The gerenuk in europe are all gone. Main problem was to keep them alive....
Only a few zoos has kept them in europe, after the second world war, so Manchester,Antwerpen,Rome,Neapel,Berlin,Frankfurt,Hannover and Dvur Kralove. Manchester got two males in 1954 and 1955.Both died til 1957 and the zoo never got gerenuks again.
Antwerp has kept them between 1957 and 1965, and I think, they had several birth, but unfortunately,I have no details to that animals. All gerenuks died at Antwerp.
Rome and Neapel kept gerenuks in the mid fifties til the mid sixties, both had several birth, but both groups has died in the mid sixties.
Berlin got 1.2 gerenuks in 1965.The first female died in 1966,the male in 1967 and the last female in 1969.No breeding.
Hannover imported 1.2 in 1955 for Frankfurt, one of the females was imported pregant and gave birth to a young in 1956.The same year, the whole group was send to Frankfurt. Frankfurt has bred them several times, after the lost of the breeding male, they bred with a son, they bred him with his sisters, the moster and later his daughters, so the mortality of the young was extremly high, no gerenuk has left the zoo ever...After the death of the last breeding male, the zoo tried it serveral years to import a new male from africa. They got one in 1973, but it was to late. The last females were to old to breed and died, the male male left and has lived a few years alone, until he died in 1979.
The USA has imported 5.8 in 1977 and 2.12 in 1978. Most of them died without breeding, the current population was funded by 7.13 animals. The longlivety of gerenuks is very short, up to 5 years. The mortality of youngsters is high also, and a few zoos in the states are handraising all of the youngsters. At the End of 2001, 39.47 gerenuks were kept in 20 institutions.
In January 2009, 32.57 gerenuks are kept in 17 instutions, only three more animals than 7 years ago.....I would say, its not a Success Story....
