Global Challenge
Zoos Visited
- Indianapolis Zoo
- Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center (FCSTC)
- ZooWorld Panama City Beach
2013: Penguimonium (3/?)
See as many penguin species as you can!
1. Southern Rockhopper Penguin (Indianapolis Zoo)
2. King Penguin (Indianapolis Zoo)
3. Gentoo Penguin (Indianapolis Zoo)
2014: Fly the Coop
See the following Galliformes:
1. Any 1 megapode species
2. Any 2 Cracidae (curassows, guans, chachalacas)
3. The Vulturine OR Crested Guineafowl
4. Any 1 New World quail species
5. Any 6 Phasianidae species (typical pheasants, Old World quails, peafowl, turkeys, grouse, spurfowl, partridges, etc.)
- Vulturine Guineafowl (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Crested Wood Partridge (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Green Peafowl (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
2015: We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Trap (1/10)
See 10 non-Muridae/Cricetidae rodents; meaning no "typical" mice/rats. The following are eligible for this challenge:
* Dormice
* Squirrels
* Porcupines
* Gundi
* Mole-Rats & Relatives
* Paca
* Cavies (incl. Capybara)
* Agoutis
* Chinchillas
* Nutria & Hutias
* Degus
* Beavers
* Kangaroo-Rats
* Springhares
* African rats (Nesomyidae)
- Cape Porcupine (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Prehensile-Tailed Porcupine (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Capybara (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Red-Rumped Agouti (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
2016 (Part I): How Many Toes Am I Holding Up? (2/9)
See 3 wild-type equid, 3 rhinoceros, and 3 tapir species. At least 1 equid has to be a non-zebra
- Plains Zebra (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Southern White Rhinoceros (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Baird’s Tapir (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
2016 (Part II): Let That Ruminate (0/11)(3/?)
See the following ruminate ungulates:
* Any 3 pigs/peccaries
* The 2 hippos
* The Okapi + any Giraffe sensu lato
* Any 2 deer species native to your continent
* Any 2 deer species exotic to your continent
* As many members of the family Bovidae as you can see!
- Common Warthog (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Reticulated Giraffe (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Chital (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Blue Wildebeest (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Greater Kudu (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Addra Gazelle (Indianapolis Zoo)
2016 (Part III): Sea Shepherds (½)
See any 2 cetacean species.
- Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin (Indianapolis Zoo)
2017 (Part I): Check Your Feeders (0/4)
See any 4 passerine species that are native to your continent.
2017 (Part II): Asian Songbird Challenge
See EITHER Golden White-Eye OR Javan Green-Magpie, AND at least 4 of the following species:
* Bali Myna
* White-Rumped Shama
* Oriental Magpie-Robin
* Asian Fairy-Bluebird
* Chestnut-Backed Thrush
* Sunda/Tricolor Parrotfinch
2017 (Part III): Thylo's Top 20
See any 8 of the following 20 of my chosen passerine species:
* Any bird-of-paradise species
* Hooded Pitta
* Any cock-of-the-rock species
* Siberian Rubythroat
* Golden-Breasted Starling
* Any laughingthrush species
* Chestnut-Backed Scimitar-Babbler
* Plush-Crested Jay
* White-Breasted Woodswallow
* African Long-Tailed Shrike
* Pin-Tailed Whydah
* Crested Oropendola
* Venezuelan Troupial
* White-Headed Buffalo-Waver
* Taveta Golden Weaver
* Red-Billed Blue-Magpie
* Snowy-Crowned Robin-Chat
* Any tanager species (Thraupidae)
* Any Corvus species
* Black-Naped Oriole
- Taveta Golden Weaver (Indianapolis Zoo)
- American Crow (Indianapolis Zoo)
2018 (Part I): Small but Will Fight
See the following small carnivores:
* Any 2 mongoose species
* Any 5 small-sized cat species (no Pantherinae, no Cougar, no Cheetah)
* Any 2 fox species (including Bat-Eared Fox and the grey foxes)
* Any 1 red panda species
- Meerkat (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Sand Cat (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Arctic Fox (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Bat-Eared Fox (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Red Panda (Indianapolis Zoo)
2018 (Part II): Pinni-Party
See any 2 pinniped species.
