This wasn’t even the place I had in mind that I might get 2 additional species from, which is still on the table. Guess we’ll see how high the ceiling goes, because I’m still not done quite yet - having two whole weeks off for Christmas will do that, I guess.
not even going to update the numbers at this point
1. Lion (Panthera leo) (1/14 Greenville Zoo)
2. Leopard (Panthera pardus) (1/14 Greenville Zoo)
3. Tiger (Panthera tigris) (3/3 Zoo Atlanta)
4. Jaguar (Panthera onca) (7/1 San Antonio Zoo)
5. Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) (10/2 Metro Richmond Zoo)
6. Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) (3/3 Zoo Atlanta)
7. Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) (6/29 Oklahoma City Zoo)
8. Cougar (Puma concolor) (4/6 North Carolina Zoo)
9. Bobcat (Lynx rufus) (4/6 North Carolina Zoo)
10. Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) (6/23 Brights Zoo)
11. Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) (12/23 North Georgia Wildlife Safari)
11. Serval (Leptailurus serval) (6/23 Brights Zoo)
12. Caracal (Caracal caracal) (10/2 Metro Richmond Zoo)
13. Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) (1/14 Greenville Zoo)
14. Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) (3/9 Riverbanks Zoo)
15. Pallas's cat (Otocolobus manul) (9/30 Smithsonian's National Zoo)
16. Black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) (3/9 Riverbanks Zoo)
17. Sand cat (Felis margarita) (4/6 North Carolina Zoo)
18. Gray wolf (Canis lupus) (9/15 Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary)
19. Dingo (Canis familiarus) (7/3 Capitol of Texas Zoo)
20. Red wolf (Canis rufus) (4/6 North Carolina Zoo)
21. Coyote (Canis latrans) (7/4 Cameron Park Zoo)
22. Black-backed jackal (Lupulella mesomelas) (6/23 Brights Zoo)
23. African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) (7/1 San Antonio Zoo)
24. Bush dog (Speothos venaticus) (7/1 San Antonio Zoo)
25. Raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) (6/29 Oklahoma City Zoo)
26. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) (5/12 Magnolia Plantation & Gardens)
27. Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) (4/6 North Carolina Zoo)
28. Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) (6/23 Brights Zoo)
29. Swift fox (Vulpes velox) (6/29 Oklahoma City Zoo)
30. Gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargentus) (4/28 Lowcountry Zoo)
31. Bat-eared fox (Otocton megalotis) (1/14 Greenville Zoo)
32. Brown bear (Ursus arctos) (3/9 Riverbanks Zoo)
33. American black bear (Ursus americanus) (4/6 North Carolina Zoo)
34. Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) (4/6 North Carolina Zoo)
35. Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) (7/3 Capitol of Texas Zoo)
36. Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) (3/3 Zoo Atlanta)
37. Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) (3/3 Zoo Atlanta)
38. Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) (7/1 San Antonio Zoo)
39. Spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) (6/29 Oklahoma City Zoo)
40. Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) (7/5 Fort Worth Zoo)
41. Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) (3/3 Zoo Atlanta)
42. Barred owl (Strix varia) (1/14 Greenville Zoo)
43. Chaco owl (Strix chacoensis) (9/2 Carolina Raptor Center)
44. Barn owl (Tyto alba) (4/28 Lowcountry Zoo)
45. Milky eagle owl (Ketupa lactea) (3/3 Zoo Atlanta)
46. Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) (1/14 Greenville Zoo)
47. Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus) (4/28 Lowcountry Zoo)
48. Burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) (3/9 Riverbanks Zoo)
49. Eastern screech owl (Megascops asio) (5/12 Magnolia Plantation & Gardens)
50. Spectacled owl (Pulsatrix perspicillata) (6/30 Dallas World Aquarium)
51. Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) (3/3 Zoo Atlanta)
52. Steller's sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus) (10/2 Metro Richmond Zoo)
53. Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) (9/2 Carolina Raptor Center)
54. Black-and-white hawk eagle (Spizaetus melanoleucus) (6/30 Dallas World Aquarium)
55. Harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) (6/30 Dallas World Aquarium)
56. African fish eagle (Icthyophaga vocifer) (6/30 Dallas Zoo)
57. Crowned eagle (Stephanoaetus coronatus) (7/5 Fort Worth Zoo)
58. Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) (4/28 Lowcountry Zoo)
59. Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni) (9/2 Carolina Raptor Center)
60. Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) (9/2 Carolina Raptor Center)
61. Broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus) (9/2 Carolina Raptor Center)
