What are the most common animals in zoos? This ranking is based on real sightings tracked by the ZooTrack community, showing the species you are most likely to encounter during a zoo visit.
Of these 100 animals, 74 mammals, 22 birds, 4 reptiles. #1 is the Meerkat, seen in 319 zoos.
Last updated October 28, 2026
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#1
Mammals
Meerkat
Suricata suricatta (Schreber, 1776) in 319 zoos
#2
Mammals
Ring-tailed Lemur
Lemur catta Linnaeus, 1758 in 300 zoos
#3
Mammals
Red Panda
Ailurus fulgens F.G.Cuvier, 1825 in 204 zoos
#4
Mammals
Asian Elephant
Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758 in 91 zoos
#5
Mammals
Lion
Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) in 183 zoos
#6
Mammals
Amur tiger
Panthera tigris altaica Temminck, 1844 in 132 zoos
#7
Mammals
Oriental Small-clawed Otter
Amblonyx cinereus (Illiger, 1815) in 140 zoos
#8
Mammals
Capybara
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (Linnaeus, 1766) in 129 zoos
#9
Mammals
White Rhino
Ceratotherium simum (Burchell, 1817) in 118 zoos
#10
Mammals
Western Lowland Gorilla
Gorilla gorilla gorilla in 93 zoos
#11
Mammals
Linné's Two-toed Sloth
Choloepus didactylus (Linnaeus, 1758) in 147 zoos
#12
Mammals
Asiatic Camel
Camelus bactrianus Linnaeus, 1758 in 155 zoos
#13
Mammals
Giraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis (Linnaeus, 1758) in 105 zoos
#14
Mammals
Californian Sea Lion
Zalophus californianus (Lesson, 1828) in 108 zoos
#15
Birds
Humboldt Penguin
Spheniscus humboldti Meyen, 1834 in 128 zoos
#16
Birds
Common Ostrich
Struthio camelus Linnaeus, 1758 in 147 zoos
#17
Birds
African Penguin
Spheniscus demersus (Linnaeus, 1758) in 90 zoos
#18
Mammals
Chimpanzee
Pan troglodytes (Blumenbach, 1775) in 100 zoos
#19
Mammals
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Cynomys ludovicianus (Ord, 1815) in 113 zoos
#20
Mammals
Red River Hog
Potamochoerus porcus (Linnaeus, 1758) in 84 zoos
#21
Birds
Scarlet Ibis
Eudocimus ruber (Linnaeus, 1758) in 153 zoos
#22
Mammals
Giant Anteater
Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus, 1758 in 103 zoos
#23
Mammals
Grevy's Zebra
Equus grevyi Oustalet, 1882 in 71 zoos
#24
Mammals
Alpaca
Vicugna pacos (Linnaeus, 1758) in 177 zoos
#25
Mammals
Feral Goat
Capra hircus Linnaeus, 1758 in 253 zoos
#26
Mammals
Red-necked Wallaby
Notamacropus rufogriseus (Desmarest, 1817) in 191 zoos
#27
Mammals
Red Ruffed Lemur
Varecia rubra (É.Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812) in 112 zoos
#28
Mammals
Grant's Zebra
Equus quagga boehmi Matschie, 1892 in 92 zoos
#29
Birds
Chilean Flamingo
Phoenicopterus chilensis Molina, 1782 in 131 zoos
#30
Birds
Greater Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseus Pallas, 1811 in 133 zoos
#31
Birds
Snowy Owl
Bubo scandiacus (Linnaeus, 1758) in 179 zoos
#32
Mammals
Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774 in 64 zoos
#33
Mammals
Lowland Tapir
Tapirus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) in 101 zoos
#34
Reptiles
African Spurred Tortoise
Centrochelys sulcata (Miller, 1779) in 165 zoos
#35
Mammals
White-faced Saki
Pithecia pithecia (Linnaeus, 1766) in 109 zoos
