It’s time once more to do a zoo review…
… and this time I’m going to talk about another Japanese zoo: Tama Zoological Park (or Tama Zoo) in Hino, in the western part of Tokyo, Japan. I was lucky enough to visit it during the August of 2024 and the visit is still relatively fresh in my mind. Tama opened in 1958 and started out as a satellite branch of Ueno Zoo, its original function being to house larger animals that needed to be kept outside of the more urban setting of Ueno.
Like all the places I wanted to visit in Tokyo, Tama Zoo was easy to get to via public transport and is serviced by a subway station that’s immediately adjacent to the main entrance (which features tall arches, columns and elephant statues). The zoo is large and extensively vegetated, but a downside on access is that it’s hilly, with steep concrete slopes and steps in places. Roads are present throughout, and a small bus runs on a circuit around the zoo; bus stops are present along its route. The zoo is divided into three main sections: the African, Australian and Asian Zones, the first of which is closest to the entrance/exit. There’s also an Insectarium section which features a large insect house in addition to a large, paved area with giant metal insect statues.
Caption: the zoo’s entrance/exit features a bridge-like bar hanging above the gates and booths. A central supporting column is decorated with a large Asian elephant sculpture. At right is the entrance/exit seen from within the zoo looking out, the gift shop at right. Image: Darren Naish.
I should mention that my visit to Tama was unusual in that I just happened to travel there as a major tropical cyclone – Typhoon Shanshan – was travelling north-east across the region, the consequence being high winds and enormous quantities of torrential rain. It wasn’t so bad that things needed to shut down, at least not where I was, but it meant that the zoo was being visited by a substantially lower number of people than normal, plus that parts of the zoo were closed and that certain animals were off show.
The bad weather means that my photos were exceptionally bad, even for me, so I’ve generally had to really up the contrast to make things more visible.
Caption: Waterfowl Bridge, the adjacent area involving not just a large pond complex but a series of vegetated islands. Wild birds, including ducks and grebes, use the ponds as well as captive ones. Image: Darren Naish.
To business. Rather than turning right (to the north) and visiting the large African Zone, I opted to continue ahead and ultimately left (so, west and south-west) through the Asian Zone. And what did I encounter first? A large pond complex – the Waterfowl Bridge area – was home to wildfowl, including Cackling goose Branta hutchinsii, Snow goose Anser caerulescens, Greylag geese A. anser and Bar-headed goose A. indicus. Lesser white-fronted goose A. erythropus were in a separate enclosure nearby. I’m a massive wildfowl nerd, so this goose-themed feature was good, even if the majority of species were familiar.
Caption: two of the several goose species kept at the zoo. At left, Bar-headed goose, a Central Asian species that winters in India and elsewhere in southern Asia. It’s significantly different from other Anser species and has at times been regarded as worthy of its own genus, Eulabeia. Both images at right show Greylag goose, with the long, pink bill and pink legs and feet showing that this must be the eastern subspecies A. a. rubirostris. Images: Darren Naish.
Caption: Cackling goose group with food plants visible on the ground. The several Cackling goose subspecies were generally considered conspecific with the Canada goose B. canadensis until the last few decades. Images: Darren Naish.
A family of wild Little grebes Tachybaptus ruficollis also lived in one of the pools, and signs drew attention to their presence: a nice feature, since zoos should bring attention to the wild animals that live in their grounds and benefit from the environments they provide. I got great views of the mother feeding a dragonfly to her chicks.
Caption: at left, this wall in the tapir house provides abundant info on the zoo’s tapirs and their history. At right, the large colour sign on the outside of the house. Images: Darren Naish.
TAPIRS. Nearby is the large and impressive Malayan tapir Tapirus indicus exhibit, which includes large indoor and outdoor sections and a large amount of tapir-themed art. Indoors, a clear partition on one side means close views of the tapirs on land, and a pool on the other side – also fronted by a clear partition – allows you to see the tapirs should they go swimming or wading. The outdoor section was very green, very heavily vegetated, and with an area of marshy ground that the tapirs presumably approve of.
Caption: the tapir pool as seen from inside the house. The tapirs didn’t do any swimming, let alone bottom-walking, during the time of my visit, alas. Images: Darren Naish.
