Hello! I can’t come up with any more suggestions, want to have a go? Here’s the criteria:
[ul]
[li]diurnal[/li][li]gregarious/communal[/li][li]small/medium mammal - up to 100lbs or so?[/li][li]charismatic, fun to watch[/li][li]not a primate - got plenty[/li][li]not meerkats or peccaries - got them too[/li][li]present, but not necessarily common, in US zoo collections[/li][/ul]
For that last one, it’s getting out of date, but you can look up species on ISIS
My list so far includes:
[ul]
[li]degus[/li][li]pikas[/li][li]rock hyrax[/li][li]coati[/li][li]giant or small-clawed otters[/li][/ul]
(But I’ve broken my own rules: there’s no pikas in zoos. No-one can tell me why.)
Any suggestions? Just think, your suggestion might just be put on a list for a master plan, and, in 5-10 years, might even end up at the zoo!
Nice suggestions, all! I wonder if dwarf mongoose are different enough from meerkats. We could do a mixed species exhibit with yellow-billed hornbills, they have a neat mutualistic hunting technique.
Paul, we’ve got plenty of lovely parrots: macaws, cockatoos and eclectus. I think otters are reasonably easy to work with, provided a great habitat; the required flowing water might be a bit tricky to accomplish, without big bucks.
**Filbert, ** naked mole rats! Eeurgh! But very awesome, yes. Also mucho dinero to set up, you’re right. I believe lemmings are solitary in the wild, except in the presence of Disney film crews
I’ve also just added the Patagonian mara to the list. They’re cute!
There are pikas at the Denver and Cleveland zoos, and considering some varieties share their dwellings with the snowfinch, it could make for a very interesting exhibit.
What about good old fashioned prairie dogs? I can watch the 'dogs at the National Zoo for hours.
Oh, and speaking of dogs, the African Wild Dogs at the Toledo Zoo are pretty great, with their patrolling behaviors (and no, it isn’t zoo psychosis, the pack very clearly shows organized behavior)
Of the animals already mentioned, I like the otters and prairie dogs best. Otters are a lot of fun to watch, especially if you give them the right aquatic setup. And prairie dogs show a lot of personality and curiosity.
Among animals that HAVEN’T been mentioned, there are wallabies and (for “Madagascar” fans) the dreaded fossa! The fossa are fascinating from an evolutionary standpoint alone (it’s like they’re not quite weasels any more, but couldn’t quite make it to being cats).
Sloths? They’re not, you know, much on moving around, but people love them. Did you know they hiss at you if they’re mad? (I clean the sloth backups sometimes when I volunteer.)
How about red pandas? Okay, not a group animal, but people love them too.
We have wallabies in a walk through thing at our zoo (with kangaroos) and they don’t do jack most of the day. They lie around like cats. When I show up at 8 to volunteer they’re moving around, but so is everything else because it’s feeding time.
May I ask what zoo this is? I am a big, big fan of zoos. The otters are definitely among my favorites at the Columbus Zoo. So, if you don’t have them, I strongly recommend them.
Wolverines are another favorite. I think they meet your criteria. They can certainly be charismatic. I don’t know how common they are in zoos, and frankly, if given the choice, I’d go with the otters.
How about tree kangaroos? They have them at the Toronto Zoo, and my friends’ kids quite frankly refused to believe they existed until I pointed them out.
Agreed. And in the Columbus Zoo they are in a dark, nocturnal, indoor exhibit, which doesn’t help the appeal. I don’t know if they are actually nocturnal, but I’ve never seen them do anything other than sleep.
Quick search leads me to believe that yes, tree kangaroos are nocturnal.