#36
Birds
Great White Pelican
Pelecanus onocrotalus Linnaeus, 1758 in 105 zoos
#37
Mammals
Vicuna
Vicugna vicugna (Molina, 1782) in 64 zoos
#38
Mammals
Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus (Schreber, 1775) in 67 zoos
#39
Mammals
Okapi
Okapia johnstoni (P.L.Sclater, 1901) in 51 zoos
#40
Mammals
Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus amphibius Linnaeus, 1758 in 82 zoos
#41
Mammals
Patagonian Mara
Dolichotis patagonum (Zimmermann, 1780) in 154 zoos
#42
Mammals
Binturong
Arctictis binturong (Raffles, 1821) in 88 zoos
#43
Mammals
Lar Gibbon
Hylobates lar (Linnaeus, 1771) in 102 zoos
#44
Mammals
Spotted Hyaena
Crocuta crocuta (Erxleben, 1777) in 66 zoos
#45
Birds
Common Emu
Dromaius novaehollandiae (Latham, 1790) in 208 zoos
#46
Mammals
Common Dwarf Mongoose
Helogale parvula (Sundevall, 1847) in 76 zoos
#47
Mammals
Donkey
Equus asinus Linnaeus, 1758 in 183 zoos
#48
Mammals
African Wild Dog
Lycaon pictus (Temminck, 1820) in 67 zoos
#49
Mammals
Oriental Small-clawed Otter
Amblonyx cinereus cinereus in 96 zoos
#50
Mammals
Northern Raccoon
Procyon lotor (Linnaeus, 1758) in 148 zoos
#51
Mammals
African Savanna Elephant
Loxodonta africana (Blumenbach, 1797) in 71 zoos
#52
Mammals
Cottontop Tamarin
Saguinus oedipus (Linnaeus, 1758) in 137 zoos
#53
Mammals
Pygmy Hippopotamus
Hexaprotodon liberiensis (Morton, 1849) in 52 zoos
#54
Mammals
Sumatran tiger
Panthera tigris sumatrae Pocock, 1929 in 67 zoos
#55
Mammals
Greater One-horned Rhino
Rhinoceros unicornis Linnaeus, 1758 in 56 zoos
#56
Mammals
Snow leopard
Uncia uncia (Schreber, 1775) in 99 zoos
#57
Birds
Grey Crowned Crane
Balearica regulorum (E.T.Bennett, 1834) in 83 zoos
#58
Birds
Hamerkop
Scopus umbretta Gmelin, 1789 in 85 zoos
#59
Mammals
Nubian Giraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis in 49 zoos
#60
Mammals
Kirk's Dik-dik
Madoqua kirkii (Günther, 1880) in 69 zoos
#61
Birds
Crested Partridge
Rollulus rouloul (Scopoli, 1786) in 99 zoos
#62
Mammals
American Bison
Bison bison (Linnaeus, 1758) in 90 zoos
#63
Mammals
Asiatic lion
Panthera leo persica (Meyer, 1826) in 40 zoos
#64
Mammals
Golden Lion Tamarin
Leontopithecus rosalia (Linnaeus, 1766) in 82 zoos
#65
Mammals
Feral Sheep
Ovis aries Linnaeus, 1758 in 203 zoos
#66
Reptiles
Aldabra Giant Tortoise
Aldabrachelys gigantea (Schweigger, 1812) in 70 zoos
#67
Mammals
Reindeer
Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus, 1758) in 82 zoos
#68
Reptiles
Red-footed Tortoise
Chelonoidis carbonarius (Spix, 1824) in 133 zoos
#69
Mammals
Barbary Macaque
Macaca sylvanus (Linnaeus, 1758) in 64 zoos
#70
Mammals
Swamp Wallaby
Wallabia bicolor (Desmarest, 1804) in 28 zoos
#71
Mammals
Common Warthog
Phacochoerus africanus (Gmelin, 1788) in 39 zoos
#72
Mammals
Bongo
Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci (Thomas, 1902) in 57 zoos
#73
Mammals
Azara s Agouti
Dasyprocta azarae Lichtenstein, 1823 in 70 zoos
#74
Reptiles
Komodo Dragon
Varanus komodoensis Ouwens, 1912 in 60 zoos
#75
Mammals
Domestic Pig
Sus scrofa domesticus Linnaeus, 1758 in 144 zoos
#76
Mammals
Black Lemur
Eulemur macaco (Linnaeus, 1766) in 49 zoos
#77
Mammals
Mandrill
