Squirrels in captivity

Indeed I haven't, but I have visited Plzen in 2010 which had Dremomys pernyi at the time. Many of their squirrels were off exhibit and not really labeled. It's possible I made a mistake, cause they also had Pere David's rock squirrel. By all means I want to get to the bottom of correct identification. I'll upload photos from two different species.

 

Can you or anyone else fill me in on which American zoos have which Prevost spp?

 

I can only tell you which ones I've seen:
bangkanus: LA Zoo, PPZ, and Smithsonian National Zoo
humei: Bronx Zoo (c.2011)
rafflesi: Bronx Zoo, St. Augustine

I know @TeaLovingDave knows how to ID them morphologically.

~Thylo

 

Were the two ssp at Bronx kept in different parts of the zoo? Mouse House and Jungle World?

 

No they were held at different times. I've only ever seen the squirrel in JungleWorld. I know the one that was around in 2011 (and earlier, likely a bit later) was a humei and now they have a rattlesi.

~Thylo

 

Prevost's squirrel is one of those few zoo species that I have a hard time seeing the point of keeping. Their coloring is neat, but they are not threatened and are not particularly large or unusual for a squirrel. I would think to visitors that they look pretty much like a differently colored version of the squirrels 30 feet away snatching food out of trash cans.

Now giant squirrels or flying squirrels I can see more of a point in maintaining. Even better: giant flying squirrels, the best of both rodents!

 

So I'm curious, are squirrels common in Australian zoos? Cause plenty of Australians who come to the US think that our squirrels are just the best thing ever.

 

This should help you out:

Exotic Mammals in Australian Zoos

 

Discovery Wildlife Park in Canada houses European Red Squirrel.

 

Well there's a fairly easy set of answers for your question that you partially answered yourself. 1.) They're colourful, which attracts visitor attention. 2.) Compared to many other species, they are fairly easy to acquire. 3.) They make excellent display animals. Between their large size, distinct color, and the fact they are usually active all day, they are some of the best display squirrels I can think of. In comparison, a giant flying squirrel would just hide all day, or require a nocturnal house setup to be reliably seen. The giant squirrels are most certainly unique and would likely make for excellent display animals as well, however they do not seem to be imported with any regularity whatsoever.

 

Lots of people visiting Australia from the US think our brushtail possums are the best thing ever, too. There is only one squirrel species in Australia, the northern palm squirrel, and occasionally one zoo or another will exhibit them. However as the feral populations seem to mostly have been exterminated, it seems unlikely they will be in zoos for much longer either. And yes, I enjoy your squirrels on my visits to the US too.

 

Thanks.
Unfortunately we don't know exactly where the black and red squirrels came from; all we know is that they were thought to be Prevost's initially. Thanks for pointing out the Laotian subspecies @temp - it's a much better fit but I'm told that they do not typically have such deep black pelage, so we're wondering whether it's a variant from further south. I'm hoping to access some skins for comparison at some point.

 

1. (profile photo) Pere David's rock squirrel.
2. (head-on photo) Same angle problem as described in post #19, but this is either a Perny's long-nosed or a Pallas's. Due to seemingly relatively small ears and "normal" squirrel nose, I'm leaning towards Pallas's, which is a problem species that has a long history of being confused with others. However, neither of the features can really be judged with absolute confidence from this angle and it could still be a Perny's.

Who says they're not usually this black? According to the guide to Southeast Asian mammals, they are, as both described (quote: "glossy black") and shown. Francis certainly known as much about mammals of this region as anyone. I'm only aware of one museum specimen in existence, at AMNH I believe. If there are others, the best bet would likely be MNHN. There is no described squirrel taxon (Asia or elsewhere) that looks anything like it; the orange-red and black pattern is unique. I do know of one other possibly undescribed subspecies of Finlayson's, but it is very different and completely lacks large black sections. Whether there are other undescribed taxa within this group is anyone's guess, of course.

 

By checking my photos taken end of April this year, I found some of what they called Perney squirrels. Hope they are usefull to unreviel the right species-status of the animal on the picture.
Uploaded them in the "De Evenaar, Etten-Leur" gallery ( the Netherlands )