Caption: a glass (or transparent plastic) wall allows you to see the tapirs up close and unobstructed if they’re in the house at the same time as you are. Note the variation in pale colouration at the snout and how much white is present around the hooves. Images: Darren Naish.
Caption: view inside the tapir house. Lots of tapir-themed art – I approve! Images: Darren Naish.
Caption: the zoo’s two tapirs as seen from a viewing platform. I presume this was a male and female but was never able to check. The presumed male has a pale scar on the dorsal surface of his snout. Images: Darren Naish.
Caption: the tapirs traversing the marshy, grassy outdoor area of their enclosure. This photo gives some idea of how green and leafy the zoo grounds are. Images: Darren Naish.
A few domestic animals – ducks, goats and bunnies – were nearby, but the big surprise in this part of the zoo is the famous Mole House, an installation devoted to the keeping of the endemic Japanese mole Mogera wogura. A few shrew species are there too. For shame, I wholly forgot about the existence of this feature, and the bad news is that I never visited it, nor was properly aware of it. I’ve been trying to figure out how this happened. Looking back at my photos, I see that I did get close to the house, but emergency hazard cones visible in one of my photos might mean that it and the adjacent area was closed to visitors at the time of my trip. I could also have simply missed it, because (a) I’m not very smart and (2) it’s tucked away and located on a road that I don’t recall exploring.
Caption: the building in the middle of this photo is the fabled Mole House. You might be able to see bright yellow hazard cones close to the bottom of the staircase. Images: Darren Naish.
Otters were nearby (not sure what species), as was the large Walk-in Aviary (alas, closed) housing Black-faced spoonbill Platalea minor and Red-crowned crane Grus japonensis. Waitminute: if the aviary was closed (presumably due to concerns over H5N1 bird flu), is this connected to my missing of the Mole House?
Caption: a spoonbill montage. African spoonbill at left (with a somewhat washed-out face: the facial skin is ordinarily redder than it is in this bird), Black-faced spoonbill at right. Images: Darren Naish.
Tahr, takin and more. Further to the west – but still within the Asian Zone – was a large area devoted to hoofstock, among them Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus, Mouflon Ovis musimon (identified as O. aries musimon on signage) and domestic Water buffalo Bubalus bubalis.
A large Asian elephant Elephas maximus enclosure was here too. The zoo was home to three Asian elephants at the time of my visit, the male of which is kept separate from the two females. The large indoor sections are viewable from outside via windows and from inside via a raised observation deck. The outdoor section includes a bathing pool, and replica rock faces and other structures to give the elephants things to do.
Caption: the outdoor section of the Asian elephant enclosure (this from the female section). Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: part of the indoor area for the female Asian elephants. The elephants remained indoors during the time of my visit, perhaps because of the weather. I didn’t get to see the male. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: viewing windows for the large indoor area for the female Asian elephants. This entire area is roofed, which was useful at the time of my visit in view of the rain and wind. Image: Darren Naish.
An area for Indian one-horned rhino Rhinoceros unicornis was nearby but… I didn’t see one, and that’s a shame because a baby was born there in 2024. Tahr are (from my western European perspective) unusual, unfamiliar bovids of decidedly Asian theme (even though extinct Hemitragus species occurred across Europe) and sit in the same part of my brain as a few other exotic bovids, like serow and takin.
Caption: Himalayan tahr are – arguably – less visually impressive and more goat-like than sometimes conveyed in art (I generally picture them as longer-coated, shaggier, weirder). Molecular studies show that the three tahr groups (the other two are Arabian tahr and Nilgiri tahr) do not form a clade and hence they’re no longer included in the same genus. Images: Darren Naish.
And members of both groups were present as well. The serow – quelle surprise – was a Japanese serow Capricornis crispus. As for the takins…. I’ve seen takins in captivity before (both at Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland and Marwell Wildlife in England), but they were the dark brown, nominate form. These were different: they were the very beautiful Golden takin Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi, recognised as the distinct species B. bedfordi by some authors (Castelló 2016). The enclosures (more than one was devoted to takin) were flanked by steep, rocky walls to make it look like the animals were living in mountainous surrounds, and a concrete ramp in one of the enclosures had built-in rocky steps that the takins had no trouble in ascending and descending. One enclosure included a sloping area of ground, and two takins were at the top of it. Certain of the takins were moderately noisy and kept making grunts and hoot-type sounds.