115. Common buzzard (Buteo buteo) (12/23 North Georgia Wildlife Safari)
116. Augur buzzard (Buteo augur) (12/23 North Georgia Wildlife Safari)
62. Harris’s hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) (1/14 Greenville Zoo)
63. Mississippi kite (Ictinia mississippiensis) (9/2 Carolina Raptor Center)
64. Crested caracara (Caracara plancus) (7/2 Gladys Porter Zoo)
65. Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) (7/4 Cameron Park Zoo)
66. Lanner falcon (Falco biarmicus) (9/2 Carolina Raptor Center)
67. Common kestrel (Falco tinnunculis) (9/2 Carolina Raptor Center)
68. American kestrel (Falco sparverius) (7/5 Fort Worth Zoo)
69. Pygmy falcon (Polihierax semitorquatus) (7/5 Fort Worth Zoo)
70. Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) (6/30 Dallas Zoo)
71. King vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) (3/3 Zoo Atlanta)
72. Black vulture (Coragyps atratus) (5/12 Magnolia Plantation & Gardens)
73. Turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) (5/12 Magnolia Plantation & Gardens)
117. Lesser yellow-headed vulture (Cathartes burrovianus) (12/23 North Georgia Wildlife Safari)
74. Rüppell’s griffon vulture (Gyps rueppelli) (1/14 Greenville Zoo)
75. Cape vulture (Gyps coprotheres) (6/23 Brights Zoo)
76. Hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) (3/3 Zoo Atlanta)
77. Cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) (3/9 Riverbanks Zoo)
78. Palm nut vulture (Gypohierax angolensis) (7/5 Fort Worth Zoo)
I'm actually glad that you ended up with quite a few more species because it would have been a lot more frustrating for me if you beat me by just one If the cinereous vultures had not already been taken off-exhibit for HPAI and we would have been tied... I would have a different opinion
I finally got lucky and spotted the bat-eared foxes for the first time this year at the Safari Park yesterday!
San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Escondido, CA) - 17 November, 2024:
Canidae:
111. Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis)
I’m still hoping to hit a few more collections before the end of the year, so it’s going to continue to be an excitingly close race depending on how my luck goes there!
My plan to make it up the coast and hit up a couple new facilities did not quite pan out for me this past weekend, so I compromised for one last "tick" for the challenge
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (Palm Desert, CA) - 23 December, 2024:
Canidae:
112. Island fox (Urocyon littoralis)
Thank you again to @Coelacanth18 for another year of fun with this challenge, and I am already looking forward to next year's! Looking back at the challenge as a whole, by taxon:
1. African painted dog (Lycaon pictus)
2. Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus)
3. Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis)
4. Black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas)
5. Coyote (Canis latrans)
6. Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda)
7. Grey fox (Urocyon cineroargenteus)
8. Grey wolf (Canis lupus)
9. Island fox (Urocyon littoralis)
10. Kit fox (Vulpes macrotis)
11. Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)
12. New Guinea singing dog (Canis familiaris)
13. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) 14. Ruppell’s sand fox (Vulpes rueppellii)
Ursidae (7 Species):
1. American black bear (Ursus americanus)
2. Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus)
3. Brown bear (Ursus arctos)
4. Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
5. Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
6. Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus)
7. Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)
While it ended up being a little too difficult to keep up with my European version of this challenge while I was travelling, I did decide to go ahead and put it together now as a part of my recap for this challenge In the spoiler below is my facility-by-facility update on European Apex Predators. In total, I was able to see 99 species across 11 facilities. Further down, I will provide a breakdown by taxon to compare to the North American facilities I visited.
North America ZooChat Challenge 2024 - The Euro Edition: Apex Predators:
I visited a total of 11 European facilities with qualifying species seen compared to 15 North American facilities with qualifying species seen, with the 15 North American facilities coming in with just 13 more species than the 11 European facilities. Below you can see the breakdown of the European numbers by taxonomy and a comparison to the North American facility numbers (minus the single species taxon categories that were all present on both continents).
