Replace a popular US zoo animal with a more endangered one

In my opinion Iam really disapointed with the native species keept in zoos. Many of the endangred species are fettining ignored in favour of the more "spectecular" species, like moose, wolfs or brown bears(with often even less endengered subspecies from america are beeing kept). While many much more endengered (both locally and in total) are getting ignored. Like the european hamster, the European turtle dove, the European ground squirrel or the european mink. All species perfectly suited for zoos. And I cringe allways a bit when I see for example bobcats instead of euroasian lynxs in non north american themed areas. They are bigger (so even the avrage person would find them more intersting) and are a good animal to talk about animal reintuduction. (Far better than the "scary" wolf for example)

 

No no you understood it perfectly. The point of the thread is to think of realistic alternatives to a particular species so that it can be easily and cheaply replaced without too much of a fuss. Tooth billed pigeons, while they are of course incredibly fascinating species, are not a realistic alternative to an emu, and you were right to point out that a tooth billed pigeon in an emu exhibit would stay for about as long as me at an anti zoo rally.

 

Not still entirely sure what this thread is, because it was placed under the Challenges, Quizzes, and Competitions section. Its more being treated by a discussion by the likes of which is going on, but I'm not so sure if it was more of a fun challenge or a constructive discussion.

 

Yes, well me too, I agree with what you are stating here.

I would rather the species you mentioned were championed and given these spaces in zoos alongside their larger and more charismatic fellow Eurasian mammals.

The same might be said here in Latin America though, how many zoos have jaguars that could also have smaller taxa ? A great many could to be frank.

 

North African ostrich then.

 

Well, I would say that the north african ostrich would be a FAR BETTER replacement for the other ostrich subspecies, then the emu

 

Why ? and what would you propose for the emu ?

 

Well, even though the Emu being an non thretened species and very commen. It is in my opinion one of the species not realy replaceble in most zoos. They are ON OF THE typical australian animal in most zoos . Espcially in themed exhibits. Like I said. Thry are the only large non macropod land animal that isn't a carnivore. They are very rarely kept outside this themeing, or even in singel species exhibits. In which case, they can be replaced with most bigger species, with no problem. They, like the ostich for african exhibits (even though the north african subspecies should be focused on) and the rhea for south american exhibits. a unique species for its region with no real counterpart A replacement should in the est case be, similar in appearence and behavior. And in need of catpive breeding pograms. And should of corse not destory the themeing of the area (north african ostich in a macropod exhibit for example). A replaceble species would be liek I said, many priamt specieses, or many commnly kept bird specieses, from parrots to doces who have much arer counterparts, but are not that often kept. You can replace a
Black capuchin with a golden-bellied capuchin, for example very well. But not with a François' langur for this exact reason.

 

They're reasonably cold tolerant so long as they have access to heated housing during particularly cold weather and at night.

 

My bad, I didn't really do much of a good job setting up this thread. I wasn't really sure how this format would work, but in retrospect, it seems that this thread is definitely more of a general discussion than a challenge, competition, or quiz.

 

No, you've done a very good job. You've said what the intention of the thread is, and then outlined a clear structure for posts to follow. The only slightly misleading factor is the category

 

Thanks for the clarification, I found a couple different entries for them but apparently I missed the main one! What are they listed under? I saw the wild water buffalo entry, and a couple under the domestics section.

 

Just for reference - there's 240 places that currently have AZA accreditation. 23 are international. 50 are aquariums (I didn't count DWA), some of which hold a land mammal or two but rarely more than a sloth and an armadillo or something. At least another 23 only hold non-mammals or are North American specific; there might be more. That leaves 144 zoos.

For lemurs, many of those zoos only hold a few primates. Some wouldn't have the money to build an indoor area for lemurs.

 

Here’s some common animals I would replace with more endangered/lesser known ones:


Banded/Dwarf Mongoose instead of Meerkat

Red Ruffed Lemur instead of Ring-Tailed Lemur

Asiatic Black Bear instead of Giant Panda

Speke’s Gazelle instead of Thompson’s Gazelle

Northern Cassowary instead of Southern Cassowary

California Condor instead of Andean Condor

Philippine Eagle instead of Bald Eagle

Yellow-Crested Cockatoo instead of Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo

Blue-Throated Macaw instead of Blue-&-Gold Macaw

Green Peafowl instead of Indian Peafowl

Greater/Lesser Adjutant instead of Marabou Stork

American Crocodile instead of American Alligator

Fiji Banded Iguana instead of Green Iguana

Golden Dart Frog instead of Dyeing Dart Frog

 

Whilst ring tailed lemurs are common they're still endangered so I don't see a point in replacing them with red ruffed which are also common.

Pandas aren't common is US zoos with only 4 of them even keeping the species.

Andean condors are still threatened, and are in need of captive breeding so I wouldn't recommend replacing them.

Aren't most bald eagles in the US rescues? So replacing them wouldn't be very feasible.

Are marabou storks even that common in the US?

 

I know for a fact that Bronx, Honolulu, San Francisco, and Chehaw have some. I think San Diego Zoo Safari Park also has some and I’m probably missing a bunch of other zoos. Plus, the species is least concern and the wild population is in fact increasing.

 

Both are endangered so replacing isn't a good option.

While Andean is much better off, they still need support.

This is correct. Also replacing even half the Bald Eagles in the US with Philippine Eagles would be an insane amount of Philippines.

Fairly common, yes.

 

The White Rhinoceros should be replaced. The species has skyrocketed in the past few decades and is only listed as near threatened. It’s also worth considering there are far more endangered rhino species.