Toucans in North American Zoos

Although well known, this group seems to be on the decline overall. With 31 species present, a large number of species are still around, but 18 of those species come only from either the Dallas World Aquarium, Emerald Forest Bird Gardens, or both. Only 3 species have 10 or more holders per current information.

No information older than January 2017 used, updates and additional information welcomed.

 

Ramphastos

Toco Toucan (20 holders)

Audubon
Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park
Bronx
Busch Gardens Tampa
Dallas World Aquarium
Ellen Trout
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens
Fort Worth
Honolulu
Memphis
Omaha
National Aviary
San Diego
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Santa Barbara
Scovill
St. Augustine Alligator Farm
St. Louis
Sylvan Heights Bird Park
Woodland Park

Yellow-throated Toucan (Swainson’s, Chestnut-mandibled) (9-10 holders)

African Lion Safari
Assiniboine Park
Buffalo
Busch Gardens Tampa
Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens
Palm Beach
Pana’ewa Rainforest
Sylvan Heights Bird Park (recent holder just out of time range, do they hold?)
Zoo Miami

Cuvier’s Toucan (1 holder)

Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Red-billed Toucan (3 holders)

Emerald Forest Bird Gardens
San Antonio
Tracy Aviary

Keel-billed Toucan (9 holders)

Abilene
Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens
LA
Maryland
Minnesota
National Aviary
Roger Williams Park
San Francisco

Choco Toucan (1 holder)

Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Yellow-ridged Toucan (1 holder)

Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Channel-billed toucan (3 holders)

Abilene
Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Ariel Toucan (2 holders)

Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Red-breasted Toucan (2 holders)

Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens


Aulacorhynchus

Emerald Toucanet (2 holders)

Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Black-throated Toucanet (2 holders)

Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

White-throated Toucanet (1 holder)

Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Blue-throated Toucanet (1 holder)

Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Crimson-rumped Toucanet (3-4 holders)

Bronx (recent holder, do they still?)
Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens
Vancouver Aquarium

Blue-banded Toucanet (1 holder)

Dallas World Aquarium


Andigena

Plate-billed Mountain Toucan (3-4 holders)

Bronx
Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens
San Diego (currently off-exhibit?)


Selenidera

Guianan Toucanet (1-2 holders)

Emerald Forest Bird Gardens
San Diego (currently off-show?)

Green-billed Toucanet (1 holder)

Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Spot-billed Toucanet (1 holder)

Emerald Forest Bird Gardens


Pteroglossus

Saffron Toucanet (2 holders)

Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Green Aracari (17 holders)

Audubon
Brookfield
Buttonwood Park
Charles Paddock
Cleveland
Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens
Franklin Park
Miller Park
Montreal Biodome
National
National Aviary
Potter Park
Sedgwick County
Toronto
Tracy Aviary
Tulsa

Humboldt’s Aracari (2 holders)

Dallas World Aquarium
Prospect Park

Lettered Aracari (1 holder)

Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Collared Aracari (2 holders)

Assiniboine Park
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Fiery-billed Aracari (2 holders)

Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Black-necked Aracari (1 holder)

Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Chestnut-eared Aracari (2 holders)

Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens

Many-banded Aracari (1 holder)

Dallas World Aquarium

Ivory-billed Aracari (2-3 holders)

Dallas World Aquarium (still a holder?)
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens
Philadelphia

Curl-crested Aracari (10 holders)

Brookfield
Charles Paddock (off exhibit)
Dallas World Aquarium
Emerald Forest Bird Gardens
Greater Cleveland Aquarium
National Aviary
San Diego
San Francisco
Seaworld San Diego
St. Augustine Alligator Farm

 

Granby has Red Billed Toucan

Bird Kingdom has Guianan Toucanet and Green Aracari

Houston has Collared Aracari

San Antonio has Green Aracari

DWA has Black Necked Aracari (probably their best populated toucan on display!)

Miami houses Keel Billed Toucan

Aquatica Orlando has Curl Crested, Ivory Billed, and I believe Green Aracari on display


Also some notes on taxonomy, all lettered Aracari in the US are of the humboldts subspecies. Also there are no green billed toucanets, only golden collared.

 

Green Aracari is also held at North Carolina (maybe only in bird show), Zoo Montana, Birmingham, Binghamton, Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, Palm Beach, Fresno, Woodland Park, Houston, Knoxville, Kansas City, Lowry Park, Minnesota, Roosevelt Park, Vancouver Aquarium, Edmonton Valley, Denver, Staten Island, Philadelphia, Nashville, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (Chicago), Greater Cleveland Aquarium, and Shedd Aquarium. That's all I could confirm but I'm pretty sure there are other holders.

