We usually go to the zoo to see the animals which are on display or "in captivity" - but one thing I've noticed a lot recently in Australian zoos are the large number of wild animals which live within the zoo grounds and come and go as they please. Which wild animals do you have coming and going (or staying) within your local zoo grounds? Here are mine: Werribee Open Range Zoo: Swamp Wallaby Platypus (yes - this zoo has a river going through it) Echidna Brushtail Possum Ringtail Possum Australian Pelican Cape Barren Goose Cockatoo Galah Blue Fairy Wren Mallard Duck Various birds of prey Various owls Various bats Assorted birds Rabbits (not native) Other Australian Zoos: Grey Kangaroo (Dubbo Zoo) Cockatoo + Galah (most Australian zoos) Overseas Zoos: Monkeys (Kuala Lumpur Zoo) Squirrels (various zoos)
Here are some I've seen at various zoos I have visited (note that these are just the animals I can think of off the top of my head. Given another visit to these zoos, I could provide you with a LONG list): Minnesota Zoo: Trumpeter Swan Wild Turkey Common Snapping Turtle Black-Capped Chickadee Red-Bellied Woodpecker Northern Cardinal Mourning Dove Mucket Fatmucket Higgin's Pearly-Eye House Sparrow Como Park Zoo: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird House Mouse Wildwood Zoo: Mallard Wood Duck Rainbow Trout DeYoung Family Zoo: White Admiral Mallard Wood Duck Barn Swallow House Sparrow NEW Zoo: Pileated Woodpecker Common Raven Canada Goose Mallard Sandhill Crane American Red Squirrel Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary: Too much to list. Wisconsin Rapids Municipal Zoo: American Toad Animal Haven Zoo: House Sparrow Northern Leopard Frog Special Memories Zoo: House Sparrow Barn Swallow Ovenbird Butterfly Gardens of Wisconsin: Monarch Yellow Bumblebee Barn Swallow Manitowoc Lincoln Park Zoo: White-tailed Deer North American River Otter Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel Menominee Park Zoo: Chimney Swift American Robin Barn Swallow Rainbow Trout Common Carp Shortnose Gar Glacier Ridge Animal Farm: House Sparrow Cattle Egret Canada Goose Timbavati Wildlife Park: House Sparrow Northern Leopard Frog International Crane Foundation: Too much to list. Henry Vilas Zoo: Yellow-throated Vireo Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Yellow Warbler White-throated Sparrow Milwaukee County Zoo: Wild Turkey Sandhill Crane Eastern Gray Squirrel Eastern Chipmunk Animal Gardens Petting Zoo: White-tailed Deer House Sparrow Eastern Gray Squirrel Racine Zoo: Barn Swallow Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel Brookfield Zoo: Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel Eastern Gray Squirrel Monarch Northern Raccoon House Mouse Lincoln Park Zoo: Too much to count Saint Louis Zoo: Canada Goose Mallard Northern Raccoon Black-crowned Night Heron Eastern Gray Squirrel Barn Swallow Carolina Wren Lone Elk Park: Eastern Fox Squirrel Wild Turkey World Bird Sanctuary: Red-bellied Woodpecker Tufted Titmouse Carolina Wren White-Tailed Deer +stupid overlap zone chickadee Grant's Farm: House Sparrow +stupid overlap zone chickadee
I've seen grey squirrels, rats and mice in many zoos, many times. I once saw a fox at WMSP, and I've seen a stoat at Paignton on my last visit, about three years ago. I only noticed it because the wild rabbits scattered.
At Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, I've seen black billed magpies, red-tailed hawks, american crows, wild turkeys, and various other birds. Guests ask all the time about the magpies as they aren't common outside the Rocky Mountains. They also have no fear and regularly steal meat from the tigers, leopards, mountain lions, and bears. Mule deer pass through the zoo all the time and cross paths in front of people without care. I've seen raccoons, striped skunks and black bears on zoo grounds as well as coyote tracks around our chicken coop. We have also caught bobcats on our trail cams before. Another neat animal that I'll see occasionally are long-tailed weasels. There are a few that live on grounds and one lives between the elephants and giraffes. Guests ask all the time if one of our ferrets escaped and are amazed that those animals just live here. Really neat to see their coats change throughout the year.