Caption: I was really happy to see these animals and took some substantial number of photos. Look at the elegant sweep of those horns, the ‘overbuilt’ look to the forelimbs, and the very unusual, elongate hooves. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: Golden takin with down-sloping neck, stood in energy-saving pose on a rock. An interesting idea inspired by the incredible coat of this animal is that the pelt of one was perhaps inspirational to, or connected to, the origin of the golden fleece legend of ancient Greece. I have no real idea how plausible this might be. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: takin in profile, showing the obvious difference in robusticity between the fore- and hindlimbs. While much of the pelt is ‘golden’ – though I suppose it’s more like blonde with reddish tints here and there – note that there are large grey areas too. This is very variable across individuals. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: takin facial detail. Takins have a very tall, deep nasal aperture, with the nasal bones arched and high up on the skull. The bedfordi of the name honours the Duke of Bedford, who funded the British expedition that resulted in the scientific discovery of this animal. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: part of the takin enclosure, giving some idea of the rockiness of it, and the deliberate use of stone steps to mimic the elevated, hilly terrain they inhabit in the wild. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: the deep space here looks like a moat of the sort often built into zoo enclosures in order to keep animals always from visitors (and vice versa). In this case, however, the sloping inner wall features a set of large rocks that function as steps, and it’s clear here that the takins are adept at using them. Image: Darren Naish.
An enclosure for another sure-footed bovid was nearby – namely, a chamois – but a sign stated that the exhibit was temporarily closed. Based on a photo next to this sign, I tried working out what sort of chamois they have… and couldn’t. But I’ve learnt thanks to a video uploaded to YouTube in 2019 that it was an Alpine chamois Rupicapra rupicapra. Chamois don’t occur further east than the Caucasus (excepting the feral ones on New Zealand), so they’re properly exotic for a Japanese zoo visitor. Some authors argue that as many as six extant chamois species should be recognised (Castelló 2016), and – even if you don’t accept that taxonomy – there are numerous supposed subspecies.
Surrounded by these hoofed mammals and elephants was a group of Great white pelicans Pelecanus onocrotalus, the pelican species most frequently kept in captivity. A feature worth commenting on is that the outdoor part of their enclosure was floored with a carpet of felt-like fake grass fabric that’s meant to look like a lawn… but totally doesn’t. I don’t need to tell you that having material like this outside is bad, since it sheds plastic microfibres into the environment and ultimately into ecosystems and the bodies of animals.
Caption: the Great white, Eastern white, Rosy or White pelican is a mostly African species but also occurs patchily across Asia as far east as Indonesia. An apparently increasing number also occur across Europe, mostly in the east. It’s strongly migratory and will likely substantially alter its range in step with climatic change over the next few decades. Image: Darren Naish.
Père David’s deer or Milu Elaphurus davidianus. Readers with good memories will recall the long article I published in 2011 on this animal and its evolutionary history and scientific discovery (it’s here, but ruined by Sci Am). Several details of Milu anatomy are familiar and get mentioned in most discussions of the species: the antlers look like they’re being worn back-to-front, the face is slightly skewed to the side, and the tail is long and superficially recalls that of a horse more than of a deer. But there are several things about Milu that I didn’t know about before, and you can see them here.
Caption: the lone male Milu at the zoo. I watched as he took some time rubbing his face and neck against the stone wall of a large feature in the middle of his enclosure. Note the blackish areas on his neck, side, and the sides of his limbs, the brush-like tail, and the series of white spots along the shoulder. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: strange features of the Milu head and neck on show. The antlers are atypical, there are hair whorls on the neck and side of the shoulder, and the face is unusual, and seemingly skewed or asymmetrical. Images: Darren Naish.