Felidae: 17 Species (= Species to NA)
Hyaenidae: 3 Species (= Species to NA)
Canidae: 7 Species (-7 Species from NA)
Ursidae: 6 Species (-1 Species from NA)
Accipitriformes: 20 Species (+4 Species from NA)
Cathartiformes: 3 Species (-2 Species from NA)
Falconiformes: 3 Species (= Species to NA)
Strigiformes: 19 Species (+9 Species from NA)
Crocodilia: 8 Species (-4 Species from NA)
Selachimorpha: 10 Species (-12 Species from NA)
So, as you can see, the biggest differences are the 12 fewer species of shark and seven less species of dogs seen in Europe compared to North America and the nine more species of owls seen in Europe than North America. The 12 fewer sharks is to be expected, as I only visited one standalone aquarium in Europe (although Zoo Berlin, Zoo Leipzig, and Wilhelma all had aquarium buildings on grounds, with Berlin's being the most substantial). I was also not surprised by the larger number of owls seen in Europe compared to North America, with the much longer established practice of housing birds-of-prey for falconry and other purposes on that continent. I was at first quite surprised to see the number of Canid species seen across the continents be so different; however, upon further investigation, four of the Canid species I saw only in North American facilities are also only native to the Americas.
While the overall species number seen in European collections was smaller, Europe did provide an additional 47 species that I did not see in North American collections, for a grand total of 159 total qualifying species seen across the two continents this year! Of those 159 total species seen, 29 of them were entirely new to me (two seen in North America compared to 27 seen in Europe). The full, combined list, broken down by taxonomy, can be seen below:
1. African painted dog (Lycaon pictus)
2. Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus)
3. Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis)
4. Black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas)
5. Bush dog (Speothos venaticus)
6. Coyote (Canis latrans)
7. Dhole (Cuon alpinus)
8. Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda)
9. Grey fox (Urocyon cineroargenteus)
10. Grey wolf (Canis lupus)
11. Island fox (Urocyon littoralis)
12. Kit fox (Vulpes macrotis)
13. Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)
14. New Guinea singing dog (Canis familiaris)
15. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) 16. Ruppell’s sand fox (Vulpes rueppellii)
Ursidae (7 Species):
1. American black bear (Ursus americanus)
2. Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus)
3. Brown bear (Ursus arctos)
4. Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
5. Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
6. Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus)
7. Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)
Roger Williams Park Zoo: 28 August 2024
58. Serval (Leptailurus serval)
59. Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis) 60. Aplomado falcon (Falco femoralis)
61. Hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monatus)
62. Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)
63. Red wolf (Canis rufus)
Interesting note: The last three zoos visited had a combined total of six crane species: whooping, hooded, wattled, white-naped, black-crowned and red-crowned. The hooded and white-naped cranes are lifers.
Well, I was so nervous I wasn't going to break 100 species, but did just in time today after a lovely afternoon on Long Island! This concludes my species for the year!
Sweetbriar Nature Center: December 30, 2024
100.) Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
101.) American kestrel (Falco sparverius)
As stated earlier I will be on vacation starting tomorrow until Jan 4, so full results and analysis will have to wait until next week. However, as today wraps up it’s looking safe to say that @biggest_dreamer is this year’s champion – in the closest race we’ve had since 2021! Very exciting. Thank you all for participating I hope you will all continue in 2025:
Congrats to everyone, honestly! And a special thanks to @Coelacanth18 for running this. Going into this I had no expectation of doing well, let alone actually winning it. Having the opportunity to visit most of Texas’s major zoos over a week really made all the difference, and I don’t expect a repeat performance next year since I’ll be spending that week in the much less stacked Virginia instead. That said, I haven’t peeked at next year’s theme yet, so who knows……
Officially there were 26 participants in 2024, although as usual a few people may have stopped participating early on.
A total of 189 species were counted by participants - specifically 70 birds, 54 mammals, 41 fish and 24 reptiles. The most counted overall species was Lion, with 24 of the 26 participants counting this species. Other high-up mammals were Tiger at 23, Cheetah and Painted Dog at 21, Puma and Jaguar at 20 and Spotted Hyena at 19 (surprisingly, no bears made it higher than American Black Bear's 17). The most counted bird was Bald Eagle at 22, with Turkey Vulture second at 20 then several other raptors at 16 or 17. The most common reptile was American Alligator at 20, closely followed by Komodo Dragon at 19. The most common shark was Epaulette Shark at 19, followed closely by White-spotted Bamboo Shark and Brown-banded Bamboo Shark at 18 and 17 respectively (the highest large shark was Sandbar at 15).