Texas State Aquarium held Green Aracari as recently as 2015 and now have a Caribbean-themed exhibit with free-flying birds, so they might still have them (@d1am0ndback might know).

The Loveland aquarium also holds Curl-crested Aracari.

Brights Zoo in Massachusetts has Black-necked Aracari.

Philadelphia also holds Crimson-rumped Toucanet.

Prospect Park has Lettered Aracari.

@jayjds2 listed seeing Collared Aracari at Aquarium of the Pacific in the last month of 2015. @ThylacineAlive and @NVP have both been in the past year if you want to confirm.

Someone listed Milwaukee County Zoo as having Pale-mandibled Aracari in 2016; we have a very active Milwaukee crew so that one can be fact-checked if necessary.

Also @Great Argus, I recommend Latin genus and species name rather than just genus. It's standard practice and with the Pteroglossus species I feel like it's especially helpful, since many of them have multiple and similar-sounding common names.

 

Thylo confirmed EFBG's bird(s?) are Selenidera langsdorffi (Green-billed Toucanet) in another thread. The thread follows the current HBW taxonomy, which splits Golden-collared Toucanet into Green-billed and Red-billed. Also why Humboldt's Aracari is standing.

I will take this into consideration, although after numerous similar threads this is the first time anyone has suggested it. If other members would appreciate genus and species names then I certainly will.

 

"Pah, stupid taxonomic changes" Hyak grumbles angerly.

 

Toco Toucan also held at Atlanta, Riverbanks, Columbus, Oregon Zoo (Portland), Virginia Zoo (Norfolk - education bird), Phoenix, and Tracy Aviary. They are listed on Sea World's website, but I don't know which park has them. Again, I'm sure there are more holders (AZA and probably non-AZA) but getting up-to-date information is difficult... not to mention that toucans are often kept as off-display education birds.

LA is sending their Keel-billed Toucans away, if they haven't already (apparently they never adapted well to their enclosure, which in my opinion is subpar for them).

Chestnut-mandibled Toucan also held at Loveland Aquarium, Birmingham, and York's Wild Kingdom in Maine.

 

Curl-crested aracari at Riverbanks Zoo, Keel-billed toucan at Creation Kingdom zoo, Channel-billed toucan at Virginia Safari Park, and Green aracari at Greensboro Science Center.

 

Milwaukee does indeed keep Pale-Mandibled Aracari.

Neither Peggy Notebaert nor Shedd still keep aracaris of any kind.

 

Collared aracari and swanison's toucan at Parrot Mountain

 

Swainson's Toucan is kept by Timbavati Wildlife Park.

 

Upon my last visit to the Texas State Aquarium (December 2017) I saw no Green Aracari, and saw a pair of Keel-billed Toucan on exhibit in their, at the time, new expansion. However, I saw photos posted of Green Aracari mid- 2018 which means I either missed them when I went or they were temporarily off exhibit.

 

Also, in this article from the Dallas World Aquarium ( For Your Information : Dallas World Aquarium ) a large number or toucans, toucanets, and aracari are mentioned. The vast majority of these are not on exhibit, with the current toucans on exhibit being Toco Toucans, Black-necked Aracari, Plate-bill Mountain Toucan, Fiery-bill Aracari, Blue-banded Toucanet, Black-throated Toucanet, Guianan Toucanet, Chestnut-eared Aracari, Green Aracari, and most recently a Pale-mandibled Aracari in their "Toucan Touch" exhibit for juvenile toucans.

 

Honestly, that sounds to me a very weird and poorly named program.

 

Perhaps the way I phrased it makes it sound weirder than it is, it's just an exhibit where visitors can feed baby toucans (Under supervision and through small doors in the glass). I see it as a great way for unique interaction and a chance to see some of the rarely exhibited species bred at the aquarium and in captivity in general, such as the current Pale-mandibled Aracari (with 3 Black-necked Aracari) and past inhabitant Red-breasted Toucans.

 

Thanks for the clarification, that is definitely more benign and palatable than what I was imagining in my head. Still oddly named, though.

 

There seems to be a theme of titles of exhibits having the same letters leading each word at the Dallas World Aquarium, such as "Cotinga Corner", "Jungle Jewels", and "Howler Heights".

 

Henry Vilas Zoo keeps Green Aracari.

 

Unfortunately Emerald Forest's website is very outdated and they no longer held several of the species listed here for them as of my visit in 2018. I'll give a species list from my visit when I get a chance.

~Thylo

 

Strong Museum for Green aracari