The most surprising of these (to me) is the presence of very prominent hair whorls on the side of the neck. Hair whorls are conventionally said to be an adaptation for water-shedding (that goes for the whorl typically present in human head hair). I don’t recognise these from the other deer species I know (I checked, they totally don’t have them), so I wonder if the Milu is unique here. Also of interest is the black patch and series of white spots along the top of the shoulders and midline of the back. The zoo did a good job of celebrating Milu weirdness via a life-sized metal statue, replica antlers mounted on a display board, and signage which drew attention to its ‘designed by committee’ nature.
Caption: a nice little installation on the unusual antlers of the Milu (they’re weird in that the brow tine – the first forward-projecting growth from the beam – is as prominent as, or more prominent than, the beam itself). I own a Milu antler myself. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: Milu statue. Metal installations in places like Tokyo can become very hot in the sun, so much so that warning signs are placed nearby. Images: Darren Naish.
Caption: one of the things said several times about the Milu is that it looks like a mashup of deer- and horse-like features, and that’s the idea explored here on this sign. Image: Darren Naish.
Asian big cats, orangutans, wolves and horses. Several additional Asian mammals were nearby, including Red panda Ailurus fulgens, Siberian tiger Panthera tigris altaica, Masked palm civet Paguma larvata (not showing during my visit), Lar gibbon Hylobates lar, Bornean orangutan Pongo pygmaeus and Snow leopard Panthera uncia. One of the gibbons appeared to suffer from a condition that forced his lower jaw to project well ahead of the upper, giving him a slightly scary ‘tusked’ appearance.
Caption: I’ve read about the agility of red pandas but never really seen it in life, since the only things I’ve seen them do when climbing involves walking along branches or thick ropes. However, this individual demonstrated its ability to hang upside down from the roof of its enclosure. Here’s your regular reminder that the Red panda is the original panda (I said exactly the same thing the last time I mentioned pandas, and I’m sure I’ve said it on previous occasions as well). The Giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca is an imposter, made known to science some decades later. Images: Darren Naish.
Caption: a male and female Lar gibbon shared this enclosure. This is the male: females are black. As you can see, he suffers from some kind of unusual jaw configuration. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: the Siberian tiger’s enclosure was heavily planted with bamboo, a good design feature that I’ve seen at a few other zoos. I’m used to tigers avoiding eye contact but this one purposefully stared at me while I was photographing it. Image: Darren Naish.
I didn’t see any Snow leopards (which is ok, I’ve seen them plenty enough times in zoos closer to home), but I heard one, specifically a female on heat, yowling (it sounded like ‘ra-oooow’, with the ‘oooo’ as in ‘coot’). I tried to record this with my phone but only succeeded once. Most times I started recording she went quiet for a few minutes… meaning that I would then have to stop recording, at which point she would of course start calling again.
The orangutans were active and doing interesting things. A juvenile was playing on ropes, a large, flanged male was ant-fishing (the enclosure includes a large, clear plastic box housing an ant colony), and a female was interacting at a window with a visiting woman who was showing the orang how to apply makeup. The orangutan watched with what looked like polite indifference and even yawned during the woman’s performance. Right at the far south-western corner of the zoo is an orangutan forest exhibit, with an ‘orangutan skywalk’ that allows the orangs to climb overhead. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to get to that.
Caption: a Bornean orangutan watches a woman applying foundation. Signs inside this house reminded you to be aware of (human) pickpockets. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: outdoor component of one of the orangutan enclosures. The replica rock surfaces, again, are impressive, and the signs do a good job of telling you about the history of the specific animals kept at the zoo. Image: Darren Naish.
Wolves and horses. Wolf Canis lupus – labelled as ‘Common wolf’ – were at the heart of the Asian Zone. I only saw a single one, and it was lying on its belly inside its house during one of the rainstorms. The wolf enclosure is mostly viewable via windows in a concrete tunnel that has a bunker-like aesthetic. This was actually quite a useful place for me, as I was able to hide there during the most extreme part of the storm. Outside, various announcements echoed across the zoo while I was taking refuge, and I hoped with all my sincerity that they weren’t storm warnings telling people to evacuate and go home. Evidently, they were not, for I wasn’t the only visitor to emerge from shelter once the rain had slowed.
