Snowleopard's Mammals: A Lifetime List of Species

I'm surprised Aye-aye's are a rarity to this degree, having grown up regularly visiting Chester, Bristol and London, and then having seen them in Frankfurt, Cleveland and Philadelphia. I guess I assumed there were more of them around

 

Also Parc Ivoloina, but behind the scenes!

It's funny how this can happen. When I was growing up I felt this way about Sumatran Rhinos having seen them at Bronx, San Diego, Los Angeles and Cincinnati.

I ran into the same issue! Weren't many captive mammals left anywhere in the world actually, so now I end up looking for most of them in the wild. Although always on the look out for new captive ones too!

 

Really enjoying this thread. Just jumping in to provide a rundown of the Minnesota Zoo's nocturnal section in 2008 before it closed. Most species were mentioned in the list provided by @snowleopard. The complete rundown was, in order:
Sunda Slow Loris, Clouded Leopard, Kuhl's Gliding Gecko/White's Treefrog/Oriental Firebelly Toad, Burmese Python, Indian Flying Fox, Water Monitor, Green Tree Python/Tokay Gecko/Black-breasted Leaf turtle, Northern Luzon Cloud Rat, Pygmy Slow Loris, Fishing Cat. The Cloud Rat and Loris exhibits are the current sloth exhibit, and the Fishing Cat exhibit is the current python exhibit. The rest are the ones boarded up.

 

That is quite the lineup! I'm disappointed I wasn’t ever able to see this exhibit open, And I hope they eventually reopen the nocturnal trail, as it is a major eyesore and a complete waste of space.

Anyhow, I’ve really enjoyed this thread so far! I’ve found it very interesting to see how rapidly certain primate species have declined in numbers recently (especially in North America). Black Lemurs, Sulawesi Crested Macaques, Red-Fronted Lemurs, Red-Capped Mangabeys and Mona Monkeys were all relatively common around a decade ago, and yet all are nearly completely absent from North America. The rapid pace of Primate phase outs has been quite shocking to watch play out over the past few years in NA. I understand many of these phase outs are necessary, but it is still quite disappointing to see so many species leave North American collections, and at times the amount of species leaving seems excessive when considering how many species are managed successfully in Europe and Asia. Does NA just not have as much space for such diversity or are zoos just not committed enough to struggling species? Anyways, I am still quite grateful to have seen the amount of species I have, as there are many I will likely never see again.

 

Nocturnal primates have become favorites of mine and on my recent UK trip I intentionally tried to go out of my way to maximize my viewing opportunities for this group. I have now seen Aye-aye in three facilities and active on four occasions - they are such a treat to view and their unexpected size adds immensely to the experience. I often like to stick around until I catch a glimpse of the ears or face. Chester was especially good luck for me. Denver's exhibit is definitely almost prohibitively dark; I spent around thirty minutes in there on my last visit and still could barely see a thing if there wasn't movement.

While pygmy slow loris seem to be doing well, and I have the pleasure of viewing the species in my home town, it doesn't seem like any other members of the loris family are doing well in captivity. While grey slender loris seem to be persistent in the UK for now and I have seen London's specimen, Greater slow loris species have become something of a white whale for me, and while they have a number of recent holders, they have dwindled to Monkey World being the older holder between the US and UK, and only a few options in Mainland Europe.

I am not claiming any authority on the subject, but from what I have seen, it does have a lot to do with space. A lot of US zoos are closer to urban centers and more landlocked, which I'm sure isn't big news, but the conversions of cramped, stamp collection historic Primate Houses into modern exhibits with larger habitats, especially where indoor and outdoor exhibits are both needed, often results in these zoos committing to far fewer species, and they favor supporting the existing managed populations. Fear of zoonotic transmission of herpes virus has lead to many zoos choosing to phase out large macaque species, many of which were once fairly common.

Aside renovations to existing, historic buildings, I find many US zoos with the opportunity to invest in new, larger primate habitats are choosing to focus their investment in great apes like gorilla and orangutan, and there is less institutional interest in other primates, which tend to be featured within habitat/biome complex exhibits rather than focused developments. New World monkeys remain fairly successful in this regard, but I would say Old World Monkeys seem to be in an especially dire spot.

