 said:
Is it technically an import though, since the Northern Mariana Islands are a U.S. territory? They are under the jurisdiction of USFWS.
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Though it would not be illegal in terms of international borders, local Marianas authorities have refused to allow the collection of the animals, instead showing strong preference towards a conservation center in the islands themselves.
Coelacanth18 said:
I also missed the GHFFs at National Aquarium, and spent a solid 30 minutes searching for them...
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When they are on exhibit, they are hard to find. I usually have the best luck looking into the exhibit from the bridge in front of the waterfall, after the herp exhibits but before entering the walkthrough portion.
ThylacineAlive said:
Yeah but three of those species aren't endangered whereas Grey-Headed is. My understanding is that NAiB randomly takes the bats off-exhibit often with no given reason.
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It is usually for a health issue of some sort.
Coelacanth18 said:
Out of curiosity, are the bats at NAiB reproductive? I haven't heard of them producing any offspring, but if they are reproducing that could be a potential game changer.
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ThylacineAlive said:
I have no idea, though I suspect if they're capable they're being kept from doing so. That often is the case with many species set for phasing-out unfortunately. @jayjds2 might know more.
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The bats at NAIB are not reproductive, because they are an all-male group. Lubee holds a mixed sex group of around 15 individuals, but they have been nonbreeding for quite some time. They stopped breeding the species due to lack of interest by AZA, and lack of founders from Australia.
 
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ThylacineAlive said:
I think getting kicked out of the EAZA holds less weight than being kicked out of the AZA. Some of Europe's largest and most well-known collections are outside of the EAZA, such as the Berlins. I know a good few people on here thought that the trend of certain major zoos like Pittsburgh leaving the AZA would be the beginning of the end of taking them so seriously but that does not seem to be the case.

~Thylo
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I actually did not know the Berlins were not in EAZA. Wow that would be like San diego or the Bronx not belonging to the AZA. Pittsburgh leaving was an interesting decision, yet the zoo has seemed to not be doing the best since leaving. With poorly designed-small habitats for tropical species, losing its ability to be a part of several ssp’s, and lost grant funding. Also they choose to make a stand about an unsafe management practice for elephants, and yet decided it was worth it? Angers me a lot given that the NC zoo has the complete opposite management program, which essentially tries to remove as a docent put it “90% of interaction between keeper and animal. Basically let the elephants be elephants.”
 
ThylacineAlive said:
@Coelacanth18 I agree that the selling of surplus animals to roadside zoos in often a bad idea, but I think the AZA (and EAZA for that matter) needs to get over themselves when it comes to working with private keepers. I can think of more than one occasion where a program has been hindered or even failed due to the AZA's refusal to work with the private sector over the years for no other reason than them being a private keeper. This seems to thankfully be changing a little bit, at least with ungulates anyway.

~Thylo
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I do agree with you in principle on that, and I don't agree with blanket statements regarding the quality of non-AZA zoos. In this particular case, I've read about bats from AZA facilities ending up in very poor roadside zoos and in the pet trade, where they definitely should not be regardless of conditions. I think it should really be determined on a case-by-case basis. As it stands, many non-AZA zoos and their animals participate in SSPs, although from what I know they often do not get breeding recommendations and are commonly used to receive surplus animals from the AZA population.
 
ThylacineAlive said:
@Coelacanth18 I agree that the selling of surplus animals to roadside zoos in often a bad idea, but I think the AZA (and EAZA for that matter) needs to get over themselves when it comes to working with private keepers. I can think of more than one occasion where a program has been hindered or even failed due to the AZA's refusal to work with the private sector over the years for no other reason than them being a private keeper. This seems to thankfully be changing a little bit, at least with ungulates anyway.

~Thylo
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I agree. Although several tags are more prone to working with the private sector. From what I know waterfowl and turtles come to mind. I hate the equivalence of Non AZA to roadside zoo. That would put say sylvan heights bird park, which has led several breeding programs in the same category as places whos existance is animal cruelty.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
I do agree with you in principle on that, and I don't agree with blanket statements regarding the quality of non-AZA zoos. In this particular case, I've read about bats from AZA facilities ending up in very poor roadside zoos and in the pet trade, where they definitely should not be regardless of conditions. I think it should really be determined on a case-by-case basis. As it stands, many non-AZA zoos and their animals participate in SSPs, although from what I know they often do not get breeding recommendations and are commonly used to receive surplus animals from the AZA population.
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Yes in the case of animals ending up in the pet trade or in bad zoos that is not ok. Glad to hear there is some cooperation with non-AZA facilities, even if it is just surplus animals.

To be clear, I didn't mean to suggest non-AZA zoos were all bad roadside zoos. There are several great ones, like Sylvan

~Thylo
 
An update: the new nocturnal exhibit *did* open at Audubon Zoo this past spring and is home to common vampire bats and Seba's short-tailed bats.
 
Capron park zoo has 1 remaining Indian flying fox and it is off-exhibit until the new Rainforest re-opens. Also there are going to be Rodriguez fruit bat in the new rainforest exhibit.
 
Quick question. Did vampire bats were ever mixed with other species in any collection (other bat species or other animal)?
 
Updated list based on all of the input given in this thread. This thread is definitely not complete: I already know there are a few missing on here, and likely some outdated listings as well. Updates and background research is encouraged; I will also work on this.

I've also decided to include all non-AZA zoos in the US and Canada, so feel free to include information from zoos previously not considered. As for insectivorous bats, I'm only going to list them if the zoo has a confirmed breeding group; rehab individuals cycle in and out too often for us to keep an accurate track.

