Join our zoo community

Favorite Individual Animals

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by Ashley LaRee Lewis, 7 Sep 2019.

  1. Julio C Castro

    Julio C Castro Well-Known Member Premium Member

    Joined:
    12 Jul 2019
    Posts:
    1,144
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    EsserWarrior likes this.
  2. FBBird

    FBBird Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    15 Oct 2010
    Posts:
    3,617
    Location:
    Dorset, UK
    Dagu, breeding male Sumatran Orang @ Jersey. Charismatic and inventive bloke.
     
  3. grevy's zebra

    grevy's zebra Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    24 Apr 2020
    Posts:
    722
    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    Willow- Reticulated Giraffe at Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. She was just so cute and if there ever is a baby zebra at this zoo, that would be my new fav.!
     
  4. London Birder

    London Birder New Member

    Joined:
    29 Apr 2020
    Posts:
    1
    Location:
    United Kingdom
    I don’t recall that it had a name, but I have particularly fond memories of a very friendly Grey Crowned Crane in one of the wildfowl pens at Le Zoo d’Upie in France, which I visited some years ago. I presume it was hand raised or similar as it was by far the tamest Crane I’ve ever come across. It followed me around the pen, cutting across to see me when I had returned at a later point. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t territorial behaviour as I have seen Cranes exhibit this before - it just genuinely seemed very inquisitive (and probably wanted food, if I’m honest). Regardless, it’s an animal and an experience I have particularly fond memories of, and so probably one of my favourite individual zoo creatures. I find the plumage of Crowned Cranes (both Grey and Black) stunning enough at a distance - up close I find it even more striking.
     
  5. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    10 Dec 2012
    Posts:
    17,723
    Location:
    fijnaart, the netherlands
    Jungle Man likes this.
  6. Jambo

    Jambo Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    30 Jul 2018
    Posts:
    6,785
    Location:
    Somewhere near a zoo
    I like Kanzi the Gorilla at Melbourne Zoo. She always seems to find a way to not only me smile, but other zoo visitors and keepers as well.

    Kanzi is currently five, and has an extremely vibrant personality. She loves spending time with her 'grandma' Yuska, but also interacting with visitors at the viewing window.

    Kanzi is also really playful, and loves to jump around like a lunatic and swing on the hammock like it's a swing. Her trademark antics are really hilarious; whether it's stealing food of grandma, Yuska or challenging dad, Otana to a fight.

    That's why she's my favourite zoo animal. She is definitely worth the price of admission.
     
    marmolady likes this.
  7. FelipeDBKO

    FelipeDBKO Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19 Mar 2016
    Posts:
    615
    Location:
    São Paulo, SP, Brazil
    Frodo the chimp always gives me quite the bedtime dreams
     
  8. Yoshistar888

    Yoshistar888 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    11 Aug 2019
    Posts:
    1,342
    Location:
    Melbourne, Australia
    Honey- Syrian Brown Bear- Melbourne Zoo- Deceased.

    Honey was one of my favourite animals at the melbourne zoo, her calming demeanour could melt ice and it was just a blast being around her. The news of her death was very sad.


    BHP- Black Headed Python- Moonlit Sanctuary- Alive

    BHP as said in some of my threads about moonlit is one of the most well behaved pythons ive seen, he/she (Moonlit dosent sex their snakes but I’ll assume it’s a male) just irks with curiosity and charm. The best part about BHP though is unlike most medium-large pythons he’s actually quite friendly.


    Forest- Australian Green Tree Frog- Private (School pet)- Alive

    Out of the three captive animals on campus (Claw the Central Bearded Dragon and Monty the Coastal Carpet Python are the other two) Forrest is by far my favourite, I’ve got to see his rapid growth almost doubling in size over a six month period. He’s also the only amphibian I’ve ever held although I was simply transporting him to a holding container while we cleaned his enclosure. I’ve gotten to feed forest on many occasions and it’s amazing how he just lunges at the crickets with such velocity.
     
  9. WhistlingKite24

    WhistlingKite24 Well-Known Member 10+ year member Premium Member

    Joined:
    29 Oct 2013
    Posts:
    3,943
    Location:
    Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
    Maly the Malayan Sun Bear - the first Sun Bear born in Australia.