- California Sea Lion (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Grey Seal (Indianapolis Zoo)
2018 (Part III): Carnivore Carnival
See any 6 of the following 12 unusual carnivore species:
* Binturong
* Fossa
* Aardwolf
* Cheetah
* Maned Wolf
* Sloth Bear
* Ring-Tailed Cacomistle
* Fisher/Pekan
* Ratel
* Giant Otter
* Sea Otter
* Walrus
- Cheetah (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Aardwolf (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Binturong (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
2019 (Part II): River Giants
See any 1 giant salamander species (including Hellbender).
2020: Let's Give this Another Go
See as many monotreme and marsupial species as you can!
- Red Kangaroo (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Virginia Opossum (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
2021: Don't You Forget About Me
See the following oddball mammals:
* Any 4 bat species
* Any 1 treeshrew species
* Any 2 armadillo species
* Any 1 anteater species
* Any 1 sloth species
* Any 1 sea-cow species
* Any 2 elephant species
* Any 1 hyrax species
- Screaming Hairy Armadillo (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Linneaus’ Two-Toed Sloth
- African Bush Elephant (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Rock Hyrax (Indianapolis Zoo)
2022: Don't Turn On the Lights
See 10 species of ANY kind in a nocturnal exhibit. The exhibit does not have to be a full nocturnal house, any reverse-lighting or purposefully dim-lit exhibit counts. If you visit a nocturnal exhibit and the lights haven't been reversed yet, that still counts!
NOTE: The intention should be that the exhibit purposefully mimics a nighttime or crepuscular setting. For the most part, what does and does not count I will allow to be subjective to the player, but when submitting from lesser known or obscure displays such as this (I expect a great many of the applicable exhibits to be at least somewhat known within zoo communities), expect pushback. It's safer--and easier--to not try and push the limits on what you know does and does not count as a nocturnal exhibit (ie. a nestbox with a redlight heat lamp does not count).
Native Species Challenge (based off NA 2021)
See all 5 assigned species native to your continent. No mix-matching for you international players.
* North America: Jaguar, American Barn Owl, Cayman Blue Iguana, Panamanian Golden Toad, American Paddlefish
- Cayman Blue Iguana (Indianapolis Zoo)
Embrace the ABCs Challenge: See all 18 of the common zoo animals in at least TWO different zoos:
* Bennett's Wallaby
* Any elephant (you can choose the species, but you have to stick with one)
* Ring-Tailed Lemur
* Western Lowland Gorilla
* Southern White Rhinoceros
* Meerkat
* Lion
* Tiger
* Asian Small-Clawed Otter
* Indian Peafowl
* African Penguin
* Bald Eagle
* Hyacinth Macaw
* Green iguana sensu lato
* Pond Slider (any subspecies)
* African Bullfrog
* Sand Tiger Shark OR Blacktip Reef Shark (you can choose the species, but you have to stick with one)
* Madagascar hissing cockroach (any species)
- African Bush Elephant (Indianapolis, —)
- Southern White Rhino (Indianapolis, —)
- Meerkat (Indianapolis, —)
- Lion (Indianapolis, ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Tiger (Indianapolis, ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Hyacinth Macaw (Indianapolis, ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (Indianapolis, —)
- Ring-Tailed Lemur (ZooWorld Panama City Beach, —)
- Indian Peafowl (ZooWorld Panama City Beach, —)
- Green Iguana (ZooWorld Panama City Beach, —)
- Pond Slider (Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center, ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
Second Chance Red List Challenge (based off NA 2020)
See any 4 vertebrate species that are each IUCN vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered (12 species total), AND any 2 species that are extinct in the wild. In the unlikely event that the IUCN updates a status after you entered an animal, stick with what it was when you saw it.
Vulnerable:
- African Lion (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Cheetah (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Reticulated Giraffe (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Burmese Python (Indianapolis Zoo)
Endangered:
- African Bush Elephant (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Rhinoceros Iguana (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Blue Iguana (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Amur Tiger (Indianapolis Zoo)
Critically Endangered:
- Addra Gazelle (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Rüppell’s Griffon Vulture (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Burmese Star Tortoise (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Egyptian Tortoise (Indianapolis Zoo)
Extinct in the Wild:
Island Hoppers Challenge (based off NA & EU 2019)
See animals (must be a species fully endemic; endemic subspecies do not count if there are other subspecies native to a mainland) that are endemic to single islands or island chains. The following are required:
* 5 mammals
* 6 birds
* 6 reptiles
* 3 amphibians
* 2 fishes
Mainland Australia will not be counted as an island.
