This species list was as of February 2020. At the time the aviary was closed for small renovations, and several species were off exhibit for the winter. I will update once the aviary is reopened. North America: Streamside: 1. American alligator 2. American alligator 3. Empty for Winter (normally home to alligator-snapping turtle) 4. Mountain lion 5. Eastern-indigo snake 6. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Carolina gopher frog) 7. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Eastern tiger salamander) 8. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Eastern hognose) 9. Empty for Winter (Normally houses Eastern hognose) 10. Empty for Winter (Normally houses amphibians) 11. Empty for Winter (Normally houses amphibians) 12. Empty for Winter (Normally houses amphibians) 13. American alligator 14. Alligator-snapping turtle Rocky Coast: 1. California sea lion, harbor seal 2. Peregrine falcon 3. Thick-billed murre, Parakeet auklet, Horned puffin 4. Polar bear 5. Arctic fox 6. Polar bear Streamside: Aquatic Building: 1. Hellbender (mixed with fish) 2. Hellbender (mixed with fish) 3. Largemouth bass, river cooter, longnose gar, redbreast sunfish, shortnose sturgeon, (other species of fish as well) 4. River Otter 5. River Otter Terrestrial Building: 1. Barred Owl 2. Carolina pygmy rattlesnake 3. Eastern copperhead, Pine snake 4. Eastern-diamondback rattlesnake, Timber rattlesnake (empty today) 5. Eastern box turtle 6. Eastern rat snake 7. Eastern fence lizard 8. Cottonmouth 9. Spotted Turtle (empty today) 10. Bobcat Rest of North America: 1. Black bear 2. Elk, American Bison 3. Grizzly bear (closed for renovations) 4. Red wolf Desert: 1. Komodo Dragon 2. Pygmy Spiny-Tailed Skink 3. Burrowing Owl, Greater Roadrunner 4. Gorongosa Girdled Lizard, Pancake Tortoise, Giant Plated Lizard 5. Collared Lizard, Chuckwalla 6. Desert Tortoise 7. Free Flight: White-winged dove, House finch, White-headed buffalo weaver, Horned lark 8. Giant vinegaroon 9. Spiny-tailed monitor, Blue-tongued Skink 10. Laughing Kookaburra 11. Colorado River Toad 12. Cape porcupine 13. Ocelot (outdoor) 14. Ocelot (outdoor) 15. Desert tarantula 16. Desert Kingsnake 17. Western Hognose Snake 18. Long-nosed snake 19. Frilled Dragon 20. Western banded gecko 21. Desert pupfish 22. Colorado river toad 23. Arizona tiger salamander 24. Banded rock rattlesnake, black-tailed rattlesnake 25. Speckled rattlesnake 26. Desert hairy scorpion 27. Vampire bat 28. Beaded lizard, Gila Monster 29. Sand Cat 30. Sidewinder Honey Bee Garden: 1. Honey bee (Apis mellifera) Aviary: (closed today, species list from memory (past 3 visits), will revise once it reopens, species in aviary change regularly) 1. Chilean flamingo 2. Panamanian golden frog 3. Blue-poison dart frog, Green and black poison frog 4. Free-range aviary: Crested-wood partridge Victoria crowned pigeon Scarlet ibis Scarlet-face liocichla Bali mynah Sunbittern Green woodhoopoe Crested coua Nicobar pigeon White-faced whistling duck Ringed Teal Blue-crowned hanging parrot Eclectus Parrot Pekin robin Blue-bellied roller Rosybill pochard Blue-naped mousebird White-headed mousebird African pygmy goose Golden-crested myna Masked lapwing Asian fairy bluebird Emerald starling Yellow-footed tortoise Red-footed tortoise Africa: 1. Western-lowland gorilla 2. Ring-tailed lemur, Red-ruffed lemur 3. Chimpanzee 4. African Lion 5. Red river hog 6. Common Zebra, Giraffe, Ostrich 7. African elephant (2 exhibits) 8. White rhinoceros, Thomson’s gazelle, Addra gazelle, Waterbuck, Sitatunga, Greater Kudu, Fringe-eared oryx, Bongo (have not seen recently), Ostrich 9. Hamadryas Baboon
Species Totals (On Display Only): Mammal: 34 species Bird: 36 species (likely at least 10 species higher, but will be edited once aviary is reopened next week) Reptile: 37 species Amphibian: 6 species
Did the Desert exhibit always have species from around the world like sand cats and weaver birds, or is that a relatively new addition?
Originally it was themed to the Sonoran Desert solely. This led to a bunch of really cool species being held, that were rarely kept in captivity. For example the zoo worked with wildlife rehabilitaters in that region, to acquire unreleasable birds. A few years back though the zoo changed the name of the complex from Sonoran Desert to just “Desert”. This removed it from the North American section of the zoo, and its now like the nearby aviary a global exhibit. They never really announced this, as it was a rather slow transition. I imagine a large part of it was the flexibility the change allowed in collection planning, but also the fact that the zoo could work with more SSP species (hence the Sand Cat, Weaver Bird, Porcupine, kookaburra, and many of the lizard species).
