I mean threatened, big or otherwise recognizable animals. There are many small freshwater fish bred by hobbyists but not in any zoo, for example. Zoos in Europe currently have very uniform collections, and appearance of a new species become rare. What will be the next ones? Anything is planned already? Some years ago australian bilbies were expected, but have not materialized.
It's hard to tell really but I think collections are becoming steadily more homogeneous over time. @Pertinax has spoken before of the decline of a lot of old world monkey species like guenon and langur in zoos. There are some notable examples of some of these species which have vanished in the past two decades so I'm sure more will eventually join that list.
Totally agree with Onychorhynchus coronatus, the return of some species of langurs seems obvious. We are already seeing the creation of a European population of doucs so ... I think we can also cite the proboscis monkey which should (I think) make their return to Europe in the decade.
I meant that it is probable that some langurs will die out in European collections but you make a good point about the Douc. Another species that I believe will disappear from European collections in time would be the broad nosed gentle lemur. The ex-situ program in zoos is apparently not seen as viable or desirable so I imagine that the last individuals will dwindle in number over time and then disappear.
I really hope that Doucs become close to being a mainstay by the time I finally go to Europe Also, how are pangolins doing? Could they also become more widespread in the near future?
I don't know what the population is like currently in European zoos but there have been significant advances in husbandry due to research and particularly regarding nutrition in zoos in the US which has improved survivorship. If what is happening state side is any indication to go by then I imagine pangolins may become more widely kept in European zoos in the future. Given the intense pressure on wild populations I can imagine European zoos keeping these animals but realistically speaking I think only a few would really be interested due to the challenges.
Well, the success with the pangolins has not been great so far, I think there is just one pair left at Leipzig that has never bred. Though I would like to see them more often, of course. The return of more langurs, especially doucs would be amazing too, I don't have any information on that however. For the newest rarity, I'd say the coquerel's sifakas which arrived recently from the United States could fit the bill. I hope the zoos will be successfull in keeping them.
Leipzig (and possibly Prague) got their pangolins from Taipei so if more countries in Europe want to piss off China they may become more common.
I think trying to piss off China by obtaining pangolins from Taiwan and trying to breed them in captivity sounds like the most constructive geopolitical snub I've heard.