Mandrillus sphinx (Linnaeus, 1758) in 51 zoos
#78
Mammals
Jaguar
Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) in 78 zoos
#79
Mammals
Aardvark
Orycteropus afer (Pallas, 1766) in 35 zoos
#80
Mammals
Asiatic Camel
Camelus bactrianus bactrianus in 30 zoos
#81
Mammals
European Rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaeus, 1758) in 159 zoos
#82
Birds
Blue-and-yellow Macaw
Ara ararauna (Linnaeus, 1758) in 166 zoos
#83
Birds
Nicobar Pigeon
Caloenas nicobarica (Linnaeus, 1758) in 82 zoos
#84
Birds
Red-crowned Crane
Grus japonensis (Statius Muller, 1776) in 99 zoos
#85
Birds
Edwards's Pheasant
Lophura edwardsi (Oustalet, 1896) in 81 zoos
#86
Birds
Southern Cassowary
Casuarius casuarius (Linnaeus, 1758) in 70 zoos
#87
Mammals
Chinese Muntjac
Muntiacus reevesi (Ogilby, 1839) in 95 zoos
#88
Mammals
Coppery Titi Monkey
Plecturocebus cupreus (Spix, 1823) in 37 zoos
#89
Birds
Cinereous Vulture
Aegypius monachus (Linnaeus, 1766) in 45 zoos
#90
Birds
Bali Myna
Leucopsar rothschildi Stresemann, 1912 in 98 zoos
#91
Mammals
Indian Crested Porcupine
Hystrix indica Kerr, 1792 in 106 zoos
#92
Mammals
Serval
Leptailurus serval (Schreber, 1776) in 100 zoos
#93
Mammals
Addax
Addax nasomaculatus (Blainville, 1816) in 54 zoos
#94
Mammals
Malay Tapir
Acrocodia indica (Desmarest, 1819) in 43 zoos
#95
Mammals
Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus jubatus in 69 zoos
#96
Birds
Indian Peafowl
Pavo cristatus Linnaeus, 1758 in 172 zoos
#97
Birds
Greater Rhea
Rhea americana (Linnaeus, 1758) in 165 zoos
#98
Mammals
Banded Mongoose
Mungos mungo (Gmelin, 1788) in 56 zoos
#99
Mammals
Dog
Canis lupus lupus in 63 zoos
#100
Birds
White Stork
Ciconia ciconia (Linnaeus, 1758) in 89 zoosTop animals by group
Most popular Mammals
The highest-ranked of the Mammals is the Meerkat at #1, seen in 319 zoos. 74 of the top 100 belong to this group. View all 760 Mammals
Most popular Birds
The highest-ranked of the Birds is the Humboldt Penguin at #15, seen in 128 zoos. 22 of the top 100 belong to this group. View all 1248 Birds
Most popular Reptiles
The highest-ranked of the Reptiles is the African Spurred Tortoise at #34, seen in 165 zoos. 4 of the top 100 belong to this group. View all 503 Reptiles
Most popular Amphibians
No Amphibians made the top 100 this time. View all 119 Amphibians
Most popular Fish
No Fish made the top 100 this time. View all 585 Fish
Most popular Invertebrates
No Invertebrates made the top 100 this time. View all 341 Invertebrates
Frequently asked questions
What are the 100 most popular animals?
The list above shows the 100 most popular animals, ranked by how many people have spotted them at zoos. #1 is the Meerkat.
What is the most popular zoo animal?
Right now the most popular zoo animal on ZooTrack is the Meerkat, spotted across 319 zoos.
How is this ranking calculated?
The ranking counts unique ZooTrack users who logged a real sighting of each species at a zoo. It is recalculated and published daily. No editorial picks, just community data.
Where can I see the most popular animals?
Every animal page shows the zoos where the species can be seen. Tap any animal above, or use the free ZooTrack app to find animals near you.