Caption: wolf resting indoors on a rainy, stormy day. I don’t know if the animal was locked inside the house or if it just chose to be there. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: it should be clear throughout this article that Tama Zoological Park is strong on signage, as is its sister zoo, Ueno. This panel – on the outside of the wolf enclosure – explains wolf body language and predatory behaviour in the wild. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: my refuge site during the height of Typhoon Shanshan. The outdoor part of the wolf enclosure is visible through the windows on the left. There were no other people in this tunnel during my time there, but there was a large katydid (which I photographed, and which I now see that I never uploaded to iNaturalist). Image: Darren Naish.
A group of Przewalski’s horse or Takhi Equus przewalksii were kept in a large, concrete-floored enclosure nearby. Signage included photos of all individuals with a bit of info on each one. The text was all in Japanese, so the only thing I know is that the horses were all mares. I got to see them standing about in the rain, their ear positions indicating that they weren’t exactly enjoying themselves. While these horses had the robust, deep faces and chunky bodies characteristic of this sort of horse (it’s another species I know well due to its presence at zoos local to me, in particular Marwell), at least some of them looked floppier and softer in the mane than seemed right. The zoo also keeps domestic horses, I assume of an interesting or rare breed, but I didn’t get to them.
Caption: Przewalski’s horse enclosure in the rain. As you can see, the horses are mostly using the shelter. It’s a shame that they aren’t kept in an enclosure with a grassy, steppe-like flooring. However, I know that there are husbandry and welfare advantages to keeping hoofstock on hard surfaces like this. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: closer view of horses in the rain. As noted in the text, these individuals look a bit less like ‘pure’ Przewalski’s than ones I’ve seen elsewhere. Przewalski’s horses are, of course, caballine horses close to domestic horses, and you should be able to see the chestnuts on the forelimbs of the individual at far right. Image: Darren Naish.
In my article on Ueno Zoo, I noted the existence there of an animal cenotaph, a memorial to the animals that have died during their time at the zoo. Tama has one of these too. After finishing with the wolves and horses, I trekked along a long, snaking road that led back east in the direction of the entrance. I shouldn’t have walked this – I could have better spent my time by exploring the African Zone over in the north – and I think you’re expected to traverse this road via bus.
Birds and more birds: ibises, cranes, pigeons and more. Anyway, near the end of that road is another aviary, the bulk of it devoted to ibises and spoonbills. One enclosure housed Common goldeneye Bucephala clangula, Bush stone curlew Burhinus grallarius, American white ibis Eudocimus albus, Black-headed ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, Black-faced ibis Theristicus melanopsis and African spoonbill Platalea alba. Others were home to Eurasian eagle owl Bubo bubo, Straw-necked ibis T. spinicollis, Puna ibis Plegadis ridgwayi and Black-headed gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus, Black stork Ciconia nigra, and Red-headed wood pigeon Columba janthina nitens.
Caption: a montage of some of the larger birds kept at the zoo. Left to white: Great white pelican, Black stork, Puna ibis. The stork looks a bit affected by the day’s weather. Images: Darren Naish.
Caption: a mixed Black-headed gull / Puna ibis group in an aviary. The former is a very common gull here in western Europe, so seeing it in captivity is novel. It occurs across Japan as well though. Gulls are, relatively speaking, rarely kept in captivity, an issue discussed once or twice here in the past. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: Straw-necked ibis, a species new to me. Juvenile at left, adult (with eponymous ‘straw’ on neck) at right. This is a partly migratory ibis, mostly associated with eastern Australia. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: Tama Zoo has several enclosures dedicated to the Red-headed wood pigeon, and (I think) breeds this endangered, geographically restricted animal. It’s endemic to the Bonin Islands and Iwo Jima and is one of three subspecies of the Black wood pigeon. Image: Darren Naish.
Other Asian birds housed in a different part of the Asian Zone were Siberian crane Leucogeranus leucogeranus (their signs of course featured the older name Grus leucogeranus), Edward’s pheasant Lophura edwardi, Pied imperial pigeon Ducula bicolor, White-belled green pigeon Treron sieboldii, Chinese bamboo partridge Bambusicola thoracicus and Himalyan monal Lophophorus impejanus. That is a pretty good collection, including quite a few superstars of the Asian avifauna. I was especially happy to see all those ibises in close proximity. You’ll recall that Ueno Zoo was also strong on ibises.
