Snowleopard's Mammals: A Lifetime List of Species Mammalian and Non-Mammalian

[Giant Eland]

Very good questions!

Suni - I've probably never seen one. It's possible that I saw a Suni during my first ever visit to San Diego Zoo in 2006, but I honestly don't recall and so I left the species off my list. The most recent ZooChat photo of a Suni in San Diego is from 2003 and therefore I'm doubtful that I've ever seen one during my early visits to that zoo.

Royal Antelope - I discussed this in a much earlier post and it's been on the list all along (at 2 zoos).

Topi - I have 100% seen Topi before and there's even one of my photos in the gallery of two of them at San Antonio Zoo in 2010. Haha! I didn't realize that Tsessebe, the name in All the Mammals of the World (2023) is the same animal as a Topi. I'll talk about that species tomorrow. The name changes have been a challenge all year long, especially with some of the primates earlier in the thread.

Uganda Kob - I have also seen Kob, at San Diego Zoo Safari Park in 2006. This species I simply straight-up forgot and I will talk about it tomorrow.

I will be very close to 90 species in total for Bovidae when all is finished this weekend. Topi, Kob, Klipspringer and a bunch of little duikers to go! Then it's PERISSODACTYLA time.

Ooo good stuff, happy to help remind you of species!

And sorry I don't know how I missed Royal Antelope- probably typed in Royle when using the search function. Looking forward to your completion and then I will add my Bovidae list!!

 

[Enzo]

Very good questions!

Suni - I've probably never seen one. It's possible that I saw a Suni during my first ever visit to San Diego Zoo in 2006, but I honestly don't recall and so I left the species off my list. The most recent ZooChat photo of a Suni in San Diego is from 2003 and therefore I'm doubtful that I've ever seen one during my early visits to that zoo.

Royal Antelope - I discussed this in a much earlier post and it's been on the list all along (at 2 zoos).

Topi - I have 100% seen Topi before and there's even one of my photos in the gallery of two of them at San Antonio Zoo in 2010. Haha! I didn't realize that Tsessebe, the name in All the Mammals of the World (2023) is the same animal as a Topi. I'll talk about that species tomorrow. The name changes have been a challenge all year long, especially with some of the primates earlier in the thread.

Uganda Kob - I have also seen Kob, at San Diego Zoo Safari Park in 2006. This species I simply straight-up forgot and I will talk about it tomorrow.

I will be very close to 90 species in total for Bovidae when all is finished this weekend. Topi, Kob, Klipspringer and a bunch of little duikers to go! Then it's PERISSODACTYLA time.

ZooTierListe lists Zulu suni leaving SDZ in 2007.

 

[snowleopard]

We keep motoring along and today I have THREE more species to analyze, which takes me to 80 species (and counting!) for Bovidae. After this post, I'm now sure it's down to duikers.

I know that Klipspringers are true rarities for European zoo nerds and that is shown in my list of 13 zoos as every single facility is found in the United States. I've never seen Klipspringers anywhere else, and in truth I've seen very few at all in the past dozen years. Repeat visits aside, such as to San Diego, Omaha and Dallas, I've only seen ONE zoo with Klipspringers in recent times and it's fascinating at just how rare this species is outside of a few American zoos. The other bizarre thing about Klipspringers is that there was always one species for decades, then Groves & Grubb came out with the revelation that there were Klipspringers splitting left and right into all different species, and now things have settled down again to the single species.

Topi, also called Tsessebe, are one of those animals that I've been incredibly fortunate to see in captivity. Other than perhaps a couple of zoos in Africa, there's zero anywhere else in the world. Even Zootierliste only has 7 former zoos with Topi, so for me to have toured San Antonio Zoo (USA) in 2010 and spent a few minutes watching Topi is a lucky occurrence as I'm not sure that the species lasted many more years in that zoo.

Kob, also called Uganda Kob, are arguably just as rare as Topi. Other than a couple of zoos in Africa, and San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA), does any other captive environment have Kob? It really hits home how rare some of these ungulates have been and it's important to appreciate them when they are seen. I definitely don't take anything for granted these days, as a zoo can have a large herd of a particular species and then a few years down the road that herd has dwindled to hardly anything.

I've seen Klipspringer at 13 zoos:

1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2006
2- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
3- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
4- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
5- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
6- Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
7- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
8- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
9- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
10- Denver Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
11- Brevard Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
12- Jackson Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
13- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Klipspringer – 2023

AND...