 

I have seen Pottos at 3 zoos and Galagos at 15 zoos. Today's post will round off primates, and then I will have some summary comments before moving on with this thread.

1- Cincinnati Zoo (USA) – Potto – 2008
2- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Potto – 2010
3- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Potto – 2018

AND...

1- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Lesser Galago – 1996
2- Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (USA) – Galago – 2008
3- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Galago – 2008
4- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Greater Galago – 2010
5- Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden (USA) – Greater Galago – 2010
6- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Senegal Galago – 2010
7- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Galago – 2010
8- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Galago – 2012
9- ZooTampa at Lowry Park (USA) – Brown Greater Galago – 2012
10- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (USA) – Brown Greater Galago, Lesser Galago – 2012
11- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Senegal Galago – 2019
12- Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands) – Senegal Galago – 2019
13- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Senegal Galago – 2022
14- Randers Regnskov (Denmark) – Senegal Galago – 2022
15- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Brown Greater Galago – 2023

Pottos have been even rarer for me than Aye-ayes, with maybe a dozen zoos in the world currently with the species according to Zootierliste. Here's a natural light image:



@twilighter

Red light image:



@RatioTile

Cincinnati Zoo (USA) has had Pottos for a long time and that's where I first saw the species 16 years ago.





Both photos by @Moebelle

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) held Pottos when I was there in 2010:



@Moebelle

And after missing the species a few times, usually because they were added after my visits at places such as Milwaukee and Franklin Park, I saw a Potto at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA). Someone more informed than me might know if the Pottos I have seen are either West African, East African or Central African, which appear to be the three recognized Potto species these days. Stare into the light:



@Andrew_NZP

As for my final look at a group of primates, signs on zoo exhibits for Galagos have been all over the spectrum. Many zoos in the past have had a sign saying 'Bushbaby', which tells us nothing in terms of the exact species one is looking at. There's a whole series of Dwarf Galagos, quite a few types of Lesser Galagos, some Squirrel Galagos (which I doubt I've ever seen), and finally the large, impressive Greater Galagos. When coming across a Galago exhibit, I've found these primates fairly easy to locate as they often bounce around their exhibit if one is patient. Looking at my list of zoos with Galagos above, I've strictly gone with the name that was on the sign at the time, and I am aware that there's 20+ species these days. Lastly, on my list I put Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (USA) in bold, because that theme park zoo had TWO Galago species when I was there in 2012. That's a fascinating fact, as most AZA zoos these days won't touch Galagos or Pottos with a ten-foot pole. More examples of North American phase-outs? If you want to see primate diversity, it's best to head to Europe or Asia!!!

A 'Senegal Bushbaby' (Galago senegalensis):



@Daniel Sörensen

Garnett's Greater Galago (Otolemur garnettii):



@Rhino00

The exhibit for Aardvarks and Garnett's Greater Galagos at Memphis Zoo (USA):



@Coelacanth18

Dierenpark Amersfoort (Netherlands), like many of these examples, keeps its Senegal Galagos in a Nocturnal House environment. It's a really delightful building.



@KevinB

Senegal Bushbaby:



@Giant Eland

Another Greater Galago, this time at Cologne Zoo (Germany). I was at this wonderful zoo in 2019, but I'm not counting its Galago(s) because I did not take note of any there at the time. It seems that this stunning portrait photo was taken behind the scenes.



@Sicarius

 

Did Milwaukee not have Pottos yet in 2010? I know they got rid of the last Potto in 2021.

 

I really thought they already had them at that point too. It's possible snowleopard was there only a few months or even weeks before they went on exhibit.

 

Is primates finished? What about slender loris?

 

See the previous page.

 

Slender loris hasn’t been mentioned by snowleopard in the previous page at all.

 

Slow and slender loris got me confused, apologies.