Caption: at left, White-belled green pigeon, one of the 30 or so species within the Afro-Asian Treron green pigeons. At right, Himalayan monal male and female, though with the bad lighting making it hard to see the iridescent, metallic colours of the male. Images: Darren Naish.
Here’s where I discovered that more Asian Zone animals were north of the main road, opposite to the Waterfowl Bridge I mentioned earlier. Among these was a lone Asian black bear Ursus thibetanus, though it lacked the thick amount of neck fur typically associated with this species. This made me wonder if it was a member of the Taiwanese subspecies U. t. formosanus, since it’s apparently unique in lacking this feature. But no, the signs had it labelled as the Japanese U. t. japonicus. The bear looked a bit shabby (admittedly, a good part of this could have been due to the day’s high rainfall), and again I’ll say that bears in captivity rarely look happy, especially in small enclosures.
Caption: Asian black bear walking (at reasonably brisk pace) about enclosure, showing good view of what happens to the hand and foot during locomotion. The white chest marking characteristic of the species is just visible in one of these photos. Images: Darren Naish.
Caption: the better part of the bear’s enclosure, which does a reasonably good job of making the most of the sloping elevation. It is not, of course, big enough or with enough things to do to keep a bear happy. Image: Darren Naish.
A Japanese giant flying squirrel Petaurista leucogenys was also in this part of the zoo. The animal was visible, albeit only its tail and part of its rump, since it was asleep in a nestbox, only parts of its body sticking out through the opening. Nearby was a large enclosure devoted to a group of Japanese macaque Macaca fuscata, and thus similar in feel to the macaque enclosure at Ueno Zoo. The Ueno exhibit features a substantial replica mountain, but this one has concrete steps and platforms and wooden climbing structures.
Caption: at left, a flying squirrel sleeping in its nestbox. At right, Japanese macaques. Macaques as a group are highly variable in tail length. Images: Darren Naish.
Caption: macaque enclosure at Tama Zoological Park. The main display area is elevated, with concrete slopes and a moat on all sides. Image: Darren Naish.
I failed to get to a number of displays at the northern edge of the Asian Zone, including those housing Raccoon dog Nyctereutes procynoides, Oriental stork Ciconia boyciana, various owls and raptors, and reindeer of some sort. As a consequence, I’m left wondering what sorts of owls they have but I have a strong suspicion that among the species they keep is Blakiston’s fish owl Ketupa blakistoni. Why do I think this? We’ll come back to that…
Caption: at left, entrance sign to the Australian Zone with adjacent image of the globe. At right, big sign on the front of the Koala House. The images there portray a good likeness of the koala and even correctly portray their vertical slit pupils. Images: Darren Naish.
To the Australian Zone. The Asian Zone mostly done, I moved north to the Australian Zone. As you approach, signs give indications that animals on show will include kangaroos, koalas, assorted small marsupials, and birds like kookaburras and emus. I walked straight to the north-west corner to get to the Koala House, not just for the Koalas Phascolarctos cinereus but for the promise of more obscure marsupial species. I never did get to the emus by the way.
Caption: vertically arranged trees and branches, with freshly provided eucalyptus, in the large central atrium of the Koala House. I see two koalas in this photo but others might be in shot as well. Image: Darren Naish.
Anyway, I was quite impressed: the house was imposing and spacious (remember that hardly any people were present at the time of my visit), with a large, well lit, open area for the koalas, as well as a series of glass-front ‘nocturnal’ rooms that house Sugar glider Petaurus breviceps and Woylie or Brush-tailed bettong Bettongia penicillata. I’d previously seen Woylie at Ueno Zoo, but the enclosures at Tama allowed for closer and clearer viewing.
Caption: inside the Koala House, darkened halls provide the viewing area for enclosures that house sugar gliders and other species. I liked the whole setup, but the species on show were familiar ones if you’ve seen marsupials in captivity elsewhere. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: sugar glider on nestbox, at left, and bettong at right. I’ve seen sugar gliders several times in captivity but only climbing about, not gliding. I wonder how frequently they do that in captivity: do they even need to glide at all when in a small enclosure? Image: Darren Naish.
