I recently visited Creation Kingdom Zoo in Gate City, Virginia and saw there several White-naped mangabeys a Tanzanian red-billed hornbill, and an animal which they claim is a Black wallaroo which looks like a Bennett's wallaby. Does anyone on Zoochat know if any of these animals have been exhibited in US Zoos. Are any of these animals those actual species and if not, what species? White-naped mangabeys I can't find pictures anywhere of the wallaroo or hornbill.
Black Wallaroos are extremely rare in captivity in Australia and it seems very unlikely any would have been exported, especially to an unaccredited zoo. Being nocturnal and shy I doubt it would be top of the list for anyone wanting a macropod species. The males are distinctive in being black all over however females are grey, so it could be a bennets female misidentified by somebody unfamiliar with both species. Red-billed Hornbills are very common in the wild and I have seen them in Asian bird parks so no doubt they would be available. How they would know for sure it was a Tanzanian I don't know.
Their google business page has over 200 photos but I only saw one that could maybe be a roo and one that's a toucan, but both definitely don't look like those species. There are several of the mangabeys, as well. I never trust ratings for places online after seeing the 4-5 stars awful places like this get. Great gem on their website: "Our natural habitats are designed to give you a great view of the animals."
Red-billed Hornbill has been split into five species, Tanzanian Red-billed Hornbill being one of them, Tockus ruahae. Only found in Tanzania; I suppose it is *possible* that the birds could be that species. However, Northern Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus erythrorhynchus) overlaps over much of the former's range. Southern Red-billed Hornbill (Tockus rufirostris) nearly overlaps as well. Looking at photos, the five species are quite similar indeed. Any visual differences are certainly slight, if any. Several areas of overlap occur between the species. It is quite likely that the small zoo has simply tacked the Tanzanian on, however I do not know the origin of the North American stock.
I have heard that Black Wallaroos are in the US in small numbers privately. Not sure how true this is, but if the zoo claims it, it may be true.
It's possible, but may well be like the Mountain Coati situation... because someone says so doesn't mean it is. As @Chlidonias pointed out, the much commoner Eastern Wallaroo can be blackish. While many of us would love another rarity to go see, personally I'd want some proof it's what they say it is first. Especially considering the zoo in question certainly doesn't appear to be among the best.
Yep, that's just a regular Eastern Wallaroo. I'm sticking with the most obvious conclusion - their "Black Wallaroos" are Eastern Wallaroos.
This is from a Twitter account of the zoo: Twitter Regarding their species list om their website, they only have one wallaroo species, the black wallaroo. The one on the Twitter picture doesn't look like a black wallaroo.