I've seen Topi at 1 zoo:

1- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Topi – 2010

AND...

I've seen Kob at 1 zoo:

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Kob – 2006

The very first time I ever came across Klipspringer was at San Diego Zoo (USA) and they are kept in the East African Kopje complex along with two other small species: Rock Hyrax and Dwarf Mongoose. This exhibit opened in 1986 and now has been included as part of the Africa Rocks area. Here's a stunning photo:

@Julio C Castro

Within the African Journey complex at Lincoln Park Zoo (USA), there used to be a Klipspringer exhibit with the small antelopes in with Black-masked Lovebirds. I'm not sure if this combination exists these days.

At another Illinois zoo, this time Brookfield Zoo (USA), there's also been an indoor Klipspringer exhibit. Habitat Africa! - The Savanna is the name and the Kopje building is where a number of birds and Klipspringers have been located for many years.

@geomorph

Here's a Klipspringer inside the legendary Desert Dome at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA). Yet another all-indoor affair, the tiny antelope have a mock-rock environment.

@pachyderm pro

The good news is that Omaha built a massive African Grasslands complex that is larger than most zoos, and it included a new, outdoor Klipspringer habitat. Meerkats and Leopard Tortoises are in with the antelope and it's a delightful setup, like everything Omaha has built in the last 20 years.

You can just barely see a Klipspringer resting on a ledge beneath a tree in this image from Memphis Zoo (USA). Klipspringers have been moved around in Memphis over the years, from the Round Barn zone to Cat Country, although I'm not sure if the species is still there these days.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) opened its famous Monkey Mountain in 1936 and back then it was crawling with 150 Rhesus Macaques. That would have been quite a sight! I saw Klipspringers, Colobus Monkeys and Rock Hyrax all together on this island when I toured the zoo in 2010, but since then the exhibit has been bulldozed and the zoo opened an expanded Black Rhino exhibit called Rhino Reserve on the same footprint.

Yet again, Klipspringers were combined with Rock Hyrax and this time it's at Dallas Zoo (USA) in 2010 in a spacious outdoor exhibit.

You can just see the hindquarters of a Klipspringer at ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA), where I saw the species in a small yet naturalistic habitat back in 2010.

When I visited Brevard Zoo (USA) a dozen years ago, this exhibit held Klipspringers, Crowned Cranes, Marabou Storks and Southern Ground Hornbills. It was part of the Expedition Africa complex.

The now crumbling and barely surviving Jackson Zoo (USA) had a variety of rarities back in 2012, including Klipspringers in a sprawling African Savanna habitat.

Klipspringers, Grevy's Zebras and Marabou Storks all together at Living Desert Zoo (USA):

@GoldenTakin

As for Topi, here's a photo of mine from San Antonio Zoo (USA) of two Topi resting in the shade.

I have a further 5 photos in the ZooChat gallery of the Topi/Marabou Stork/Ostrich exhibit at the zoo, but of course the Topi are long gone now and in fact that whole area has been overhauled for different species since my visit in 2010.

It would appear that Topi are not that difficult to spot in the wild, with a lot of nature images of the species in the ZooChat gallery. Here's a herd of these spectacular creatures:

@Jogy

As for Kob, they are apparently still hanging on at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) but there's very few left. Here's the big male (castrated) and there's also 6 females according to @Kudu21

@Julio C Castro

What happened to all the Kob? I can recall seeing a large herd on several occasions over the years, and this 2021 photo shows at least a dozen Kob in one spot. Were they not prolific breeders? Does no other U.S. zoo want to take on the species? It's a crying shame that soon they will be extinct on the continent in public zoos.

@ThylacineAlive

Family Bovidae: 80 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blue Wildebeest - 47 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Scimitar-horned Oryx - 43 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Aoudad - 40 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Addax - 36 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Bontebok - 33 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Bighorn Sheep - 26 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Takin - 23 zoos
Mouflon - 22 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gemsbok - 20 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Arabian Oryx - 16 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Rocky Mountain Goat - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Markhor - 14 zoos
Roan Antelope - 14 zoos
Alpine Ibex - 13 zoos
Dall Sheep - 13 zoos
Klipspringer - 13 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Beisa Oryx - 10 zoos
Chinese Goral - 10 zoos
Himalayan Tahr - 10 zoos
Nubian Ibex - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Siberian Ibex - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
West Caucasian Tur - 5 zoos
Black Wildebeest - 4 zoos
Japanese Serow - 4 zoos
Mainland Serow - 4 zoos
Northern Chamois - 4 zoos
Urial - 4 zoos
Bharal - 3 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Sand Gazelle - 2 zoos
Argali - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Burmese Goral - 1 zoo (Chiang Mai Night Safari - Thailand)
Hartebeest - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Iberian Ibex - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Kob - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Rhebok - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Topi - 1 zoo (San Antonio Zoo - USA)