A few other macropods – that’s kangaroos and wallabies – are housed nearby and outside the Koala House, including Red kangaroo Osphranter rufus, Yellow-footed rock wallaby Petrogale xanthopus and Parma wallaby Notamacropus parma…. understandably, the zoo is still using the older name Macropus parma for that last species and doesn’t account for the new taxonomy proposed by Celik et al. (2019). Common wallaroo Osphranter robustus were present but must have been indoors. Shame, as I’ve never seen a wallaroo of any sort.
Caption: the kangaroos and wallabies were mostly kept in glass-walled enclosures, and the rain of the day made it especially hard to photograph them. Here are the best photos I got of a Yellow-footed rock wallaby. Rock wallabies are close relatives of tree kangaroos and are excellent climbers, well able to ascend and descend strongly inclined rock faces and even sloping tree trunks. Images: Darren Naish.
The highlight, however, was the Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii exhibit…. which I suppose I have to count as a highlight even if the animals weren’t showing. As you can see from the photos, the outdoor area was quite large, viewing areas were substantial, signage was good, and there were features like raised platforms, ramps and large rocks for the devils to interact with. Perhaps because of the weather, both devils (they had two) were indoors and asleep during my visit, but this wasn’t all bad as a live camera feed allowed you to see them in their bedroom. I’m now confused as to whether I’ve ‘seen’ live Tasmanian devils or not… I mean, I saw the ones that were there, but only via a screen.
Caption: two Tasmanian devils, resting or sleeping in a box indoors, and viewable on what basically looks like a TV set contained itself within a wooden box. There aren’t many zoos outside of Australia that keep devils, but they are (or were!) at Copenhagen, Duisburg in Germany, Prague, Beauval in France, Columbus Zoo in Ohio, and elsewhere too. Images: Darren Naish.
Caption: Tasmanian devil enclosure, showing a large quantity of glass, various structures inside, and a large amount of devil-themed signage. Image: Darren Naish.
Unfortunately, it was now close to closing time. It was too late for me to even gain entry to the massive African Zone (the entrance road had been part closed off with mobile fencing). This houses lion, cheetah, serval, giraffe, African elephant, chimpanzee and flamingo, at least. Missing the cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus was the greatest tragedy, as the zoo famously has four King cheetahs, variously born there 2011, 2012 and 2013 (though I don’t know that all four are there today). I opted to rush quickly around the Insectarium, a large area with a butterfly-shaped tropical house as well as an Insectarium Center. Big metal locust statues were out in the paved area between these buildings.
Caption: the Insectarium Center, locust statues (and obligatory warning cones) nearby. Image: Darren Naish.
Amphibians! I rushed around the tropical house and didn’t give it appropriate time. It was very impressive though, with trees reaching up to the transparent ceiling and abundant shrubs and other plants flanking an oval walkway that descended toward a paved central area at ground level. Large butterflies of several sorts were free flying. A few terrariums around the edges housed amphibians, namely Schlegel’s green treefrog Zhangixalus schlegelii and Forest green treefrog Z. arboreus (both are rhacophorids endemic to Japan), Mountain brown frog Rana ornativentris, Eastern Japanese common toad Bufo japonicus formosus, Tokyo salamander Hynobius tokyoensis and Japanese fire-bellied newt Cynops pyrrhogaster.
Caption: amphibians on show inside the Insectarium. The salamander at left is, sadly, not a hynobiid but a fire-bellied newt. The frog at right is a brown frog (the group of ranid frogs most familiar to me, here in the herpetofaunally-depauperate UK), specifically a Mountain brown frog. Images: Darren Naish.
Only the ranid frog and a single newt were visible during my short visit, and it’s ironic that these are the animals most ‘familiar’ to a European visitor (Cynops is kept widely in captivity). The hynobiid salamander would have been the biggest score, since hynobiids are the stuff of legend and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a live one. Well, at least I can say that I‘ve been close to one, even if I didn’t see it.
