Well that's a huge relief.
White-lippeds are a dead end within the AZA. Syracuse is the only holder now that the SDZSP has gone out of the species. The non-AZA Hemker Park received much of San Diego’s herd, so it’s up to them and Syracuse if they want to continue.
The steenbok population has dwindled. They’re extremely flighty — more so than even other similarly sized or smaller antelope. The remaining holders seem pretty dedicated to them (Abilene even having started a BTS tour for the species), so they might continue on as a consortium species.
As @Great Argus stated, gemsbok are sitting at okay numbers, but they are held at a very limited number of facilities, if we are talking solely AZA. They were one of the first species to be downgraded from SSP status when SSP program was overhauled and are managed as a consortium.
With Safari West losing AZA accreditation, within the AZA the population took a hit — that said, many facilities were not working with Safari West prior to this event anyways due to their management practices. The current holders seem pretty dedicated to the species, but I unfortunately doubt we see any new holders come along. It’s likely going to be another consortium species.
Roan are a pretty similar story to Capes. They are at least breeding more frequently.
As @Great Argus said, the holders have been trying. Unfortunately, the black duiker population is, indeed, aging faster than it is reproducing. The breeding success is much higher for the bays.
Isn't this pretty much true of all the large Asian deer in the AZA? Other than pere david's deer, is there a single large Asian deer that isn't on its last legs in the AZA? A shame really, as while I'm aware of some of the challenges with deer due to CWD restrictions, the White-lipped Deer are some of my favorites at Rosamond Gifford, they're a really incredible species to see and I truly wish the species had a more promising future in US zoos, as well as some of the other deer programs.
Sika Deer is doing fine. Not sure of the status of captive Chital but they're doing fine in the wild at least (they're invasive in Texas). Same with Sambar.
@Neil chace asked specifically about within the AZA, as that is how the question was initially phrased by @wild boar. None of those species are well represented in AZA collections.
Then what's the title for?
Sometimes people make a thread and then change the focus as it develops. I guess it could be requested for a moderator to change the title.
Yes, but if people want to talk about rarities within the AZA, there isn't anything wrong with that. When it comes to animal management and collection planning, AZA and non-AZA zoos are two completely different ball games, so it's completely reasonable to discuss the two separately in a discussion on what species are rare or common in US Zoos. Plus, there are a number of members on here who either exclusively or predominately visit AZA Zoos, so its reasonable that many would want to discuss what's common or rare in the AZA, regardless of what some obscure unaccredited places happen to keep.
All completely valid points, thanks for bringing them up.