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Misidentified Animals

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by Bengal Tiger, 16 Nov 2021.

  1. hari Jones

    hari Jones Well-Known Member

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    I've heard many people call animals at Chester zoo what there not for example

    Aye ayes being called cats

    Red forest duikers being called baby okapis

    Agouti being called a koala which is what I heard yesterday

    Banteng and congo buffalo being called deer

    Zebras being called horses in pyjamas

    Turkish spiny mice being called giant fat ugly rats

    Porcupines giant spiky rats

    Red pandas also being called cats

    Hornbills being called eagles

    And giant otters seals
     
    Last edited: 19 Aug 2022
  2. SHAVINGTONZOO

    SHAVINGTONZOO Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Does that top my hearing someone tell their child that a binturong was a flamingo?

    No, think mine's still the worst.
     
  3. hari Jones

    hari Jones Well-Known Member

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    Some people really need to look at the signage because in the 15 years I have been visiting chester as I starting visiting a month after I was born I have seen many people standing right in front of signage and still calling animals what their not
     
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  4. dillotest0

    dillotest0 Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Unfortunately [or perhaps fortunately] all that I can come up with was the time in October last year a visitor was saying in regards to the sitatunga at Marwell "that's a nyala."
    I guess now since Marwell has no nyala, the confusion now no longer takes place...
     
  5. amur leopard

    amur leopard Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of the people on this forum couldn't tell a female Sitatunga and female Nyala apart - they're really quite similar species and the mistake has been made many times in the photo gallery by members.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: 19 Aug 2022
  6. Zoofan15

    Zoofan15 Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    If we were to note down every misidentified animal we heard via the general public, we could fill a book - nobody would ever buy it, nobody would ever read it, but the volume of content would be there.

    The thing to keep in mind is that the general public don’t have the knowledge of Zoology we have, so mistakes are inevitable. Mistakes range from reasonable (female Nyala versus female Sitatunga) to mistakes that make you wonder how these people cross the road unassisted (calling a binturong a flamingo).

    If we were to discuss a topic we knew next to nothing about, we’d probably see parallels in our comments (hopefully more towards the reasonable end of the scale).
     
  7. ZooElephantMan

    ZooElephantMan Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I heard two misidentified animals recently:
    1. Someone misidentified a "Fennec Fox" as a "Fennel Fox" (fennel is a plant in the carrot family)
    2. Someone misidentified meerkats as prairie dogs. They then read the exhibit signage, whereupon they realized their mistake and further went on to compare the meerkats to "Pumba the Meerkat," from the Lion King. :confused:
    (for the unfamiliar, Pumba from the Lion King is actually a warthog)
     
    Last edited: 22 Aug 2022
  8. Jambo

    Jambo Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I don't think any zoochatter would have not watched the Lion King. It's an iconic animal movie!:D
     
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  9. Chlidonias

    Chlidonias Moderator Staff Member 15+ year member

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    I rather think that many older members have not because they weren't children when it was released. I haven't seen it, for example.
     
  10. Jambo

    Jambo Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    Wow, i'm shocked to say the least. But it does make sense, as you weren't children at the time, and also didn't have children yourselves to see the movie either way.
     
  11. Aardwolf

    Aardwolf Well-Known Member

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    Hated that movie, to be honest. Anti-hyena propaganda...
     
  12. Nix

    Nix Well-Known Member

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    Lion King is a cinematic marvel. The music, the acting, the animation... Spectacular.
    I recommend it to anybody who hasn't seen it.
     
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  13. birdsandbats

    birdsandbats Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I'm assuming that was your only problem with it? It's often considered one of the best animated movies of all time.
     
  14. Aardwolf

    Aardwolf Well-Known Member

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    I was being a little facetious about the hyenas (only a little) but honestly? Just never cared for it as a movie. Don’t think I’ve seen it in 20 years, and felt no urge to see the remake.
     
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  15. birdsandbats

    birdsandbats Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I think we can all agree on that.
     
  16. Sheather

    Sheather Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Nah I loved the remake, especially the intro scene
     
  17. Jambo

    Jambo Well-Known Member 5+ year member

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    I've seen it in cinemas, and I have to say, it just dosen't feel right. Even the Lion King sequels too; none of them ever did live up to the original.
     
  18. Corangurilla

    Corangurilla Well-Known Member

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    Steering this thread back on topic, I remember people calling the Coatis at Bergen County "coyotes" when they were new (more mispronunciation than misidentification, but still wrong), and I always made sure to correct them if I could (and I was no older than 6 at the time :p).
    Every zoo has at least 1 animal that gets misidentified more than the others. For Henry Vilas, I've heard Aayla the Aardvark referred to as a pig (I get it), an armadillo (close but not close at all), and a rat (ok that's just insulting). As for the Hyraxes, I've mainly heard "guinea pig" and "groundhog".
     
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  19. splendens

    splendens Well-Known Member

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    Not visitors but I believe most aquariums in Japan misidentify their giant isopods as bathynomus giganteus instead of the native species. Unless I'm just mistaken or they source theirs from the atlantic?
     
  20. Corangurilla

    Corangurilla Well-Known Member

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    I think "horse in pajamas" is a slang/jokey way of describing a zebra.
    And in defense of the last one, giant otters kind of look like most reconstructions of early seals.
    I... how do you... what?:confused:
    Binturongs are about as far from a flamingo as you can get.
    Binturong
    • Short legs
    • Black fur
    • Tree-climber
    • Solitary
    • Quiet
    • Smells like buttered popcorn
    Flamingo
    • Long legs
    • Pink feathers
    • Wader
    • Gregarious
    • Noisy
    • Smells like a dishwasher full of dirty, festering water
     
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