Galapagos tortoises will count as one species for this.
- Bornean Orangutan
- Sumatran Orangutan
- Red Lory (Indianapolis)
- Yellow-Crested Cockatoo (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Goffin’s Cockatoo (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Salmon-Crested Cockatoo (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Citron-Crested Cockatoo (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Black-Capped Lory (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Northern Spider Tortoise (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Radiated Tortoise (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Blue Iguana (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Rhinoceros Iguana (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Aruba Island Rattlesnake (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Jamaican Boa (Indianapolis Zoo)
Mainland Australia will not be counted as an island.
Galapagos tortoises will count as one species for this.
I'm Hot Blooded (For Cold Blood) (based off NA 2018)
See the following reptiles:
* Any 4 monitor species
* Any 2 gecko species
* Any 1 Agamidae species
* Any 10 venomous snakes (please stick with Viperidae/Elapidae)
* Any 3 pythons
* Any 4 crocodiles/gharials (no alligators)
* As many turtles/tortoises as you can see!
- Emerald Tree Monitor (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Mali Spiny-Tailed Lizard (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Eyelash Viper (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Taylor’s Cantil (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Cape Cobra (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Aruba Island Rattlesnake (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Zebra Spitting Cobra (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Santa Catalina Island Rattlesnake (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Banded Rock Rattlesnake (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Black Mamba (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Cottonmouth (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Burmese Python (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Reticulated Python (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Spotted Python (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Orinoco Crocodile (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Australian Snake-Necked Turtle (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Northern Spider Tortoise (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Radiated Tortoise (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Egyptian Tortoise (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Leopard Tortoise (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Burmese Star Tortoise (Indianapolis Zoo)
- African Spurred Tortoise (Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center)
- Red-Footed Tortoise (Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center)
- Yellow-Footed Tortoise (Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center)
- Elongated Tortoise (Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center)
- Russian Tortoise (Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center)
- Red-Eared Slider (Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center)
- Diamondback Terrapin (Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center)
- Alligator Snapung Turtle (Forgotten Coast Sea Turtle Center)
Usborne's Scavenger Hunt Challenge (based off UK 2018)
See any 15 of the following 30 species from the Usborne Spotter's Guide wild animal checklist:
* Red Kangaroo
* Black-Tailed Prairie Dog
* Orangutan (either species)
* Squirrel monkey (any species)
* Indian Rhinoceros
* Pygmy Hippopotamus
* Reeves’s Muntjac
* Blue Wildebeest
* American Bison
* Markhor
* Clouded Leopard
* Dingo
* Polar Bear
* Giant Panda
* Cassowary (any species)
* North Island Brown Kiwi
* Hawaiian Goose
* Lady Amherst’s Pheasant
* King Penguin
* African crowned crane (either species)
* American Flamingo
* Spectacled Owl
* King Vulture
* Great Indian Hornbill
* Kookaburra (any species)
* Blue-and-Yellow Macaw
* Giant tortoise (Aldabra or any of the Galapagos)
* Common/Northern Boa (B. constrictor/imperator)
* Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
* American Alligator
- Red Kangaroo (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Bornean Orangutan (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Blue Wildebeest (Indianapolis Zoo)
- King Penguin (Indianapolis Zoo)
- American Flamingo (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Blue-and-Yellow Macaw (Indianapolis Zoo)
- American Alligator (Indianapolis Zoo)
- African Grey-Crowned Crane (Indianapolis Zoo)
- King Vulture (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Laughing Kookaburra (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
- Squirrel Monkey (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
The Rio Challenge (inspired by UK 2019 & EU 2022)
See any 8 species of parrot native to South America (defined as south of Panama and excluding the Caribbean). At least 1 species must be a non-macaw.
