Zoo animals you like to see the most

I wanted to see what species you guys think every zoo should have. I’ll go first (this is based on my personal species preferences, and somewhat on general the popularity of certain species.

1. Lions (preferably African Lions, but Asiatic Lions are fine too)
2. Tigers (preferably Amur Tigers, however any other subspecies is fine too)
3. Elephants (I know that many zoos lack the space requirements to house elephants, but they should make an effort to acquire them)
4. Gorillas
5. Giraffes
6. Zebras
7. At least one species of bear (I personally prefer polar bears, brown bears, and black bears, but any species works)
8. Penguins (I prefer Antarctic and sub-Antarctic species of penguins over African Penguins, however I’m not opposed to African penguins)
9. Flamingos (I’d like to see more zoos bring in African species instead of South American ones)
10. Cheetahs
11. Leopards (I LOVE Amur Leopards, however I wish more zoos would exhibit the larger subspecies such as African Leopards; and Indian Leopards)
12. Monkeys (any subspecies works, and preferably a fair mix of old world and new world ones)
13. Lemurs (I love both black and white ruffed and red ruffed lemurs, however ring-tailed lemurs are awesome too).
14. Orangutans (I prefer Bornean Orangutans, but Sumatran Orangutans are good too).
15. Constrictor snakes (e.g. green anacondas, reticulated pythons, Burmese pythons, Ball pythons, Boa constrictors...the smaller species are fine too).
16. A few species of crocodilians (I prefer the larger species such as Nile Crocodiles, and American Alligators, however I like the small ones too.
17. Komodo Dragons (Komodo dragons make any zoo a lot more interesting and cool in my opinion).
18. Rhinos (preferably African species, however the Asian ones are fine too)
19. Hippos (preferably common hippos over, but Pygmy hippos are awesome too).
20. A few species of antelope, gazelles, and deer (preferably African antelopes and gazelles and then deer)
21. Sea Lions or Seals, if not both
22. Ostriches
23. Meerkats
24. Gibbons (preferably siamangs, however I’m also very fond of white-cheeked gibbons and other crested gibbons)

 

Continued:
25. Snow leopards
26. Kangaroos and or wallabies and wallaroos
27. Camels
28. Parrots
29. Any species of wild dog (preferably gray wolves, African wild dogs, dingos, or maned wolves, but smaller ones like arctic foxes or fennec foxes work too).
30. Turtles and tortoises
31. Frogs and or toads
32. Bats
33. Otters (preferably freshwater otters over sea otters)
34. Pit Viper snakes such as the timber rattlesnake or the king cobra for example
35. Medium sized lizards such as bearded dragons, chameleons, Gila monsters, beaded lizards, crocodile monitors, Nile monitors, geckos etc.
36. Red Pandas
37. Jaguars
38. Domestic goats, sheep, llamas, donkeys, pigs etc.
39. fish

 

I don't think there is a single animal that all zoos should have. For one thing, seeing that animal would get pretty boring pretty fast, and if the list was as long as you have it zoos would be more homogeneous than they already are! Also, specialist collections are some of the most interesting zoos out there and they wouldn't be if they were forced to keep a bunch of animals they don't want to keep.

 

Good points. I understand what exactly you’re saying, these are just my preferred species and the species that I look forward to (I don’t want to say expect to see, but that I want to see) when I visit a zoo.

 

I agree with birdsandbats. Having the same species in every zoo would be rather boring.

Looking at your list:

26 Kangaroos – don’t forget the other marsupials

3 Elephants – I think these are too big for most zoos and would cost a lot to keep, especially for zoos with limited finance and relatively few visitors.

13 Lemurs – they are becoming more popular and some are very endangered

12 Monkeys – they are popular and comprise a variety of species

24 Gibbons – some species are very rare

14 Orang-utans; 5 Gorillas – I’m surprised you forgot chimps and bonobos, but I think 1 species of great ape would suffice

32 Bats – I agree – more than one species. Some insectivorous bats can be kept in captivity, but are rarely seen there.

1 Lions; 2 Tigers; 10 Cheetahs; 11 Leopards; 25 Snow leopards; 37 Jaguars – 6 species of cat in a total list of 39 seems very excessive

29 Any species of wild dog – why one when you chose 6 species of cat?

23 Meerkats; 7 Bears; 33 Otters; 21 Seals and Sea lions; 36 Red pandas: Fairly popular, but there are several other families of carnivores not in the list

6 Zebras – there are other equids. Don’t forget tapirs.

18 Rhinos; 19 Hippos – They are popular, but take up a lot of space if kept properly

27 Camels – could be included in domestics unless zoos can keep wild Bactrian camels properly.

20 Antelopes and deer – there could be various species

38 Domestic animals – many zoos have a Children’s Zoo, but the list in 38 is not imaginative.

22 Ostriches – don’t forget other flightless birds

8 Penguins; 9 Flamingos – A few species are quite rare in zoos

– these are common in zoos

28 Parrots – Popular, especially if they talk. Don’t forget other birds

15 Constrictors – various families. What about other snakes?

34 Pit vipers – venomous snakes are popular; the king cobra is not a pit viper

17 Komodo dragons – what about other large lizards?

35 Medium sized lizards – what about some small lizards as well?

30 Turtles and tortoises; 31 Frogs and toads – I agree, as long as various families are represented

16 Crocodiles and alligators – probably a good idea to show variety

39 Fish – I agree, but I’d like to see more than 1 species.

The list has few small mammals, a limited number of birds (I was surprised you didn't mention birds of prey and owls), no newts and salamanders and no invertebrates, so all the animals belong to 1 phylum, Chordata.