Alaska Zoo: Red Squirrels Mallards American Wigeons Common Ravens Black-billed Magpies Black-capped Chickadees Dark-eyed Juncos Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center: Snowshoe Hares Red Fox Common Ravens Black-billed Magpies Bald Eagles
Most zoos probably have rather long checklists of birds that have been seen on premises (I think that is one thing most zoos do a poor job of promoting- though I'm sure the local birders already know that). For instance in St Louis Forest Park has a checklist of 206 birds, whereas I know none for the zoo itself, but since the forest part of Forest Park adjoins the zoo (mostly) I'd assume most have been seen in the zoo. My zoo list would be around 120. Particularly the waterfowl many people might assume they were "display birds". As for mammals besides rats, mice and squirrels and bats I have seen raccoon , Virginia opossum , red fox , gray fox-oddly mostly within exhibits but wild. Teams count wildlife in Forest Park
Many zoos are great birding sites. Saint Louis Zoo is great for wildlife! Raccoons really seem to love Red Rocks. People usually seem to assume any animals within a zoo is a display animal, even if it is wild. This especially annoys me when Wild Turkeys are involved.
I don't have a local zoo, but during my visits to various zoos of the world I saw a lot of wildlife, as every zoochatter does. However I don't keep track of them so I can't ellaborate a list. I remember many with jackdaws, white storks, grey herons, great cormorants, one with a colony of black-crowned night herons, blackbirds, jungle mynah, red squirrel, wood pigeon, of course common pigeon, house sparrow, rats and mice, and a quite long etc... The dragonfly Neurothemis ramburii (that didn't allowed me to photograph it ) is one of the most remarkable to me. Are we including here animals that are brought by the zoo but that live wild and free without enclosures, such as peafowl, guineafowl, demoiselle cranes, black-tailed prarie dogs and lot of waterfowl? Even red ruffed lemurs can fit into this category (at Artis zoo) too...
No list?????? You're the king of lists!!!!!! You've now got a new list to make if you want to! I hadn't included free range zoo animals though.
Hahaha, good point true, maybe I'm a bit list-obsessed but I just never made one for such specific matter
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is right on the ocean's edge so naturally, there are a plethora of species to list. They do a good job of promoting this on their social media accounts and I believe id you download their app for your visit they will alert you if any whales or dolphin have been spotted. Some of the species that I personally have seen include dolphins (I'm not sure what species), orca, harbor seals, sea lions, sea otters, brown pelicans, cormorants, and many species of gull. I'm sure a full list would be extensive, as Monterey Bay is known for being incredibly biologically diverse (which I can attest to having scuba dived in the bay), but I also recall the aquarium posting videos on Instagram of Grey Whales, Blue Whales, Humpback Whales, and recently a rare albino Risso's Dolphin (which was not actually seen from the aquarium, but potentially could be if you got really lucky) As for other zoos, I have seen a grey fox out in the middle of a grass lawn at the Fresno Chaffee zoo, likely hunting a gopher.
As far as my local facility, I have seen Striped Skunk on several occasions, as well as the ubiquitous squirrels and Black-tailed Deer. And the raccoons frequently raid the trash cans, try as one does... never seen them, but the sporadic mess and frequent tracks are enough. Trail cams have shown wild Gray Fox interacting with the captive Gray and Red. I've seen wild ravens and Turkey Vultures visiting their captive counterparts many times. I know people who have seen Bobcat on the grounds, albeit rarely. My personal bird list is just over 100, notables being Wood Duck, Wild Turkey, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Cooper's Hawk, Calliope Hummingbird, Merlin, Yellow-billed Magpie, Varied Thrush, Phainopepla, Western Tanager, and Bullock's Oriole. Also I have seen various sealife from MBA's deck, and a variety of birds and a few mammals in other zoos.
The National Zoo in DC often has white-tailed deer roaming around, even going into exhibits. The El Paso Zoo had to close recently because of a wild mountain lion deciding to hang out for the day!
