# Suggest a new zoo animal! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485 "2011-10-13T02:19:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/1 "2011-10-13T02:19:30Z")
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them too[/li][li]present, but not necessarily common, in US zoo collections[/li][/ul] For that last one, it’s getting out of date, but you can look up species on [ISIS](http://www.isis.org/Pages/findanimals.aspx) My list so far includes: [ul] [li]degus[/li][li]pikas[/li][li]rock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! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/2 "2011-10-13T03:06:04Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > [ul] > [li]present, but not necessarily common, in US zoo collections[/li][/ul] I was going to suggest a pygmy bandersnatch, but I don’t think any other US zoos have one. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/3 "2011-10-13T07:10:13Z")
Not a mammal, but very energetic and funny: penguins. Otherwise I’d go with the otters. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/4 "2011-10-13T11:23:18Z")
Dwarf mongoose. Any species of tree shrew. Lemmings. And the ones I’d love to work with- naked mole rats. Shame they’re so difficult to set up for. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/5 "2011-10-13T12:22:12Z")
Not a mammal, but parrots are always fun and easy to keep. Otters are personable and fun on TV documentaries. Can they be kept easily? ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/6 "2011-10-13T18:50:47Z")
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! ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/7 "2011-10-13T19:10:37Z")
How about capybaras? ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/8 "2011-10-13T19:16:18Z")
You got any pygmy marmosets? They’re so cute I just want to eat em! Though, I guess they’re primates - right? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/9 "2011-10-13T19:19:51Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > (But I’ve broken my own rules: there’s no pikas in zoos. No-one can tell me why.) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/10 "2011-10-13T20:36:32Z")
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) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/11 "2011-10-13T20:51:14Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > How about capybaras? That’s my favorite animal at the National Zoo! Except at the moment they’re not there because of the construction at the Elephant House. ☹ I like them because they were in an open pen and they were friendly. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/12 "2011-10-13T21:29:15Z")
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). ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/13 "2011-10-13T22:21:35Z")
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. ETA - what about dik diks? A-freaking-dorable. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/14 "2011-10-13T23:11:13Z")
We’ve got fossa, capys and wallabies already, I forgot to mention 🙂 I wonder if a dik-dik/rock hyrax multi-species exhibit could work? Red pandas: awesome, but nocturnal. Sloths: solitary. Adding African wild dogs and prairie dogs (too similar to meerkats?) to the list. Hilariously, I just learned that our zoo used to have a **dachshund** exhibit! 50 year old zoos have a lot of funny history. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/15 "2011-10-13T23:18:28Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > Hilariously, I just learned that our zoo used to have a **dachshund** exhibit! 50 year old zoos have a lot of funny history. I’m picturing a naturalistic environment… consisting of a couch, one of those braided oval rugs, and a dog bed. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/16 "2011-10-13T23:31:06Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/17 "2011-10-14T00:09:56Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > [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] I know exactly what you want.Kittens. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/18 "2011-10-14T00:31:58Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/19 "2011-10-14T01:42:10Z")
Yeah, but they don’t do anything. They mostly sit there. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485/20 "2011-10-14T03:14:14Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > 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. > [@Zsofia](#): > > Yeah, but they don’t do anything. They mostly sit there. 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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-new-zoo-animal/599485.md?page=2)