    Maly would have to be my favourite individual zoo animal. I regularly see at Wildlife HQ and always make time to see her. She was born at Perth Zoo in 2008 to bears Jamran and Bopha (who were both rescue bears from Cambodia). She moved to Alma Park Zoo in 2011 and then relocated to Wildlife HQ a few years later where she has been ever since. Maly is also only one of eight sun bears in the Australasian region, and the only one of her kind in Queensland.

    Here she is having some enrichment:

     
  10. ZPA

    ZPA Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19 Jan 2019
    Posts:
    529
    Location:
    In West Philadelphia born and raised
    My favorite Individual animals are Tony the White Rhino and Coldilocks the Polar Bear. Whenever I went to the African Plains section, he was always just there. Existing. While the two zebras frantically run around, he's just like a big, stone, puppy. Also I always loved visiting Klondike and Coldilocks. They weren't very active in their older years, but they were always so charming. I have never seen another polar bear since she passed away, but I hope, wherever she is, she is running around, chasing enrichment balls and catching fish with her best friend, Klondike.
    WhiteRhino_Tony_0185.jpg coldilocks.jpg
     
    Birdsage and red river hog like this.
  11. Onychorhynchus coronatus

    Onychorhynchus coronatus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    30 Sep 2019
    Posts:
    8,273
    Location:
    Brazil
    This is the one that Goodall studied isn't it ?

    Are you sure they weren't nightmares ? o_O

    Sounds familiar, somehow, did Durrell write about him in one of his books ?
     
    FelipeDBKO likes this.
  12. Pertinax

    Pertinax Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    5 Dec 2006
    Posts:
    20,707
    Location:
    england
    If he did it was more likely to have been Gambar, their previous Sumatran male, perhaps.
     
  13. Onychorhynchus coronatus

    Onychorhynchus coronatus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    30 Sep 2019
    Posts:
    8,273
    Location:
    Brazil
    It could have been, I just remember him writing quite a lot in "Menagerie manor" about orangutangs and I assumed it could have been Dagu.
     
  14. Pertinax

    Pertinax Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    5 Dec 2006
    Posts:
    20,707
    Location:
    england
    No, that would have been before Dagu's time, though Menagerie Manor was one of his later books I know. Jersey's first orangs were a Bornean pair, Oscar and Bali, followed later by Giles(Bornean) and Gina(Sumatran)- then Gambar who came from London later. Any reference to orangutans in that book would have been one of those I imagine. Dagu has been there during the last couple of decades (can't remember exact arrival date without a check-up..)
     
  15. pendraig_milnerae

    pendraig_milnerae Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    30 Aug 2020
    Posts:
    377
    Location:
    The UK
    I’ve grown quite fond of Rap the Indian Rhinoceros and Sutton the African Bush Elephant at WMSP.
     
  16. Jambo

    Jambo Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    30 Jul 2018
    Posts:
    6,785
    Location:
    Somewhere near a zoo
    Honey was impressive was she? I remember when it was her and her mate Ruan. They used to be extremely active, but after Ruan's death in 2010, Honey became a bit hesitant and less active. She didn't use the pool much, and spent most of her time in her den (which the keepers gave her access to throughout the day). She developed athiritis in her later years and so had difficulty moving from her den to her outdoor enclosure. She was a very special bear to Melbourne, and very well may be Melbourne's last (until they get around to importing Sun Bear, which I don't think is going to happen anytime soon).
     
    Yoshistar888 likes this.
  17. EsserWarrior

    EsserWarrior Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    23 Apr 2018
    Posts:
    1,621
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Laura the bonobo at Milwaukee County Zoo is one of my personal favorites. I've got several amusing videos that I took of her last year.
     
    betsy likes this.
  18. PossumRoach

    PossumRoach Well-Known Member 5+ year member

    Joined:
    23 Feb 2018
    Posts:
    2,606
    Location:
    Munich
    I like Shabani from Nagoya.
     
  19. Austin the Sengi

    Austin the Sengi Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    6 Jun 2020
    Posts:
    768
    Location:
    Florida
    I do personally like “Katina” the orca at Seaworld Orlando
     
  20. Gigit

    Gigit Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    7 Oct 2007
    Posts:
    2,956
    Location:
    England
    I have had the same sort of experience with black crowned cranes who have been endearingly inquisitive (and probably hand-reared!).
    As I have mentioned before on Zoochat, no doubt ad nauseam, my current favourite individual is Paignton's 7 year old Bornean orangutan,Tatty - an innovative explorer and thrill-seeker for whom the phrase joie de vivre could have been invented.
    Meeting one charismatic individual is a good start to developing an interest in a species.