Mixed species exhibits

At the Darling Downs Zoo we are currently trialling Common Marmosets with Sun Conures - so far successfuly. Marmosets have bred and are raising twins while Conures are sitting on three eggs at present.

This year we will also trial Koalas [arboreal] with Rufous Bettongs [terrestrial].

I have seen Koalas with Echidna and Bush Stone Curlew at [I think] Taronga and it seemed to be working OK.

Have also seen Small-clawed Otters, Water Monitors and Binturong at Singapore Zoo which intrigued me. Does any one know if this blend withstood the test of time?

 

I have seen this mix with koalas steve, maybe you could try it:
In an aviary 13mX 5
2 Koala (Vic)
4 Curlew
2 Blue winged Kookaburras
14 Grey Headed Flying Fox
1 Tawny frogmouth
and some Long nosed potoroo

a freind of mine had a wierd mix, a Ketsral, 2 curlews, 2 Bush Rats (they lived belive it or not), Pair of Mandarin Ducks, a spur winged plover and a jap quail and it worked too! THe funniesrt combo i ahve seen in a zoo (who will remain nameless) a Kestral 2 kookas, 2 Grass Parrots, 2 Regent Parrots and a Reeves Pheasant!

 

I think this would be quite possible. Owl monkeys mix well with many other creatures. A big problem with mixed exhibits, a part from stress, is feeding. Animals give little regard to whos food is whos. There are many ways to come to grips with this too, but it remains a problem in many of these exhibits.

 

I don't think they have mountain paca, also, are you sure about the pacarana?

 

There are certain possible risks considering this idea.
-bongo & sitatunga hybridisation
-pygmy hippos can be sometimes pretty nasty and even fatal to larger animals, though the combination bongo (addax)-pygmy hippo seemed to have worked fine in f.e. Mountain View
-same goes for congo buffalo; RRHs can also be quite a source of trouble-and would turn the exhibit pretty soon into a mud field
There could be similar yet zoogeographically even more interesting combinations:
-bongo, King colobus, duiker (wishful thinking: zebra duiker), Roloway monkey and maybe pygmy hippo
-bongo (maybe just a single bull), pygmy hippo, serval
Though the latter version sounds absurd, please feel free to look at
Fuengirola Zoo in Spain and keep in mind that f.e. Tierpark Nadermann keeps servals quite successfully together with various ungulates, among them eland.

-Tierpark Görlitz had a red panda / White-eared Pheasant/ Reeve's muntjac mix; they had to take the pheasants out when the pandas found out that they're a nice midnight dinner... The often observed Red Panda -Reeve's muntjac combination (f.e. Nuremberg, Zürich) was in some cases seperated again as the pandas started to attack muntjac fawns
-Cranes & monkeys as well the other combination mentioned could be a little risky; the takin & macaque & goral(?) exhibit in Rotterdam was, according to my knowledge, also not that successful on the long run due to interspecific aggression. And the snub-nosed monkeys are at the moment so precious and rare (as actually no non-Chinese zoo besides Zoorasia and soon LA keep one species-Rhinopithecus roxellana) that most zoos wouldn't experiment with them if they had them (even though the idea of Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey AND Golden Takin in one exhibit sounds awesome)

@nicholas: Most South American bat species kept in zoos are a few Phyllostomidae species, which, with the exception of the huge Spectral Bat (actually at the moment not kept in any zoos to my knowledge ) and maybe the Greater spear-nosed bat, are small enough to fall prey to said owl monkeys. Therefore I would be careful in trying such a mix; especially not in the case of the vampire bats...

 

Thanks for everybody for suggestions! I would like to see monkeys with ungulates mostly because monkey cages are usually very small, and they would benefit in typical restricted-space zoo from ungulate paddock. The same about keeping large birds free-flying in elephant/rhino/hippo house.

I think they were singposted in late 2006. I remember positively at least mountain paca. I seen it, but 1) it was very dark 2) I have no experience with this group 3) it was inactive, so it could be something else.

 

The problems with monkeys & ungulate mixed species exhibits is usually:
-the potentially high aggression of especially male monkeys/baboons
-the more cost- & labour-intensive exhibit design and general husbandry
Some work (Munich's Nubian Ibex & Hamadryas baboons, Geladas in Rheine etc.), some combinations don't.

Similar problem with large free-flying birds-danger of escape as well as attacking visitors-or rather, attacks BY visitors (and maybe the neighbouring pachyderms, too).

However, I do share Your wish when it comes to monkey & ungulate exhibits-a bongo or Congo buffalo, blue duiker & colobus monkey exhibit with a walk-through part like in Münster Zoo-that'd be interesting.

 

The exhibit worked pretty well, but the water monitors displayed in it had to be very large. The exhibit no longer exists due to redevelopment.

However, Otters are still kept with binturongs in Night Safari, and so far there hasn't been any problems.

 

Didn't a zoo in the US, I think Bronx, keep Binturong, Short-clawed Otters and Prevost's Tree Squirrels together?

 

I think servals and fishing cats would be good to see with bigger ungulates and elephants and that sort of thing but the only problem i can think of is that ungulate paddocks usually have minimal fencing, like just a plan wire fence(Which i like better then fake rock or concrete.)
And the Kyabram Fauna Park has two stony creek crocodiles on display with a Mertons water wonitor about triple their size. But it has so far worked well

 

Keeping carnivores (especially agile ones) and herbivores together is always going to be an expensive propostion...

 

Paignton keep their sulawesi crested macaques with their anoa! The mix i think was working ok but their was some aggresion with the the dominant male chasing the anoa and vice versa.

Ive seen red panda mixed with muntjac in a rather small exhibit in calgary that seemed to get on well also at heidelberg they had red panda mixed with tufted deer in a large wooded enclosure!


one of the most exciting yet unusual mix of species ive seen is the 'fragile forest' exhibit at singapore zoo. they have ring taled lemur, black and white ruffed lemur, tree shrew, two toed sloth, fruit bats, tree kangaroo, blue duiker, mouse deer, blue crowned hanging parrot,ecletus parrot,nicobar pigeon,crowned pigeon,spotted whistling ducks and aload of butterflys.

 

Id really like to go to Sinagpore. Fragile Forest sounds really interesting

 

Best thing about it is that its a walk through exhibit an all animals can come right up to you if they so wished. I stood in amazment as fruit bats, ringtails, a lorikeet and a sloth fed around a feeing station together with the random butterfly landing on it! amazing! the duiker and mouse deer arent that afraid either and run along near your feet!

 

I wonder where in the wild all them species can be found together?

 

yeah i guess the species choices are random but still very intresting! interestingly singapore zoo had a female tamandua escape a couple of years ago and it was unfortunately hit and killed by a car quite recently near the zoo! however it was found to be heavily pregnant! the zoo looked back at its records and a male had also escaped 7 yrs ago! so for while tamandua had established themseles in the wild around te zoo! Pretty cool!

 

Where did you hear the tamandua story from Al? I've heard it too, but have considered hearsay since no one substantiated it.

Btw, there's a new tamandua at the Fragile Forest, along with the many many other animals.

 

Paignton Zoo no longer keep the Macaques and Anoa together,but Newquay keeps Tamandua,Six-banded Armadillo and Sebas Bat together in one enclosure.

 

yeh and doesnt south lakes combine p. hippos with mandrill?

 

Yes, but its success is debateable.