Finally, the shop. Yet again, Tama’s shop, located right next to the large entrance feature, succeeded in doing what the zoo shops here in the UK so often fail at: namely, by providing a massive amount of material that (1) might appeal to a zoo nerd, and (2) is specifically relevant to the animals kept at the zoo! An excellent range of models and figures were on sale, as well as origami animal kits, cuddly Tasmanian devils (I bought one for my wife), and more. Impressive. I’m kicking myself for not buying more than I did.
Caption: I am so impressed by these origami animals… but I didn’t buy them, since I absolutely lack the patience or skill to construct such things. You will note that nearly all the models shown here represent species kept at the zoo, the notable exception being the Jaguar. Also, that tiger looks like a white one, and the zoo doesn’t keep those. Remember what I said earlier about Blakiston’s fish owl? The bird at upper right represents that species, so I’m guessing that it, likely, is kept at the zoo and that I missed it. Image: Darren Naish.
Final wrap-up. And that was that. As should be obvious from this review, Tama Zoological Park is huge and there’s a massive amount to see. I lost a fair chunk of my time there due to the weather, but – even so – I would have needed a few more hours had I aimed to see everything. Maybe I spent too much time with the wildfowl and tapirs…
It should also be obvious that Tama is well landscaped, with massive quantities of green and some impressive water features, including a nice waterfall. The shuttle bus was a good feature and would definitely save on walking, but using it would mean missing at least some of the enclosures. If you do traverse the zoo on foot, as I did, there’s a lot of walking to do, at least some of which involves slopes and stepped areas. As noted earlier, there are sections of the zoo that are definitely not ok if you’re of restricted mobility or in a chair.
Caption: view across part of the Asian Zone, looking east toward the long, winding road and in the direction of the entrance/exit, and with the Milu enclosure in the middle of frame (you can see the animal standing close to stonework in the centre of the enclosure, as it’s also doing in the other photos used earlier in the article). There’s extensive greenery and a good number of trees here. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: another view of greenery within the zoo, this time flanking the road within the Asian Zone that heads west and is near the tiger and orangutans. You can see the pelicans at lower right. Image: Darren Naish.
Caption: steps leading to the area where the wolves, horses and cenotaph are. I want to make it clear that you don’t have to use the steps to get to this area though: the same area can be reached via a road that doesn’t have steps along its route, but the route is much longer. Image: Darren Naish.
The zoo’s signage was pretty good, the enclosures looked good and environmentally appropriate, and a good number of installations – statues and the like – assisted the educational mandate. I was impressed, really enjoyed my visit, and was pleased with the range of animals on show. As ever, we finish this review with my highly idiosyncratic scoring system…
Selection of species: 8 out of 10
Zoo nerd highlights: tapir enclosure, mole house (even though I missed it!), Golden takin, chamois (if there!), Tasmanian devil, good ibis selection, hynobiid salamander
Quality of signage: 8 out of 10
Value for money: 9 out of 10
Overall worthiness: 10 out of 10
A housekeeping thing: for no particular reason, I’ve never used justified text here at Tet Zoo. But I’ve now decided to start using it. What do you think? Should I stick with it, or should I go back to non-justified text?
For previous articles in my zoo reviews series, see…
Tet Zoo Reviews Zoos: Edinburgh Zoo, August 2016
Tet Zoo Reviews Zoos: Colchester Zoo, October 2017
Tet Zoo Reviews Zoos: the Isle of Wight Zoo, February 2020
Tet Zoo Reviews Zoos: ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, June 2021
Tet Zoo Reviews Zoos: Bristol Zoo, July 2021
Tet Zoo Reviews Zoos: Tripoli Zoo in Libya, January 2023
Tet Zoo Reviews Zoos: New Forest Wildlife Park, April 2024
Tet Zoo Reviews Zoos: Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, September 2024
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Castelló, J. R. 2016. Bovids of the World: Antelopes, Gazelles, Cattle, Goats, Sheep, and Relatives. Princeton University Press, Princeton and Oxford.
Celik, M., Cascini, M., Haouchar, D., Van Der Burg, C., Dodt, W., Evans, A. R., Prentis, P., Bunce, M., Fruciano, C. & Phillips, M. 2019. A molecular and morphometric assessment of the systematics of the Macropus complex clarifies the tempo and mode of kangaroo evolution. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 186, 793-812.