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

 

[Austin the Sengi]

Regarding the Brevard Zoo and their Klipspringers, they should still maintain the species and mixed setup, with the only major change being the inclusion of Okapi; granted, it’s been a few years since I last made a visit, and I could be mistaken.

I should also mention that Brevard is still actively breeding Klipspringers, with the latest offspring being born this September!

 

[ralph]

I saw klipspringer in 4 European zoos, but they species has gone extinct here since. The 4 zoos are Frankfurt, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Valencia.

 

[Panda_Fan]

We keep motoring along and today I have THREE more species to analyze, which takes me to 80 species (and counting!) for Bovidae. After this post, I'm now sure it's down to duikers.

I know that Klipspringers are true rarities for European zoo nerds and that is shown in my list of 13 zoos as every single facility is found in the United States. I've never seen Klipspringers anywhere else, and in truth I've seen very few at all in the past dozen years. Repeat visits aside, such as to San Diego, Omaha and Dallas, I've only seen ONE zoo with Klipspringers in recent times and it's fascinating at just how rare this species is outside of a few American zoos. The other bizarre thing about Klipspringers is that there was always one species for decades, then Groves & Grubb came out with the revelation that there were Klipspringers splitting left and right into all different species, and now things have settled down again to the single species.

Topi, also called Tsessebe, are one of those animals that I've been incredibly fortunate to see in captivity. Other than perhaps a couple of zoos in Africa, there's zero anywhere else in the world. Even Zootierliste only has 7 former zoos with Topi, so for me to have toured San Antonio Zoo (USA) in 2010 and spent a few minutes watching Topi is a lucky occurrence as I'm not sure that the species lasted many more years in that zoo.

Kob, also called Uganda Kob, are arguably just as rare as Topi. Other than a couple of zoos in Africa, and San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA), does any other captive environment have Kob? It really hits home how rare some of these ungulates have been and it's important to appreciate them when they are seen. I definitely don't take anything for granted these days, as a zoo can have a large herd of a particular species and then a few years down the road that herd has dwindled to hardly anything.

I've seen Klipspringer at 13 zoos:

1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2006
2- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
3- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
4- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
5- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
6- Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
7- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
8- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
9- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
10- Denver Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
11- Brevard Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
12- Jackson Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
13- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Klipspringer – 2023

AND...

I've seen Topi at 1 zoo:

1- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Topi – 2010

AND...

I've seen Kob at 1 zoo:

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Kob – 2006

The very first time I ever came across Klipspringer was at San Diego Zoo (USA) and they are kept in the East African Kopje complex along with two other small species: Rock Hyrax and Dwarf Mongoose. This exhibit opened in 1986 and now has been included as part of the Africa Rocks area. Here's a stunning photo:

@Julio C Castro

Within the African Journey complex at Lincoln Park Zoo (USA), there used to be a Klipspringer exhibit with the small antelopes in with Black-masked Lovebirds. I'm not sure if this combination exists these days.

At another Illinois zoo, this time Brookfield Zoo (USA), there's also been an indoor Klipspringer exhibit. Habitat Africa! - The Savanna is the name and the Kopje building is where a number of birds and Klipspringers have been located for many years.

@geomorph

Here's a Klipspringer inside the legendary Desert Dome at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA). Yet another all-indoor affair, the tiny antelope have a mock-rock environment.

@pachyderm pro

The good news is that Omaha built a massive African Grasslands complex that is larger than most zoos, and it included a new, outdoor Klipspringer habitat. Meerkats and Leopard Tortoises are in with the antelope and it's a delightful setup, like everything Omaha has built in the last 20 years.

You can just barely see a Klipspringer resting on a ledge beneath a tree in this image from Memphis Zoo (USA). Klipspringers have been moved around in Memphis over the years, from the Round Barn zone to Cat Country, although I'm not sure if the species is still there these days.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) opened its famous Monkey Mountain in 1936 and back then it was crawling with 150 Rhesus Macaques. That would have been quite a sight! I saw Klipspringers, Colobus Monkeys and Rock Hyrax all together on this island when I toured the zoo in 2010, but since then the exhibit has been bulldozed and the zoo opened an expanded Black Rhino exhibit called Rhino Reserve on the same footprint.

