Animals that really can't be held in zoo's
- Thread starter Fossa
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Sifakas can be in zoos. Houston Zoo has them, and in fact they are the only habitat Madagascar animal that I want to come to the game...
Now, about your question: are you referring to in-game animals that can't be in zoos or just animals in general?
Now, about your question: are you referring to in-game animals that can't be in zoos or just animals in general?
Possibly, but also it could be a general lack of knowing they exist.
I had never heard of the indri lemur until recently.
You know, I'm kinda curious, too. Is there some kind of list? I think @DrBurrito and @KönigDerKaffeebohnen would know best as they're always quoting from these kinds of lists
Not as far as i know, im allways reffering to the numbers in the EAZA on zootierliste, which is really usefull to see if a specific species is or has been held in zoos, but they wont list why they arnt held.
It tells me that theres only 1 holding of a three toed sloth and many of two toed, but it doesnt tell me why, thats up to external research.
Most things arnt held in zoos cause theres no reason to/the effort needed to large, for example there are many bird taxons with just 1 or 2 members still held where they started focusing on them over other related species as its generally more benefitial to have 50 zoos keeping one species then 10 related species kept in 5 zoos each
Some off the top of my head include:
- Leopard Seal
- Indri Lemur
- All sifakas besides Coquerel's (they're at the zoo where I work at, the Bronx)
- Soala
- Kakapo (only in a conservation facility in Auckland Zoo)
- Mountain gorilla
- Javan rhino
- Northern white rhino, since, you know, there's only 2
- Narwhal
- Giant Squid
- Great White Shark
- Obviously the humongous baleen whales like humpbacks and blue whales, a literal impossibility
The most common animals suggested that do not perform well in captivity:
- Leopard Seal
- Leatherback turtle
- Marine Iguana
- Kakapo
- Ethiopian wolf
- Large marine animals like whales and dolphins (might stir up a few opinions saying this but it's true.)
- Saiga antelope (zoochat has a good discussion relating to early deaths of saiga by captivity caused illness, climate factors, and stress)
- Brown Throated Sloth (yes the one ingame)
As mentioned above, sifaka do alright in zoos. The USA program for Coquerel's sifaka has been sufficiently successful that several pairs have moved to European zoos (a second species, the crowned sifaka, was already kept in Europe). Walrus can be kept, but they are quite challenging to breed and often need their tusks removed, as they will damage them on the ground or the lining of their pools. Leopard seals can also be kept in captivity - in that they don't immediately die if brought into a zoo - but to the best of my knowledge have never been bred.
I don't think there's a hard and fast list of animals that cannot be kept, but as a general rule the more specialised an animal is (to either a habitat or a diet), the more difficult it is to keep alive. So, for example, musk oxen don't thrive in a climate that is too warm for them (a zoo in the Netherlands recently had to move out all their musk oxen because the summers became too hot), while saiga and pronghorn really struggle outside of a cold, dry climate.
In terms of diet, specialist leaf-eaters are often very difficult to keep (the indri is one example, and also falling into this category are animals such as flying lemurs and three-toed sloths). Insect-eaters like pangolins have struggled in the past (although now that more is known about them, they are successfully surviving and breeding in zoos), but some insectivores still elude long-term keeping such as the silky anteater.
A fair few of the options mentioned above (kakapo, Ethiopian wolf and marine iguana) are not necessarily impossible to keep in captivity - indeed marine iguanas are kept in a private zoo in Uganda, of all places - instead their absence in captivity is because their sole range country has made their export illegal.
I don't think there's a hard and fast list of animals that cannot be kept, but as a general rule the more specialised an animal is (to either a habitat or a diet), the more difficult it is to keep alive. So, for example, musk oxen don't thrive in a climate that is too warm for them (a zoo in the Netherlands recently had to move out all their musk oxen because the summers became too hot), while saiga and pronghorn really struggle outside of a cold, dry climate.
In terms of diet, specialist leaf-eaters are often very difficult to keep (the indri is one example, and also falling into this category are animals such as flying lemurs and three-toed sloths). Insect-eaters like pangolins have struggled in the past (although now that more is known about them, they are successfully surviving and breeding in zoos), but some insectivores still elude long-term keeping such as the silky anteater.
A fair few of the options mentioned above (kakapo, Ethiopian wolf and marine iguana) are not necessarily impossible to keep in captivity - indeed marine iguanas are kept in a private zoo in Uganda, of all places - instead their absence in captivity is because their sole range country has made their export illegal.
Where did you hear that all sifakas bar Coquerel's can't be held in captivity? Crowned is more common than Coquerel's here in Europe!
My co-worker lied to me!!!
Send in the ravens and make him eat crow, Condorman
I've seen walruses at SeaWorld Orlando. I remember the male having lengthier tusks, but I don't know if they've been trimmed. However, they did have a baby female a few years ago. They named her Aurora after the Aurora Borealis.
SAIGA DO NOT WELL IN ZOOS!?!?!?!?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Frontier don't read that please!!!
