Join our zoo community

Free-ranging animals in zoos

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by elefante, 19 May 2012.

  1. elefante

    elefante Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    12 Aug 2009
    Posts:
    2,139
    Location:
    North Dakota, USA
    I am curious what are some of the animals you have seen roaming around zoo grounds with no enclosure. I have seen peafowl in the non-AZA accredited Bear Country USA, the Hogle Zoo, and in Omaha. I have also seen turkeys roaming the grounds in Omaha and the Hogle Zoo and chickens in Bear Country. Probably the most unique animal I've seen not in an enclosure in a zoo is prairie dogs in Omaha not only at the zoo but in a nearby park. What have all of you seen free-roaming in a zoo? What is the most unusual species?
     
  2. nanoboy

    nanoboy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    1 Mar 2011
    Posts:
    4,693
    Location:
    Melbourne, VIC, Australia
    In Australian wildlife parks, we quite often have kangaroos, wallabies, pademelons, poteroos, and emus (which are all native species). I have also seen farm animals (chickens, goats etc), deer, and peafowls.
     
  3. Arizona Docent

    Arizona Docent Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    10 Feb 2009
    Posts:
    7,702
    Location:
    Arizona, USA
    You will see indian peafowl at the majority of US zoos. It is actually a pet peeve of mine. At my zoo (Reid Park), for example, they often hang out in the white rhino or giraffe yard. Just really annoying to see birds from India in an African exhibit.

    The most unusual was iguanas at the Palm Beach Zoo. Apparently they are feral in many parts of southern Florida. I also saw some parrots (sorry, species unknown) flying over the parking lot of the Los Angeles Zoo. There are a few species of parrots established in the Los Angeles basin, so these were not zoo escapees.
     
  4. Zooplantman

    Zooplantman Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    23 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    4,144
    Location:
    New York, USA
    I saw a Cinereous Vulture in the back parking lot at the Bronx Zoo once... but it wasn't supposed to be there :D

    We also had wild pheasants, turkeys, rabbits, nutria, occasionally white chickens ("introduced" by neighbors), and quite a group of Monk Parakeets (year round)
     
    BenFoxster likes this.
  5. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    13 Jun 2007
    Posts:
    23,395
    Location:
    New Zealand
    a few zoos have had free-range gorillas (Buffalo 2012, Kansas City 2012, Blijdorp 2007, Dallas 2004, etc). It didn't always work out well......
     
  6. elefante

    elefante Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    12 Aug 2009
    Posts:
    2,139
    Location:
    North Dakota, USA
    Do the emus or kangaroos ever get aggressive with the visitors? That would be neat to see all of those (including the farm animals) roaming around.
     
    BenFoxster likes this.
  7. Sealife357

    Sealife357 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    6 May 2010
    Posts:
    179
    Location:
    London,Ontario,Canada
    indian peafowl are common in canadian zoos. A few zoos in the states and uk have free roaming marmosets, can't remember which though.
     
  8. elefante

    elefante Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    12 Aug 2009
    Posts:
    2,139
    Location:
    North Dakota, USA
    Does anyone know how they manage these free-range animals at night? Do they just let birds like peafowl roost? I would think there would be problems with predators like raccoons or skunks.
     
  9. eduardo_Brazil

    eduardo_Brazil Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    12 Oct 2008
    Posts:
    134
    Location:
    South Brazil - Brazil
    We keep 21 azara agoutis free in our grounds and also a group of 13 Golden Headed Lion Tamarins.

    The agoutis just roam free no way to lock them in!

    The Tamarins have a holding area who they are locked in during the evening to avoid predation, they get theier food and water there and the next boxes are keept inside this house, so no concern, they all come back for eat and sleep.

    Birds normally are just let one theier own! I saw in some parks in Brazil that peafowl was also locked in during the night, but this dont will work out for so a long time, since they will quickli start to use a safer and higher tree instead of the usual small cages.
     
    BenFoxster likes this.
  10. Zooplantman

    Zooplantman Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    23 Jan 2008
    Posts:
    4,144
    Location:
    New York, USA
    At zoos I've worked at, yes, the peafowl are left to roost on their own. Where the winters get very cold, the Bird Dept. rounds them up before dangerous weather and brings them in.
     
    Van Beal likes this.
  11. Jabiru96

    Jabiru96 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    1 Feb 2010
    Posts:
    2,743
    Location:
    Sydney
    Taronga Zoo has helmeted guineafowl, red junglefowl and peacock free roaming as well as domestic chickens and turkeys in the children's area.

