Species you'd like to see in zoos

Hello Zoochatters,

What are species of animal you'd like to see in zoos, for whatever reason, from conservation to personal preference? I'd say a couple would be-

Thick-Billed Raven- example of Afroalpine bird life.

Ethiopian Wolf- Ex-Situ Conservation efforts, only 500 in the world.

Mountian Nyala- Ex-Situ, afroalpine antelope example

Big Headed Mole Rat- Ecosystem importance to Ethiopian Wolf, Ex-Situ.

Cape Mountian Zebra- Once again, afroalpine wildlife and Ex-Situ conservation

Water Chevrotain- Example of primitive Congo wildlife, maybe could do well.

Fishing Genet- Along the lines of Congo river life

Giant Otter Shrew- no good reason

Pygmy Hog- Conservation

 

Giant armadillo- They look awesome .

Afgan leopard- Endangered and we need more leopard sub-species than just Amur.

Grizzled tree kangaroo- Same reason as the armadillos.

Russian saiga- Interesting and endangered antelope (I think Calgary should soon get a heard of them)

 

My choices are all species that have been kept relatively successfully in the past, but have died out (see TLD's lost species in Europe thread). I have deliberately chosen species that I have actually seen (or close relatives) and I remember them as interesting or beautiful or both. Each species should do better with modern care standards and provided that a reasonable number of specimens are imported there would be a good chance of establishing them in captivity. None of them are highly endangered and a few are of Least Concern.
1) The large tree shrew (Tupaia tana) is diurnal, active, attractive and exotic. I love the idea that the earliest mammals might have looked and behaved a little like tana. The lesser tree shrew (T. minor) is cute too.
2) Many British ZooChatters will remember the old Kloss's gibbon at Twycross. I think it came from a group that I saw at Basle. This is another cute species, but it is said to have the most complicated song of any gibbon, so a pair would make an interesting exhibit. The hoolock gibbons are also interesting and unusual - but very few are in captivity.
3) The paradise flycatchers are lovely birds and they have a lovely name, who could fail to like a bird from a genus called Terpsiphone?
4) In Europe as a whole, there must be a good case for trying to establish at least one or more hummingbird species in zoos. If I had to nominate one, it would be the Jamaican streamertail, Trochilus polytmus - but any species would be good.
5) Another species which would be welcome back would be the the white-necked rockfowl, Picathartes gymnocephalus, which nearly became established 40 years.

 

Persian leopard perhaps?

 

Yeah Ethiopian Wolf!!
Javan Rhino
Hainan Gibbon
South Chinese Tiger
Himalayan Brown Bear
Malabar Civet
Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat
Hairy Nosed Otter? (are they in zoos already?)

these are just the tip of the iceberg

Would love to see more Sumatran Rhinoceros, Javan Leopard, Mountain Gorilla, Hirola to name just a few

I also think Lion focus should just be maybe Gir Lions or West African Lions as this it feels the latter is lumped into just 'African Lions' seems a bit generic to me but maybe im just not educated enough on Lion related conservation.

 

I hate to say this on a fantasy zoo thread, but some of the animals on your list are highly unlikely, at least in American zoos.
Ethiopian Wolves would have a good chance, but with imports, the horn country always seems to find a reason to nota give it in.
Javan Rhino- We already tried with Indonesian Rhinos (Sumatran Rhino Trust) and look how that ended out. With the low population and earlier failure, 0 chance Indonesia wants to give up more critically endangered rhinos.
Hainan Gibbon- I don't see why not.
South China Tigers- All managed by South Africa because they have an organization for it. (Save China's Tigers)
Himalayan Brown Bear- If you can get them form other zoos maybe.
Malabar Civet- sure, if they are still alive and not extinct.
Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat-
Don't know enough about the species
To have an opinion.
Hairy Nised Otter- last I heard of the species had one holding in Cambodia back in 2008.
Sumatran rhinoceros- never again! Not after the trust was a failure
Javan Leopard- I'd like to see more!
Hirola- Good luck getting those imported.
Mountian Gorilla- Yeah, no.
I agree with the African lion classification.

 

Yeah thanks for shedding some reality to the individual species i've often been puzzled as to why zoos have not focused on gaining more critically endangered species to their collections considering as time rolls on the world has no shortage of species in desperate need of saving and still many common species are the representatives of animal families (not that these animals are not beautiful in their own right just not critically endangered at present). Obviously i took in extreme fantasy hypothetical but if i had any authority in international zoological co-operations i'd urge zoos to consider housing a lot more critically endangered species for conservation breeding programs as im sure many/most members of this site would surely. With Mountain Gorillas i've thought about the fact that Lowland Gorillas are still (critically??) endangered so of course i dont protest to their presence in zoos worldwide just thought theres enough zoos out there to focus on different species/subspecies of animals in need of protection etc. Btw these were just a few i could spend days on this topic lol (actually would be happy to be involved in real life efforts if i had any qualifications which sadly i do not ). Think Polar Bears should be financially supported a fair bit more so exhibits all have the best quality cold temperature sustainability (and obviously any other species with these needs including the total opposite like tropical animals getting the best canopy and heating facilitation etc etc).

Hey what is/was the story with Sumatran Rhinos in captivity and the issues/problems that happened?

 

About 40 Sumatran rhinos were taken out of the wild and distributed to zoos around the world in an attempt to set up a captive assurance population. Almost all of the animals died without reproducing. The last three surviving animals were grouped together at Cincinnati; five failed births later, one of the females successfully produced an offspring, then another, then a third. These three births were all that was produced from the 40 taken from the wild; it is very likely that the entire process brought them even closer to extinction than they already were.