Thanks for the history. What were some of the unusual Sonoran desert species that the zoo had in the past?
Not all these species were held at the same time but: Black chinned hummingbird Anna’s hummingbird Giant hummingbird Verdin Gambel’s Quail Lesser goldfinch Gila woodpecker Elf owl Ringtail Coati Spotted Skunk Skunk Kangaroo rat (sp.) Sonoran desert turtle Desert iguana Night snake
The NC zoo has had the species since the exhibit opened in the 1990’s. They used to have quite a bunch, but now only have 5 I believe.
Ah, beat me to it. Well, I last visited in October 2019 and was going to do my own list, but then things came up and I figured I'd wait until late spring anyway when all the Cypress Swamp animals are out and the current renovations were done (minus the Baboon). Thank you for putting this together. A couple of things I want to add; In Cypress Swamp, there is a small exhibit across from the first Alligator exhibit, lined with logs, that houses Gopher Tortoise and Florida Box Turtle (who seem to go off-exhibit for the winter by October). For the desert, you left out Rock Hyrax and Ornate Uromastyx. Are these species no longer present? The following fish are housed with the Hellbender (according to signage): Bluehead Chub Eastern Creek Chubsucker Greenfin Shiner Greenside Darter Rosyside Dace Spottail Shiner Swallowtail Shiner Yellowfin Shiner For Africa, you left out Nile lechwe (was told by a Zoofari guide that they have 4 females). The Kangaroo Rat you mentioned in a reply above were Merriam's Kangaroo Rat.
Thanks for adding the fish species. I left off the Nile lechwe because I have not seen them in at least a year, to be honest. The rock hyrax signs were removed when I was at the zoo last month. I need to check on the uromastyx next time I go to the zoo.
Updates from my visit this week: The baboons are off display for at least the next year. Desert: Exhibit 4: Ornate Uromastyx are in this exhibit (must have missed the sign last time). Exhibit 5: Sonoran Box Turtle added Exhibit 9: Unidentified Egernia species. Probably E. stokesii In the desert, a previously empty exhibit is now occupied by blue-death feigning beetle. Aviary: (Species I observed during my visit. Several more species are likely in the aviary.) Scarlet Ibis Sunbittern (building a nest currently) Crested Coua White-faced whistling duck Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot Red-capped Cardinal Nicobar pigeon Eclectus Parrot Purple Glossy Starling Scarlet-faced Liochichla Common Shama Thrush Blue-Grey Tanager Victoria-Crowned Pigeon Speckled Mousebird White-Headed Buffalo Weaver Ringed Teal African Pygmy Goose Green Woodhoopoe Forsten's Tortoise Bali Mynah White-Crested Laughingthrush Pekin Robin Crested Wood Partridge Inca Jay
Some December 2021 updates: This rotunda was signed for the following small species during my visit (also winter): Eastern Indigo Snake, Eastern Hognose, Eastern Tiger Salamander, Southern Toad, and Carolina Gopher Frog. Fish: Spottail Shiner (Notropis hudsonius), Swallowtail Shiner (Notropis procne), Yellowfin Shiner (Notropis lutipinnis), Bluehead Chub (Nocomis leptocephalus), Creek Chubsucker (Erimyzon oblongus), Greenfin Shiner (Cyprinella chloristia), Greenside Darter (Etheostoma blenniodes), Rosyside Dace (Clinostomus funduloides) The pinniped pool was only home to Harbor Seal when I visited, and the Peregrine Falcon exhibit is now home to North American Porcupine. Also saw signed: Redear Sunfish (Lepomis microlophus), Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus), and Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus). Thought I took photos of the other signage, but I guess I didn't; I believe those other species are still in there though (gar and sturgeon for sure). Komodo is gone, now home to Mexican Beaded Lizards. Also now has Hosmer's Skink and Ackies' Dwarf Monitor. Ostrich, Sitatunga, Kudu and Bongo not seen and I don't think are signed anymore (at the very least Ostrich and Bongo were not). No Nile Lechwe signed either. Lark is gone, Buffalo Weaver was in with the roadrunner and burrowing owl. Black-faced Finch is a new addition but I didn't see any. I didn't keep close track of these exhibits, but I don't remember seeing Frilled Lizard over there. I'm also missing signage for Black-tailed Rattlesnake and the scorpion is now a Diplocentrus species. All of the others were definitely present.
I wonder if it is gone or just off exhibit until Asia opens? Neither I when I was there this past August.
It is a small exhibit...I am not sure, the last previous time I was at the NC Zoo was the late 90s....so it was a while between visits!