I still want Saiga in my Zoo game though, I ignore that, much like with the Leopard Seal! Put them in the game anyway.Those type of animals are unique and should just be in the game to be the unique lovely critters they are.
Saiga are being murdered by local folk there (I won't name them, because that gets me banned probably) in the millions, so they are maybe even better off in a safe zoo where they live shorter but aren't murdered for religious believes.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Frontier don't read that please!!!
I still want Saiga in my Zoo game though, I ignore that, much like with the Leopard Seal! Put them in the game anyway.Those type of animals are unique and should just be in the game to be the unique lovely critters they are.
Saiga are being murdered by local folk there (I won't name them, because that gets me banned probably) in the millions, so they are maybe even better off in a safe zoo where they live shorter but aren't murdered for religious believes.
Well, we have the proboscis monkey, which doesn't do well due to its specific diet, and the platypus, which is only held in ONE zoo outside of Australia, so who knows?
Also, imagine me reaching through the screen to give you a comforting and reassuring hug in a non-creepy way.
The only animals that really can't be held in captivity are those that can't comprehend the concept of a barrier, mostly extremely pelagic, like the leatherback turtle and the great white shark. They are not used to not being able to roam thousands of metres in the same direction, so they can't be contained in any enclosure.
Then there is a second tier with animals that are very hard to maintain, mostly because they have very specific diets that are difficult to replicate, but once you have that (because the only plant they eat grows in your area, or you managed to find a substitute, or something like that), they can live in captivity. Those are the cases of our PZ's friends the 3toed sloth and the proboscis monkey.
And finally there is another group of animals that can't be held in zoos but due to human decisions. Some of them are very scarce both in captivity and in the wild, so they can't be captured anymore, and also maybe it's illegal to hold them in captivity, but they could live without big problems in a zoo. Examples are the kakapo and the Sumatran rhino.
Then there is a second tier with animals that are very hard to maintain, mostly because they have very specific diets that are difficult to replicate, but once you have that (because the only plant they eat grows in your area, or you managed to find a substitute, or something like that), they can live in captivity. Those are the cases of our PZ's friends the 3toed sloth and the proboscis monkey.
And finally there is another group of animals that can't be held in zoos but due to human decisions. Some of them are very scarce both in captivity and in the wild, so they can't be captured anymore, and also maybe it's illegal to hold them in captivity, but they could live without big problems in a zoo. Examples are the kakapo and the Sumatran rhino.
I thought I might mention it considering how popular the saiga seems to be, as the mentioned proboscis monkey and even the brown Throated Sloth do very poorly in captivity in general it can still be possible
I mean, there are a few species I think are either interesting or notable enough to be included in game but aren't really in real life for either rarity, limits of taking them into captivity in their native range or difficulty maintaining them.
Javan and Sumatran Rhinos are probably some of the most notable ones that also fall into this category, with none and 9 in captivity respectively.
African Forest Elephants are also very scarce in captivity relative to their Indian and African Plains cousins.
I'm still team Marine iguana, because even if it's not a realistic zoo animal in the real world, given how fictionalised PZ is (by necessity!) anyway, I don't see that as an issue.
Takahe and Kakapo are also essentially not found in zoos, but still ineresting enough to be options.
Uakiri seem to be nearly absent from zoos too, from what I
Resplendent Quetzal is a species I've also seen mentioned round here on occassion, and thought it does sound like there are a few places that have had some limited success, I'm sure I recall it being a feature of some folklore from their range that they couldn't bear to be held in captivity.
Javan and Sumatran Rhinos are probably some of the most notable ones that also fall into this category, with none and 9 in captivity respectively.
African Forest Elephants are also very scarce in captivity relative to their Indian and African Plains cousins.
I'm still team Marine iguana, because even if it's not a realistic zoo animal in the real world, given how fictionalised PZ is (by necessity!) anyway, I don't see that as an issue.
Takahe and Kakapo are also essentially not found in zoos, but still ineresting enough to be options.
Uakiri seem to be nearly absent from zoos too, from what I
Resplendent Quetzal is a species I've also seen mentioned round here on occassion, and thought it does sound like there are a few places that have had some limited success, I'm sure I recall it being a feature of some folklore from their range that they couldn't bear to be held in captivity.
"Can't" and "aren't" are very different things--there are plenty of animals which could easily have large captive presences but simply don't because you can only manage a finite number of studbooks at once. If only one or two institutions carry an animal, that animal will probably vanish from captivity once the individuals held die off. Examples of animals that can't be kept in captivity, or are at least extremely difficult to keep in captivity, include great white sharks (all efforts to keep them outside of extremely temporary rescue situations have failed) and baleen whales (except, again, adolescent rescues)--common theme of very large open-ocean species.
Coquerel's sifakas actually have a quickly growing captive presence even if it's nowhere close to some other lemurs, not sure where OP got that from.
Coquerel's sifakas actually have a quickly growing captive presence even if it's nowhere close to some other lemurs, not sure where OP got that from.