    Perth has free roaming palm squirrels that were released onto the zoo grounds as well.
     
    BenFoxster likes this.
  12. ocean_boy

    ocean_boy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    21 Oct 2009
    Posts:
    75
    Location:
    Buenos Aires, Argentina
    Buenos Aires Zoo has some free-roaming species like patagonian cavies, coypus and Southern screamers. There are also peafowls and some farm birds (roosters, ducks, geese) that roam free.
     
  13. Hvedekorn

    Hvedekorn Well-Known Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    31 Dec 2008
    Posts:
    597
    Location:
    Skive, Denmark
    Most (or at least many) Europan zoos that keep peafowl are having them free-ranging. Whipsnade in England has free-ranging kangaroos as far as I know, and I believe a few zoos have prairie dogs, but Indian peafowl is the only common free-ranging animal.
     
  14. BeardsleyZooFan

    BeardsleyZooFan Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    24 Jul 2011
    Posts:
    3,709
    Location:
    CT, United States
    Beardsley just has Indian Peafowl and Helmeted Guinea Fowl about. There are some Wild Turkeys though that are wild but really like to hang around the zoo, almost as if they were part of the zoo.
     
  15. betsy

    betsy Well-Known Member 10+ year member Premium Member

    Joined:
    25 Oct 2010
    Posts:
    640
    Location:
    Poway, Ca.
    I have seen mule deer at the San Diego Safari Park. My grandkids always get excited when they see squirrels or rabbits at the zoo.
     
  16. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

    Joined:
    13 Jun 2007
    Posts:
    23,395
    Location:
    New Zealand
    Whipsnade is renowned for its variety of free-range animals, including red-necked wallabies, maras, red junglefowl, peafowl, muntjac and probably loads others. I think some of the species they tried weren't too successful, either in terms of not surviving, not establishing, or departing the grounds (I think they may have tried free-range cranes at one point, which flew away).

    There are actually quite a lot of species (especially in mammals) that could be safely used free-range if the zoo was of a suitable size and locality.
     
  17. carlos77

    carlos77 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    5 Sep 2010
    Posts:
    205
    Location:
    mexico,d.f.mexico
    Zoomat in Chiapas, Mexico has free ranging howler monkeys /aloutta pigra/ as well as iguanas and agutis. The howler monkeys are very active in the mornings and can be heard from quite a distance. Sao Paulo zoo in Brazil also has free ranging howler monkeys, i am not certain of the species, because they were hard to see but again easy to hear. At varoius of the mayan ruins, such as Palenque and Tikal, howler monkeys are often heard in the nearby tropical forests.
     
    Last edited: 20 May 2012
    BenFoxster likes this.
  18. Hix

    Hix Wildlife Enthusiast and Lover of Islands 15+ year member Premium Member

    Joined:
    20 Oct 2008
    Posts:
    4,547
    Location:
    Sydney
    I remember Hagenbecks had free-ranging muntjacs when I was there in the eighties.

    Belize Zoo had free-ranging toucans and chachalacas. (also in the 80's)

    Jersey had free-ranging waterfowl like Coscoroba Swans, Nene, Redbreasted Geese and Common Shelducks (again, in the 80's).

    I know I've seen others, I just can't think of them at present.

    :p

    hix
     
  19. MikeG

    MikeG Well-Known Member 10+ year member

    Joined:
    3 Jun 2009
    Posts:
    735
    Location:
    Lancashire, UK
    You may jest, Chlidonias, but there is [or at least was - not sure about the current situation] a zoo with 'free-range' Mandrills.
    When I was last at Lisbon Zoo a few years back, the younger members of the Mandrill group were able to exit their cage and mingle with zoo visitors. They never seemed to stray very far from their (caged) elders. Don't know what Health & Safety in the UK or USA would say about a thing like that!
     
  20. IanRRobinson

    IanRRobinson Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    2 Dec 2010
    Posts:
    1,314
    Location:
    Northamptonshire
    Whipsnade's most significant free range species is probably the Chinese water deer, listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and a pretty uncommon animal in European zoos. It has a population of 600 odd onsite.

    I've always wondered what diseases they, the Reeves' Muntjac (and to a lesser extent) the Mara and Bennett's Wallabies take round from one paddock to the next.