Rodrigues flying fox, Pteropus rodricensis
Akron Zoo
Bronx Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
Central Park Zoo
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Lincoln Children's Zoo
Louisville Zoo
Lubee Bat Conservancy
Moody Gardens
Oregon Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
Prospect Park Zoo
Pueblo Zoo,
Riverbanks Zoo
San Diego Safari Park

Large/Malayan flying fox, Pteropus vampyrus
Busch Gardens Tampa
Columbus Zoo
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Lowry Park Zoo
Lubee Bat Conservancy
National Aviary in Pittsburgh
Oakland Zoo

Indian flying fox, Pteropus giganteus
Baton Rouge Zoo
Boise Zoo
Bronx Zoo
Cincinnati Zoo
Houston Zoo
Lubee Bat Conservancy
Metro Richmond Zoo
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Sedgwick County Zoo
Topeka Zoo
Woodland Park Zoo

Island flying fox, Pteropus hypomelanus
Brevard Zoo
El Paso Zoo
Lubee Bat Conservancy
Oakland Zoo
Turtle Back Zoo

Little golden-mantled flying fox, Pteropus pumilus
Columbus Zoo
Lubee Bat Conservancy
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo

Grey-headed flying fox, Pteropus poliocephalus
Lubee Bat Conservancy
National Aquarium in Baltimore

Spectacled Flying Fox Pteropus conspicillatus
Lubee Bat Conservancy

Straw-colored fruit bat, Eidolon helvum
Akron Zoo
Brevard Zoo
Bronx Zoo
Busch Gardens Tampa
Calgary Zoo
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Elmwood Park Zoo
Franklin Park Zoo
Hogle Zoo
Houston Zoo
Jacksonville Zoo
Kansas City Zoo
Lake Superior Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo
Lowry Park Zoo
Lubee Bat Conservancy
Metro Richmond Zoo
Milwaukee County Zoo
Minnesota Zoo,
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
Oregon Zoo
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
Racine Zoo
Sacramento Zoo
Saint Paul's Como Zoo
Toronto Zoo
Tulsa Zoo

Egyptian fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus
Blank Park Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo
Lubee Bat Conservancy
Memphis Zoo
Minnesota Zoo
Moody Gardens
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo
Oregon Zoo
Rosamond Gifford Zoo
Timbavati Wildlife Park
Toronto Zoo

Ruwenzori long-haired fruit bat, Rousettus lanosus
Boise Zoo
Franklin Park Zoo
Lincoln Children's Zoo
Milwaukee County Zoo
Minnesota Zoo
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo

Common vampire bat, Desmodus rotundus
Audubon Zoo
Buffalo Zoo
Cincinnati Zoo
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
Dallas World Aquarium
Denver Zoo
Louisville Zoo
Milwaukee County Zoo
North American Wildlife Park (Hershey, PA)
North Carolina Zoo
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
Texas State Aquarium

Greater bulldog bat, Noctilio leporinus
Memphis Zoo
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo

Greater spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus hastatus
Assiboine Park Zoo
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
Peoria Zoo

Pale spear-nosed bat, Phyllostomus discolor
Miami Zoo

Pallas's long-tongued bat, Glossophaga soricina
Houston Zoo
Mesker Park Zoo
Montreal Biodome
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo

Lesser long-tongued bat, Leptonycteris yerbabuenae
Fort Worth Zoo

Jamaican fruit bat, Artibeus jamaicensis
Calgary Zoo
Cameron Park Zoo
Edmonton Valley Zoo
Houston Zoo
Miami Zoo
Potawatomi Zoo
Roger Williams Park Zoo

Seba's short-tailed fruit bat, Carollia perspicillata
Akron Zoo
Audubon Zoo
Busch Gardens Tampa
Catoctin Zoo
Central Park Zoo
Dallas World Aquarium
Denver Zoo
Elmwood Park Zoo
Gladys Porter Zoo
Henry Vilas Zoo
Houston Zoo
Jacksonville Zoo
Lake Superior Zoo
Lincoln Children's Zoo
Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
Montreal Biodome
Miami Zoo
Moody Gardens
Nashville Zoo
Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo
Pittsburgh Zoo
Potter Park Zoo
Rolling Hills Zoo
San Antonio Zoo
Staten Island Zoo
Stone Zoo
Tulsa Zoo
 
Thanks @birdsandbats.

Looks like Tulsa and Wildlife World Zoo also have Jamaican fruit bat. Also Egyptian Fruit Bat at Lupa and GarLyn zoos.

Ellen Trout and Naples Zoo might have Jamaican... would be nice to get confirmation on that but I don't know if anyone on the site has been to those recently. And a surprise: Vancouver Aquarium.

Some facility called the Ontario Specialized Species Center has Common Vampire, Jamaican and Egyptian.

Memphis should hold Seba's.

Would also be great to get confirmation on whether Little Rock still holds Vampire.

Still feel like I'm missing several New World fruit bat facilities...
 
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In Canada for Jamaican fruit bat, Calgary no longer holds the species. Vancouver Aquarium, Montreal Biodome, and I'm certain at least 1-2 other holders have the species as well.

Assiniboine has Sebas Short Tailed Bat

Bird Kingdom has Egyptian Fruit Bat

African Lion Safari has a flying fox of some species or another...

Bear Creek Sanctuary has a colony of Ruwenzori Long Haired Bats! as well. Where they managed to acquire them from within Canada, I have absolutely no clue.
 
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