 

Philipine monkey eagle - a beautiful bird, captive breeding in the philipines have produced third generation offspring. I hope they will distibuted breeding pairs along zoos like Rome an Antwerpen who previously kept this species.

 

Oh dear thats no good

 

I have decided to do my own list, trying to include one mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish and invertebrate apiece. I've based at least part of my list on the captive breeding recommendations list produced by the IUCN (link to the full list of recommendations at the bottom of the post).

Mammal - The large-spotted civet (Viverra megaspila) was actually recommended for captive breeding back in 1993 by the GCAP (Global Captive Action Plan) for small carnivores. The initial plan was for European and Indian zoos to cooperate on a captive programme for the Malabar civet, while America and Thailand were to handle the large-spotted civet. Of course, even when this plan was made the Malabar civet had not been seen for five years and is more than likely extinct now. Large-spotted civets have been kept in captivity before and other members of their genus have certainly been bred in captivity. (The GCAP's recommendations are included here - http://nebula.wsimg.com/f7f18a3ac9a...369A09ED705622D78&disposition=0&alloworigin=1)

Bird - The Bannerman's turaco (Tauraco bannermani) is recommended on the IUCN's list. The vast majority of turacos housed in European collections are of the Tauraco genus and they have proven to be both popular additions to African rainforest-themed exhibits and not too difficult to breed. The Bannerman's species would make both an attractive exhibit species and important from a conservation standpoint.

Reptile - The day gecko (Phelsuma antanosy) is the only member of its genus included on the IUCN recommended list. These geckos are diurnal and as such highly visible, are relatively easy to house and care for and is Critically Endangered. The breeding programme recommended for this gecko is a small-scale one, so potentially only one or two zoos would need to cooperate to make such a programme work.

Amphibian - The Royal false brook salamander (Pseudoeurycea rex) is on the IUCN recommended list. It beats out other worthy contenders by the fact that although this Critically Endangered species is not kept in any captive collection (to my knowledge), other members of its genus have been kept and bred in both American zoos and in the private sector.

Fish - The Maltese skate (Leucoraja melitensis) is the sole species on this list that has not been recommended for captive breeding anywhere. However, it is a Critically Endangered species that would be an ideal candidate for captive breeding as other Leucoraja rays seem to have no trouble reproducing in aquaria. They would also be a good umbrella species for zoos and aquariums to educate visitors on the sudden mass-decline in Mediterranean cartilaginous fishes (https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/content/documents/brochure_medredlist_sharks.pdf).

Invertebrate - The yellow spiky woodlouse (Pseudolaureola atlantica) and Dracula ant (Adetomyrma venatrix). I could not choose between the two, but considering that invertebrates are not the most space-hungry of creatures it would probably be good to include both. The woodlouse already has an emergency breeding programme being planned for it. It is Critically Endangered and is found only on a UK Overseas Territory, so it is in the interest of British zoos to be involved in its conservation. It also helps that they look amazing. The Dracula ant has already been kept in captivity (at the California Academy of Sciences) and considering both their Critically Endangered status, their specific behaviour and a fascination by zoo-goers for ants in general (by my observations) would make them another ideal candidate.

Here is the workbook containing all the IUCN's captive breeding recommendations:
IUCN Red List Captive Breeding Recommendations | Conservation Breeding Specialist Group

 

Desert Bighorn Sheep, Onager, Przewalski's Horse, Giant Eland, Chacon Peccary - personally think they are impressive animals and I never feel like they get the attention needed for conservation

Blue-Throated Macaws and Sphinx Macaws- would love to see more zoos interested in a breeding program.

Andean Condor- A very impressive bird which has a history in reintroduction and conservation focused programs

 

I should say Chacoan Peccary and Spix's Macaw......do not know why I messed up the earlier spelling.

 

I would like to see:
- Mongolian Saiga
- Hispaniolan and Cuban Solenodon
- Mediterranean Monk Seal (I would like to see it outside of Greece)
- Galapagos sea lion
- Anything else from the Galapagos (other than their tortoises)
- Pygmy Hog
- iiwi
- Sulawesi palm civet
- Marbled cat
- Takahe
- Sumatran and Javan rhinos
- Bornean pygmy elephant
- Dugong
- Giant ibis
- Lli Pika
- Sao la

 

Lots of marsupials and island species; a community of Galapagos species might include the marine iguanas, flightless cormorants and penguins; another the tortoises and land iguanas - hopefully pink.

How about some Antarctic sea life? For a refreshing change.

 

Being from Pakistan the most common animals in zoos here are lions, leopards, tigers, chinkaras,zebras, nilgais and mouflons.
I'd really like to see non-indigenous (to the sub-continent) ungulates that can adapt well to the climate of most Pakistani zoos, mostly African fauna like waterbuck, kudu, eland etc. Markhors despite being the national animal aren't kept in any zoo owing to the climate factor but a few wildlife parks in the north of the country could keep and the local wildlife department does have quite a bit of experience handling markhor. Also I'd like to see smaller indigenous felids like fishing cats, lynxes and leopard cats in zoos. And so far only 2 zoos, Karachi and Lahore, have non-indigenous primates (Ring-tailed lemurs in Karachi, Gueraza, Capuchins, Baboons, Chimpanzees and vervet monkeys in Lahore) I'd like to see this change as well.

 

The Hogle Zoo had desert bighorn sheep and Chacoan peccaries in 2009, but didn't when I was last there in 2014. Are those species no longer in captivity?

 

These would be great to see in captivity.

 

All the Galapagos species mentioned should get on too.

 

Yes, they should. It's too bad the Ecuadorian government hasn't allowed any to be exported. I wonder how marine iguanas would do in captivity.