 

Perhaps @snowleopard has never seen a Slender loris. There's only one holder in the US, and I don't know if they would've been there at the time of his visit. No clue if there are any in Europe.

 

What is the one holder of Slender loris in the US?

 

Memphis.

 

Hello, snowleopard

Have you seen any tarsiers?

 

I'll reply to all the comments and questions:

I did not see any Pottos at Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) when I was there. Here's the species list just for the nocturnal wing of the Small Mammal House on July 24th, 2010: Black-footed Cat, Fennec Fox, Douroucouli, Senegal Bushbaby, Sugar Glider, Springhaas, Kinkajou, plus an assortment of bats.

I've never seen a Slender Loris, or an Indri, or a Tarsier. I could probably bang off two of those if I ever make it over to Southeast Asia. Maybe one day.

Primates are done. I will compile an updated master list and post it on this thread, including all minor tweaks and changes.

 

I don't think that there are any left at Memphis. I was there last month and didn't see any, and when I asked a keeper in that building I was told that they were gone. ZIMS seems to confirm

 

Their last USDA report I looked at said they were down to one, so not too surprising to hear. Definitely a shame though it was one of the two biggest species highlights for me at Memphis, along with their bear cuscus (also the only one of its kind here). It's a crazy-looking animal, in an endearing way.

One of my photos from 2021:

Slender Loris are in European collections as well. Didn't see any at Frankfurt or Rotterdam on your 2019 trip?

 

Aha...jackpot!! Thanks @Coelacanth18. I looked up my Snowleopard's 2019 Road Trip thread here on ZooChat and on the Grizmek House species list I found this:

Grzimek House species list (45 species): In the order that the species appear: Golden Spiny Mouse, Tibesti Spiny Mouse, Golden Lion Tamarin/Two-toed Sloth/Three-banded Armadillo, Kowari, Coendou, Grey-bellied Night Monkey, Northern Luzon Giant Cloud Rat, Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur/Gray Lesser Mouse Lemur/Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec, Desert Dormouse, Pygmy Glider, Leaf-nosed Bat, Eastern Quoll, Springhare/Northern Lesser Galago/Aardvark, Aye-aye, Northern Ceylonese Sender Loris, Murine Mouse Opossum, Smooth-sided Toad, Australian Water Rat, Short-beaked Echidna/Tawny Frogmouth, Northern Tree Shrew, Black and Rufous Elephant Shrew, Small-clawed Otter, Veiled Chameleon, Short-eared Elephant Shrew, White-faced Saki, Javan Chevrotain, Goeldi’s Monkey/Green Acouchi, Komodo Dragon, Striped Grass Mouse, Common Gundi, Emperor Tamarin/Southern Tamandua, Sociable Weaver/Cape Ground Squirrel, Pygmy Marmoset and Dwarf Mongoose/Yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax.

Did anyone notice the typo? Back in 2019, I missed the letter "l' in Northern Ceylonese Slender Loris and anyone could look up my thread and find that mistake. No wonder nothing was coming up when I searched for Slender Loris. It's exciting that I've seen the species, because I even make note of which species I saw during my visit on that year's thread. Hilarious. I don't mention Slender Loris in my review of Rotterdam, but I 100% saw the species at Frankfurt Zoo.

Also, I obviously only collected information about Slow Lorises when I compiled my data months ago, as I list "Northern Dry Zone Slender Loris" and "Gray Slender Loris" as two of the species found in the Nocturama hallway at Antwerp Zoo. So, I saw TWO types of Slender Loris in 2019. Not too shabby.

It's a real shame that Antwerp closed down their Nocturnal House, as here's what I said in my review: A hidden treasure is the ‘Nocturama’, which of course is a Nocturnal House. The exhibits there are fantastic and along a darkened hallway there are these species on display: Common Rat, Golden-bellied Water Rat, Balabac Mouse Deer, Northern Dry Zone Slender Loris, Gray Slender Loris, Aardvark, Springhaas, Southern Tamandua, Dourocouli, Two-toed Sloth, Southern Three-banded Armadillo and Egyptian Fruit Bat.