Are their any strange mixed animal exhibits such as containing species that don't live with each other in the wild?
Unusual yes, but both are widespread in southern and eastern African savannas, ie. many regions where they live together in the wild. A common combination seen in many zoos is African savanna animals and Sahel/Sahara antelopes. Strictly speaking, scimitar oryx (or for that matter Arabian oryx), dama gazelle and addax don't belong in any exhibit that tries to replicate the African savanna. "Rainforest" halls also commonly include a wide range of dry/open country bird species. Based on some zoos with tropical South American rainforest halls, you would think that every South American bird species belongs in that habitat (scarlet ibis, red-crested cardinal, elegant crested tinamou, Pacific hornero, Inca tern, etc). Penguins and giraffes at Henry Doorly - that combination is so odd (even if they are jackass penguins) that I can't help but like it
I've seen several tropical halls and free-flight aviaries that keep especially birds from several continents together - in some cases apparently to allow the public to see as many colorful birds as possible in the same place, sometimes as a temporary solution, and sometimes when a geo zoo doesn't have, say, an Asia department and hence has to keep an Asian bird in the African aviary. Examples on top of my head... Doesn't Burgers Bush have animals from all the world free-ranging? I've never been there. Randers Regnskov in Denmark does this at times. At the start, their domes didn't have a continental theme, so the collection in each dome was quite a mix. Even nowadays, it happens - recently, they got a crowned pigeon that is now living in their South America dome (they don't have an Australia dome), and recently a quite lecherous male macaw moved into the Africa dome because it kept seducing female macaws of other species. Copenhagen Zoo's and Guldborgsund Zoo's tropical halls also have animals from several continents. Munkholm Zoo's free-flight aviary has birds from all continents except for Antarctica. Quite a lot of rainforest exhibits have blue quails as natural pest control.
UK Mixings Blackpool;- Capybara and Spider Monkeys Giant Anteater and Mara (Anteaters are new and due to be mixed with Vicuna and a separate pair of Capybara) Rainbow Lorikeets, Ground Cuscus and Long Nosed Potoroo Long Nosed Potoroo and Western long billed Corella Aardvark and Meerkats Chester;- Pudu and Giant Anteater Grevy's Zebra and Scimitar Horned Oryx Spectacled Bear and Coati Indian Rhino, Blackbuck and Brown Antlered Deer Warthog and Banded Mongoose South Lakes;- Spectacled Bear, Brazilian Tapir, Asian short-clawed Otters, Capybara and Brown capuchins Two toed sloth, Cotton top tamarin, African grey parrot, Bettongs and Paca A lot of weird mixings, the bears, tapirs etc are the one's that is IMO the weirdest and potentially dangerous. SL hope to breed Bear cubs but with have 1.3 and not a 'cubbing' den there then I doubt they will breed.
I've seen a Jameson's Mamba with a Gaboon Viper once. It seemed to work out but I was still a little nervous.
Wow! and I thought the Oregon Zoo keeping Egyptian Fruit Bats with Rodrigues Flying Fox and Straw colored Fruit Bats under one roof was crazy. I want to see a picture of how Henry Doorly exhibits Giraffes and penguins together.
Newport Aquarium: Asian small-clawed otter with Indian crested porcupines. Even though they are in range of each other, that is still odd don't you think? Reaseheath Zoo: Ring-tailed Lemur/Reevse Muntjac Houston Zoo: Bornean orangutan, Sumatran orangutan, Malaysian giant turtle and yellow-headed temple turtle Heidelberg Zoo: Syrian brown bear/Corsac fox
not quite over. How about kulan, Bactrian camel, baboon, ostrich, aoudad and American black bear at the Serengetipark Hodenhagen in Germany?
Ree Park in Denmark keeps blackbucks on their African savanna which otherwise purely houses African species, by the way.
It wasn't a zoo. It was at the Denver Museum of Natural History. They had a reptile exhibit open and I think it still might be open.
The original post is being interpreted in two ways (as I suppose it can be). 1) Animals that might live in the same geographic area but would naturally avoid each other. 2) Animals from different geographic areas completely. My interpretation is to go with option 2, so here it is. Le Menagerie - sloth and giant tortoise (I forget aldabra or galapagos) Reid Park - rhea and galapagos tortoise, plus aviary with birds from Africa and Australasia. Out Of Africa - nilgai in safari exhibit with african hoofstock Fossil Rim - random hoofstock and ratites thrown together (too many to list)
Blair Drummond safari park - Fallow deer, dromedary and American bison as well as white rhino, red lechwe, yak and Pere David's deer.