Nice to see another North American zoo trying to bring in Bush dogs! This is a super cool little species that's way too underrepresented in US Zoos.
The same way Detroit will most likely source them for their upcoming exhibit; imports for Europe. There are over 40 holders in Europe compared to just four in the US, so I have no doubt there are plenty to go around.
I'd like to agree. I am always very cynical when it comes to small mammals in particular (love them though) and it's still shocking to me this little zoo is going to be bringing back Bush Dogs, in central Illinois of all places, when major collections seem certain they aren't worth the trouble. it really made me take a second look at Miller Park because I can't wait to visit these guys!
I was about to question this, as I thought the population list was higher... but I'm thinking of the 2020 listing, which included St. Louis, and had no clue a new thread and count had been done for 2020.
As mentioned above, imports can easily happen from Europe. A lot of species are moving in this direction towards "GSMPs", global species management plans. With Bush dogs being readily available in Europe, there is a reliable way for American zoos that are interested to bring in this species. Then, once in the US, if any captive breeding occurs that'd help increase the population, but at least there's a route for import from Europe as long as there are zoos interested in Bush dogs.
I've never seen discussion of any other animal in the United States being directly supported by the European population. Sustainable populations are usually discussed in terms of region, not globally. I'm sure it happens, to clarify, but this is unfamiliar territory for me. While the optimist in me thinks this could be an exciting development, the cynic in me cannot imagine making such a serious investment in it as constructing an exhibit for a species that will die out without imports.
It's a fairly new development to focus on populations globally, and this is not the only one. It's also not normally one population supporting the other as much as it is working collaboratively to have the best genetic diversity, larger population size, etc. Some other species I know of that are managed globally include: blue-crowned laughing thrush, the three "Project Indonesia" species (Babirusa, Anoa, Banteng), and a few others that are moving in that direction as well, such as tree kangaroos and bonobos. @Kudu21 could probably give a better explanation than I, as they're normally on top of the AZA Animal Programs news/happenings.
Those are all good examples. You could also consider the case of species such as dhole and gelada, where the US population is basically an annex of EAZA, more so than part of the AZA TAG