- Blue-and-Yellow Macaw (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Scarlet Macaw (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Great Green Macaw (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Green-Winged Macaw (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Military Macaw (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Hyacinth Macaw (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Blue-Throated Macaw (Indianapolis Zoo)
- Red-Fan Parrot (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
The Unbearable Challenge (based off UK 2012, the very first ZooChat challenge)
See all 8 bear species!
- Brown Bear (Indianapolis Zoo)
- American Black Bear (ZooWorld Panama City Beach)
Hall of Champions
This section consists of one game, where I have gone back and asked each of the prior ZooChat Global Challenge Champions to pick one species/animal that they would like to everyone else to attempt to find. As a reward for their hard work and well-deserved wins, the Champions are exempt from this challenge, should they choose to play.
* 2013:
@ThylacineAlive Aldabra Giant Tortoise
* 2014:
@TeaLovingDave Sand Cat
* 2015:
@LaughingDove [unfortunately I could not get through to LD, who seems to have moved on from ZC. In his absence and honor, I will allow any African pigeon/dove to count]
* 2016:
@devilfish Any bird-of-paradise species
* 2017:
@Vision Long-Wattled Umbrellabird
* 2018:
@Giant Eland Roan Antelope OR Sable Antelope
* 2019:
@jayjds2 American Harpy Eagle
* 2020:
@WhistlingKite24 Blue-Faced Honeyeater
* 2021:
@twilighter Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo (Europe) OR Matschie's Tree-Kangaroo (NA)
* 2022:
@twilighter Gaur OR Banteng
I also want to give the man we have to thank for all of the challenges,
@Shorts, the opportunity to pick an animal he wants us all to see as a thank you for providing the forum with such a fun and long-lasting game for us to play: Okapi
- Sand Cat (Indianapolis Zoo)
“One-Zoo Wonder: complete one trial in a single zoo visit. Trials that require only seeing 1 species do not count.”
Now I understand this one may be a lot harder to complete this year than it was for the NA challenge last year, but it is doable. To hopefully make things a little easier, however, I am going to allow any challenges that have set criteria as well as being open-ended to be eligible for this challenge as long as all of the set criteria are met and at least one species that fits the open-ended category is seen all in a single zoo visit. Challenges that are entirely open-ended do not qualify for One-Zoo Wonder.
Additionally, I will allow people to fulfill this using a challenge completed retroactively. For example, if someone completes the Usborne’s Scavenger Hunt using multiple zoo visits, but then visits a zoo where they see all the necessary animals in one visit, they can retroactively use that to fulfill the One-Zoo Wonder.
- Indianapolis Zoo —> Pinni-Party
Wonder.
“Bona Fide Rarity Hunter: see at least 3 species exhibited by only 1 zoo in the US and Canada (can only count 1 species per zoo)"
This one I’m going to edit a bit more, both since it’s hard and because naturally I’m not making everyone visit American zoos to win this.
I am changing the challenge to mean seeing 3 species exhibited by only 1 zoo within your continent, not globally. Again, you are not required to see 3 species exhibited by only 1 zoo each worldwide, just 3 species exhibited at only 1 zoo within the continent you’re participating in. If you visit multiple continents, this challenge will apply to whichever continent the zoo you’re visiting is based in. The one species per zoo rule will remain in effect so people can’t win it with one visit to their local native rescue center.
I’m also going to add a bonus to this challenge: see 1 species exhibited by only one zoo in the world. Since this challenge is particularly difficult, it is not going to be required to say you completed the Bona Fide Rarity Hunter challenge, but I would encourage everyone to still give it a shot! It may make the difference in any theoretical tiebreakers.
To make things a little easier, I am also limiting the definition of “only one zoo in the world” to apply only to the continents where members are participating from. For example, if nobody from South America joins the challenge, then any South American animal displayed at only one zoo outside of SA will fulfill this challenge, regardless of whether they are also kept in SA. If somebody from South America joins the challenge AFTER you have already completed this bonus, then your entry remains valid, but that species will no longer count for the rest of the game.
Thylo's Bonus Challenge
See at least one predator-prey exhibit setup at any zoo. By predator-prey I mean Hagenbeck-style where predator and prey species are displayed side-by-side where they are intentionally able to view and, maybe sometimes in a limited sense, interact with one another.
- Cheetah —> African Bush Elephant (Indianapolis Zoo)