 

I've been to zoos that don't have enough room to keep every animal on this list!

 

I went to the Verulamium Zoo in St Albans. It would have only had enough space for very few of the species listed above.

 

Has no one made the obvious 'Humans' joke yet?

 

Thank you for your feedback. You are right, that if every animal had the same zoo it would be boring, and also that most zoos don’t have enough size to house most of the animals on my list at the same facility. I will admit, even though I realize that every animals are fascinating and unique in their own individual ways, that I am biased towards larger animals (for example, I’d much rather spend my time observing tigers or lions instead of black-footed cats, and also). I am also biased towards zoos that house a large number of cats (Memphis Zoo, Saint Louis Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo), particularly big cats. That’s why included 6 species of cats on my list, as they are my favorite animals and the ones I’m most passionate about and interested in. That plays into how I choose which zoos to visit. These are all just MY PERSONAL PREFERENCES. Yes, I could’ve written and organized the list differently, but these are the species that appeal most to ME. This is what I would strive for if I owned a zoo, and these are the animals that I personally feel most zoos should have. Yes, I do realize that no one specific animal species makes or breaks a zoo, but having larger and more common species, in my opinion, makes the zoo better and more interesting to me. For example, I personally don’t visit zoos that don’t have leopards and I will also not visit ones that lack elephants. I know that sounds shallow, but these are my favorite animals and this my idea of an ideal zoo collection.

 

Yes, the issue of space is a major concern and limitation for most zoos, and I understand that most of the smaller zoos and some of the medium zoos wouldn’t be able to house my ideal species collection, however there are some zoos that can accomplish having a collection with a number of large animals.

1. San Diego Zoo and San Diego Safari Park
2. Saint Louis Zoo
3. Memphis Zoo
4. Bronx Zoo

Even the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium has a pretty respectable collection in my opinion. They can obtain a respectable amount of diversity and can exhibit multiple large key and highlight animals (elephants, rhinos, giraffes, polar bears, lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, Komodo dragons, gorillas, orangutans, American alligator, crocodiles, etc.

Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that if your zoo is large enough, then you can have quite the extensive and diverse collection of animals that I strive to achieve. Yes, this is a problem for smaller and medium-sized zoos, but if you give yourself a large plot of land, and are well funded, then you can have a bigger zoo with a vast collection. Also, I feel that if you know your zoo is of smaller size, that it would be best to focus your resources on more popular species, that way you can still have all the popular and larger animals in your zoo, despite the small space. That’s just my opinion though.

 

If you just wanted to make a list of the zoo animals you like the most, you could have called this thread "Zoo animals you like to see the most" or something similar. The current thread title is an entirely different topic altogether.

 

Good point. Thank you. You are right. That title does make more sense

 

Am able to change the title of the thread? If so, how?

 

Chimpanzees.

 

Goitered gazelle

 

-Any type of gazelle(Pref.Thomson’s)
-Any type of Leopard(Pref. Sri Lankan)
-Any type of Aracari/Toucan (Pref. Collared/Toco)
-Most species from the genera Tragelaphus, Oryx and Hippotragus.
-Okapi
-Impala
-Long-tailed whydah
-Bee-eater

 

Giant anteaters are my favorite mammals, so I'm always glad to see them. Plus if you catch them while active and foraging it's a real treat.

Lemurs, especially the two ruffed species, are up there too. Frankly I'd love to see even more zoos with them in their collections, given their critically endangered status.

Jaguars, Komodo dragons, okapi, and most bird species are big draws for me as well (I'm an avid birder, give me a walkthrough aviary and I'll be there until I've spotted everything I can).

 

Answering the question, I would like to see more rare and less-known species in innovative, challenging and interesting exhibits! These could be small carnivores like from Eupleridae or Viverridae family as like as small cats and canids (foxes!). These animals are always very high on my lists and I usually plan my zoo-trips to meet as many as possible (especially cats).

I love seeing Garrulax birds, gazelles and geckos as well! I become literally crazy then .

*evil laugh* Now I can return to my point with leopards! As I love all leopards (with Sri Lankan and Javan as my faves) and I would love to see African leopard asap (as I saw Indian yet), my opinion is that African and Indian ones are last in the queue to hold/breed. However of course I understand the fascination - I enjoy photographing caracals or servals but I know that they aren't very valuable in captive breeding (besides educational role).

 

If you will go to Debrecen because of Palawan leopard cats, I offer Sóstó Zoo to a visit: they have Persian, Chinese abd African!!! leopard together with a lot of others.

 

1.any species of tiger
2.any species of bear
3.any species of ape
4.all other big cats
5.any species of whale or dolphin
6.any species of monkey or lemur
7.any species of antelope or giraffe
8.any species of crocodile
9.any species of pachyderm
10.any species of kangaroo or koala
11.any species of snake
12.Red Panda or any species of otter
13.any species of bird that lives in tropical rainforest
14.any species of small cats
15.any species of horse or zebra
16.any species of pinniped
17.any species of large bird
18.any species of turtle or tortoise
19.any species of lizard
20.any species of cavylike rodent