As in previous years, the biggest predictor of who did well was how many zoos they visited (with eligible species); the 6 highest-scoring participants were also the 6 participants who counted the most zoos visited, with @Mary topping the list at 30 zoos (our champion was second with 24).
Feel free to ask any questions or provide feedback on this iteration of the game - otherwise I hope to see you all participating again this year, this time looking for social mammals
Officially there were 26 participants in 2024, although as usual a few people may have stopped participating early on.
A total of 189 species were counted by participants - specifically 70 birds, 54 mammals, 41 fish and 24 reptiles. The most counted overall species was Lion, with 24 of the 26 participants counting this species. Other high-up mammals were Tiger at 23, Cheetah and Painted Dog at 21, Puma and Jaguar at 20 and Spotted Hyena at 19 (surprisingly, no bears made it higher than American Black Bear's 17). The most counted bird was Bald Eagle at 22, with Turkey Vulture second at 20 then several other raptors at 16 or 17. The most common reptile was American Alligator at 20, closely followed by Komodo Dragon at 19. The most common shark was Epaulette Shark at 19, followed closely by White-spotted Bamboo Shark and Brown-banded Bamboo Shark at 18 and 17 respectively (the highest large shark was Sandbar at 15).
As in previous years, the biggest predictor of who did well was how many zoos they visited (with eligible species); the 6 highest-scoring participants were also the 6 participants who counted the most zoos visited, with @Mary topping the list at 30 zoos (our champion was second with 24).
Feel free to ask any questions or provide feedback on this iteration of the game - otherwise I hope to see you all participating again this year, this time looking for social mammals
I didn't expect myself to be that high, I thought I was going to be last because I started late. Congratulations on the winners! I'm surprised that Spotted Hyena were so popular as I went to two zoos with them and didn't see any. Can't wait to start this year's challenge (my first "zoo" had no eligible animals due to having not that many mammals).
Officially there were 26 participants in 2024, although as usual a few people may have stopped participating early on.
A total of 189 species were counted by participants - specifically 70 birds, 54 mammals, 41 fish and 24 reptiles. The most counted overall species was Lion, with 24 of the 26 participants counting this species. Other high-up mammals were Tiger at 23, Cheetah and Painted Dog at 21, Puma and Jaguar at 20 and Spotted Hyena at 19 (surprisingly, no bears made it higher than American Black Bear's 17). The most counted bird was Bald Eagle at 22, with Turkey Vulture second at 20 then several other raptors at 16 or 17. The most common reptile was American Alligator at 20, closely followed by Komodo Dragon at 19. The most common shark was Epaulette Shark at 19, followed closely by White-spotted Bamboo Shark and Brown-banded Bamboo Shark at 18 and 17 respectively (the highest large shark was Sandbar at 15).
As in previous years, the biggest predictor of who did well was how many zoos they visited (with eligible species); the 6 highest-scoring participants were also the 6 participants who counted the most zoos visited, with @Mary topping the list at 30 zoos (our champion was second with 24).
Feel free to ask any questions or provide feedback on this iteration of the game - otherwise I hope to see you all participating again this year, this time looking for social mammals
Sure do, and pretty easy to copy. I didn't record where each species was seen though, that would require me to go back and do more extensive digging.
Mammals
Leopard Cat
Rusty-spotted Cat
Jungle Cat
Geoffroy's Cat
African Wildcat
Ruppell's Sand Fox
Sure do, and pretty easy to copy. I didn't record where each species was seen though, that would require me to go back and do more extensive digging.
Mammals
Leopard Cat
Rusty-spotted Cat
Jungle Cat
Geoffroy's Cat
African Wildcat
Ruppell's Sand Fox
If the cinereous vultures had not already been taken off-exhibit for HPAI and we would have been tied... I would have a different opinion 
In the spoiler below is my facility-by-facility update on European Apex Predators. In total, I was able to see 99 species across 11 facilities. Further down, I will provide a breakdown by taxon to compare to the North American facilities I visited.
