While Bison today are synonymous with the โWild Westโ itโs important to remember that up until several hundred years ago bison ranged all the way into Florida
Childrenโs movies today are so scared of traumatizing their audience theyโve lost any creativity/quality. Yes, we were all traumatized by Mufasaโs death, but it taught us a valuable lessonโฆsame for Bambiโs mom, and so onโฆ
Since I'm in a good mood right now, let's make a thread of species that wouldn't exist today if it wasn't for zoos and aquariums. You guys can add on as well!
While Bison today are synonymous with the โWild Westโ itโs important to remember that up until several hundred years ago bison ranged all the way into Florida
The Iberian Lynx nearly went extinct in the late 90s due to lack of prey/habitat, but thanks to conservation efforts and captive breeding, wild populations alone currently number over 2000!!!
Another classic. American Bison nearly went extinct in the early 1900s, and became the icon of zoo conservation after zoos stepped in and began reintroducing them to their historic range. Over 400,000 roam the wilds of North America today!
While the story of the california condor has been told over and over again, I always like the detail of keepers hand feeding/raising many chicks using condor shaped puppets lol
ISTG people at the zoo will see an animal doing the most animal thing ever and be like "oh he's bored and lonely, I hate zoos" like girl the lion is literally sleeping he's not depressed
Last but not least, probably the most iconic of them all, the Black Footed Ferret! Once numbering 18 in the wild, their populations have recovered immensely due to releases. Protection of their prey, prairie dogs, has allowed them to bounce back to over 500 individuals!
Mexican wolves my beloved. Love these guys. Driven to extinction in the wild for livestock predation, they're finally making a comeback in the wild with over 200 individuals
Two of my favorite ungulates, the Arabian Oryx and the Prswalski's Wild Horse were both hunted to extinction in the wild during the mid 1900s. Thankfully, both number over 1,000 in the wild now
During the seventies, so many tamarins were exported to be kept as pets that wild populations fell as low as 250. Now, over 2,000 reside in the Atlantic Forests.
Reminder that we don't know the original European word for bear-the original name has been lost, as people stopped saying it out of fear that it would summon bears to kill them. Bear was one of many nicknames that people started referring to them as to avoid the lost name
People seem to forget how different the musculature of Panthera felids is to Smilodon felids. In addition to having the most robust bones of any carnivoran, it didn't even resemble a cat in musculature-it honestly looked more like a grizzly bear. Seriously, smilodon was ripped.
This stereotype always bugs me. The reason they die horrible deaths is that they're treated like toys for children, not real animals, and die because of their owner (an immature child's) irresponsibility. Stop treated animals like toys, they're actual living creatures
Come along with me on my carnage (I mean course) check this morning. What should be one of the most beautiful golf courses in the country is being destroyed by herds of javelina. If anyone has a contact in AZ state govt that can help us find a solution please pass it along.
Cheetah haters will never not be funny to me, because despite the fact that cheetahs get โbulliedโ by lions and hyenas, cheetahs are still the most successful hunters out of all of the megafaunal cats and itโs not even close
Reminder of that one time a pair of thylacines being sent to a North American zoo escaped their crates and ran into the Canadian wilderness, AND the people in the area reported striped dogs for years iirc
What's a historic animal range fact you always like to shock people with? Mine is that up until Europeans arrived and killed them off, Reindeer ranged as far south as New York
Vintage animal books are one of my favorite things to read, like, ever. Here's one that labels the thylacine as one of "tomorrow's fossils" and "is only found in remote areas of Tasmania"