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Agreed.Even when in the article they say they will breed them.How can they breed when first of all they don't have a female and second of all the males are castrated.

BennettL
 
Evo said:
Why would two male Grevy's be castrated? It makes no sense to me, as Grevy's are endangered.
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This is a really naive statement. It shows a complete lack of understanding of how a successful breeding programme works and how genetically unimportant males can be realistically maintained without resorting to euthanasia

BennettL said:
Agreed.Even when in the article they say they will breed them.How can they breed when first of all they don't have a female and second of all the males are castrated.

BennettL
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Nowhere in the article does it state the owners want to breed zebras (though I'm sure they would). It does say they are part of a breeding programme i.e the result of an ongoing breeding programme.
 
BennettL said:
Agreed.Even when in the article they say they will breed them.How can they breed when first of all they don't have a female and second of all the males are castrated.

BennettL
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Zoos frequently refer to animals held in male groups as 'part of a breeding programme'- in other words the zoo concerned is involved in the overall programme, even if its own role only involves holding surplus non-breeding animals.

An alternative scenario is that they hold non-breeding animals first, followed later by females and a breeding male. As for the castration of Grevy Zebra stallions, this will almost certainly have been recommended/okayed by the S/B keeper if they come from genetically well-represented lines and so will never be required for breeding.
 
Paradoxurus said:
This is a really naive statement. It shows a complete lack of understanding of how a successful breeding programme works and how genetically unimportant males can be realistically maintained without resorting to euthanasia
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Sorry about sounding naive. It's just that this is the first time I've actually been able to talk about Zoos and animals and breeding etc (my passion) without being looked at as strange. Now though I get your point about they need to maintain them.

However in order to prevent misunderstandings (which are my fault) in future, I'd like to know where I can find some more information about these topics (books, videos, websites) any help will be appreciated.
 
Evo said:
Sorry about sounding naive. It's just that this is the first time I've actually been able to talk about Zoos and animals and breeding etc (my passion) without being looked at as strange. Now though I get your point about they need to maintain them.

However in order to prevent misunderstandings (which are my fault) in future, I'd like to know where I can find some more information about these topics (books, videos, websites) any help will be appreciated.
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Pertinax summed up the situation well above. The truth is that zebras breed freely in zoos. In the wild there would not be multiple mature stallions in a herd (the social structure of the Grevy's zebra in particular is less cohesive) but the sex ratio of those born is 50:50 (to all intents and purposes). So there will always be a large number of males that cannot be slotted into a herd. The alternatives? culling young males (becoming a less frequently used management tool), housing them all individually (uneconomical and impractical), forming bachelor groups of entire stallions (lots of fighting leading to welfare issues) or castration (which might render individuals compatible in a social situation).

Males, castrated or not, which are no longer needed by the breeding programme but are maintained purely on ethical grounds (as an alternative to euthanasia) or for purely exhibition purposes are often used by an EEP to test or prove the ability of a new holder to maintain the taxon successfully. Once a holder has demonstrated an aptitude with the species, it may then be permitted to receive females and individuals that are more valuable / less expendable from the point of view of the wider population.

There are many sources of information about how small populations are managed successfully. The EAZA website and its publication Zooquaria are good places to start and there are several academic books which you can trace through Google books.
 
Evo said:
However in order to prevent misunderstandings (which are my fault) in future, I'd like to know where I can find some more information about these topics (books, videos, websites) any help will be appreciated.
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Apologies not necessary I don't think. Generally speaking you just pick it up as you go along. The more time you spend in and around Zoos, the more you will notice this sort of thing and the reasons. EAZA publications as Paradoxurus said are a good source of information too.
 
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