North American Bush Dog Population

Valentinoamor

Valentinoamor

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
Here is the recent (2/3/22) Bush Dog population.

The North American Bush Dog Population​

This document keeps a record of all births, deaths, locations, and transfers of all Bush Dogs in North America. This document will be constantly updated to make sure that the information provided is as accurate as possible. Feel free to leave any new information in the comments of this thread.

The facilities are organized by country, then in alphabetical order by the name of the facility. The individuals were organized by age.


Total Facilities with Bush Dogs: 4

Total Amount of Individuals: 11 (8.3.0)


United States

Little Rock Zoo - Little Rock Arkansas - 1.1.0
1.0, Godon - 2013 - Born at Little Rock
0.1, Selva - 2013 - From France

San Antonio Zoo - San Antonio, Texas - 3.0.0
1.0, Chewy
1.0, Vadar
1.0, Obi

Sequoia Park Zoo - Eureka, California - 2.0.0
1.0, Perrito - ~2013
1.0, Nowak

Stone Zoo - Stoneham, Massachusetts - 2.2.0
1.0, Mato - ~2013
0.1, Valentia - from Prague Zoo
1.0, Milo - November 25, 2018 - Mato x Valentia
0.1, Izzy - November 25, 2018 - Mato x Valentia

-

This was an extremely sad list to make. Bush dogs are one of my favorite species, so seeing how small the North American population was upsetting. It doesn't appear that the AZA is actively phasing out this species, but they are not trying to boost the population either. They just keep saying how they could import from Europe.
 
EsserWarrior said:
It doesn't appear that the AZA is actively phasing out this species, but they are not trying to boost the population either. They just keep saying how they could import from Europe.
Click to expand...

Bush dogs are a short-lived species who can produce a large but variable number of pups (similar to some other canid species like African painted dogs). Most likely any import that actually has a chance of making the population viable would have to involve bringing many zoos on-board to guarantee adequate space, as well as the import of several breeding pairs. It's not outside the realm of possibility, but large phase-in or "restart" projects like that are uncommon and require a strong commitment to the species.

If the population does go locally extinct it'll be quite the shame. At least on the surface they are perfect zoo animals: active and social, unusual but still "cute" to most people, fit well into South American complexes, and can carry a conservation message. IMO it would/will be one of the most unfortunate losses in our collections, alongside examples like Lion-tailed Macaque.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
Bush dogs are a short-lived species who can produce a large but variable number of pups (similar to some other canid species like African painted dogs). Most likely any import that actually has a chance of making the population viable would have to involve bringing many zoos on-board to guarantee adequate space, as well as the import of several breeding pairs. It's not outside the realm of possibility, but large phase-in or "restart" projects like that are uncommon and require a strong commitment to the species.

If the population does go locally extinct it'll be quite the shame. At least on the surface they are perfect zoo animals: active and social, unusual but still "cute" to most people, fit well into South American complexes, and can carry a conservation message. IMO it would/will be one of the most unfortunate losses in our collections, alongside examples like Lion-tailed Macaque.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. There are lots of canid species that don't do well in the AZA. Maned Wolves, African Wild Dogs, and Dholes within the AZA basically just serve as a "we have them for exhibits" rather than "we're trying to establish a large, diverse genepool." The AZA has basically sat back and let the EAZA focus on having large populations of those species, as they have more room.

The most definitely would have to import an entire founding population to reform a healthy population of this species within the United States. I don't believe that there are many of them in captivity in South America, so I don't think they could import them from there, sadly.
 
I knew Bush dogs were rare in North America but just 3 pairs and 4 zoos.... In Europe the situation is so different and so much brighter. ZTL list 45 European collections working with them and lets hope a number of North American zoos will put some effort in bringing in some new animals and start a well-orginized breeding programm for them !
 
vogelcommando said:
I knew Bush dogs were rare in North America but just 3 pairs and 4 zoos.... In Europe the situation is so different and so much brighter. ZTL list 45 European collections working with them and lets hope a number of North American zoos will put some effort in bringing in some new animals and start a well-orginized breeding programm for them !
Click to expand...

Three individuals born in 2013 isn't a good sign either. They don't live very long. The two females from Europe are too old to safely have pups as well, assuming Valentia is older as well.
 
Coelacanth18 said:
They are planning to have them; I believe the construction on the new exhibits where they would be only started recently. It will be interesting to see where they acquire them from, if those plans don't change.
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I bet it'll be Milo and Izzy.
 
Why haven't either of the Stone Zoo pups from 2018 been paired up with another bush dog for breeding?
 
nczoofan said:
Quite sad but it seems these will be the last bush dogs at the zoo :oops: I never saw the species growing up, but exposure to them at this zoo has really made them a personal fave.
Click to expand...

I don't think that the AZA will worry about importing new individuals any time soon. Mexican Gray Wolves and Red Wolves seem to be their biggest priority. It makes sense, as the AZA is the only place in the entire world that exhibits these species, but it is still a bummer for visitors.
 
Neil chace said:
Why haven't either of the Stone Zoo pups from 2018 been paired up with another bush dog for breeding?
Click to expand...

They're related to Perrito from Sequoia, and I think Little Rock's individuals may be too old to breed. I don't know where Nowak is from, so he could be paired with Izzy? She could be paired with a male from San Antonio too, but they're all elderly, so they'd have to do it quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if Stone Zoo tried to breed their pair one more time.
 
EsserWarrior said:
I don't think that the AZA will worry about importing new individuals any time soon. Mexican Gray Wolves and Red Wolves seem to be their biggest priority. It makes sense, as the AZA is the only place in the entire world that exhibits these species, but it is still a bummer for visitors.
Click to expand...

In this context the exhibits too small for another canid. I imagine we'll be seeing musical chairs with the exhibits once gorilla construction starts, so bush dogs may not be on exhibit long.
 
Here is the most recent (4/20/2022) Bush Dog population.

The North American Bush Dog Population​

This document keeps a record of all births, deaths, locations, and transfers of all Bush Dogs in North America. This document will be constantly updated to make sure that the information provided is as accurate as possible. Feel free to leave any new information in the comments of this thread.

The facilities are organized by country, then in alphabetical order by the name of the facility. The individuals were organized by age.

Total Facilities with Bush Dogs: 4

Total Amount of Individuals: 10 (7.3.0)


1.0, Milo - November 25, 2018 - Mato x Valentia


United States

Little Rock Zoo - Little Rock Arkansas - 1.1.0
0.1, Selva - 2013 - From France
1.0, Obi

San Antonio Zoo - San Antonio, Texas - 2.0.0
1.0, Chewy
1.0, Vadar

Sequoia Park Zoo - Eureka, California - 2.0.0
1.0, Perrito - ~2013
1.0, Nowak

Stone Zoo - Stoneham, Massachusetts - 1.2.0
1.0, Mato - ~2013
0.1, Valentia
0.1, Izzy - November 25, 2018 - Mato x Valentia


Changes:
  • Milo from Stone Zoo does not appear to be there anymore. A recent video said they only had Mato, Valentia, and Izzy. Where Milo is now is unknown.
  • Obi from San Antonio has been moved to Little Rock, presumably replacing their old male, Godon. This means there is one less male in the population.
There do not appear to be any steps being taken toward introducing new individuals to the United States, so I don't think it will be long before they are gone entirely.
 
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