Yet again, Klipspringers were combined with Rock Hyrax and this time it's at Dallas Zoo (USA) in 2010 in a spacious outdoor exhibit.

You can just see the hindquarters of a Klipspringer at ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA), where I saw the species in a small yet naturalistic habitat back in 2010.

When I visited Brevard Zoo (USA) a dozen years ago, this exhibit held Klipspringers, Crowned Cranes, Marabou Storks and Southern Ground Hornbills. It was part of the Expedition Africa complex.

The now crumbling and barely surviving Jackson Zoo (USA) had a variety of rarities back in 2012, including Klipspringers in a sprawling African Savanna habitat.

Klipspringers, Grevy's Zebras and Marabou Storks all together at Living Desert Zoo (USA):

@GoldenTakin

As for Topi, here's a photo of mine from San Antonio Zoo (USA) of two Topi resting in the shade.

I have a further 5 photos in the ZooChat gallery of the Topi/Marabou Stork/Ostrich exhibit at the zoo, but of course the Topi are long gone now and in fact that whole area has been overhauled for different species since my visit in 2010.

It would appear that Topi are not that difficult to spot in the wild, with a lot of nature images of the species in the ZooChat gallery. Here's a herd of these spectacular creatures:

@Jogy

As for Kob, they are apparently still hanging on at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) but there's very few left. Here's the big male (castrated) and there's also 6 females according to @Kudu21

@Julio C Castro

What happened to all the Kob? I can recall seeing a large herd on several occasions over the years, and this 2021 photo shows at least a dozen Kob in one spot. Were they not prolific breeders? Does no other U.S. zoo want to take on the species? It's a crying shame that soon they will be extinct on the continent in public zoos.

@ThylacineAlive

Family Bovidae: 80 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blue Wildebeest - 47 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Scimitar-horned Oryx - 43 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Aoudad - 40 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Addax - 36 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Bontebok - 33 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Bighorn Sheep - 26 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Takin - 23 zoos
Mouflon - 22 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gemsbok - 20 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Arabian Oryx - 16 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Rocky Mountain Goat - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Markhor - 14 zoos
Roan Antelope - 14 zoos
Alpine Ibex - 13 zoos
Dall Sheep - 13 zoos
Klipspringer - 13 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Beisa Oryx - 10 zoos
Chinese Goral - 10 zoos
Himalayan Tahr - 10 zoos
Nubian Ibex - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Siberian Ibex - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
West Caucasian Tur - 5 zoos
Black Wildebeest - 4 zoos
Japanese Serow - 4 zoos
Mainland Serow - 4 zoos
Northern Chamois - 4 zoos
Urial - 4 zoos
Bharal - 3 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Sand Gazelle - 2 zoos
Argali - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Burmese Goral - 1 zoo (Chiang Mai Night Safari - Thailand)
Hartebeest - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Iberian Ibex - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Kob - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Rhebok - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Topi - 1 zoo (San Antonio Zoo - USA)

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

It's realy sad to see that klipspringers have a well-based population here in the U.S, but the rest of the world doesn't have any. I've seen this species a couple of times (almost every facility you have seen the species I've seen it too), and was lucky enought to see the last klipsringer in europe, Calypso, a couple of times. They're realy interesting animals, an I hope that european facilities could try to take interest in this antelope.

 

[pachyderm pro]

Having grown up with klipspringers at both of my local zoos, the idea of them being some rare and obscure species anywhere outside of the U.S. is bizarre. It's not like they're going anywhere either, Nashville will be adding them next year and there are plans to mix klipspringers with geladas at the new Sacramento Zoo. Is there a reason they declined so dramatically in European collections?

 

[Kudu21]

We keep motoring along and today I have THREE more species to analyze, which takes me to 80 species (and counting!) for Bovidae. After this post, I'm now sure it's down to duikers.

I know that Klipspringers are true rarities for European zoo nerds and that is shown in my list of 13 zoos as every single facility is found in the United States. I've never seen Klipspringers anywhere else, and in truth I've seen very few at all in the past dozen years. Repeat visits aside, such as to San Diego, Omaha and Dallas, I've only seen ONE zoo with Klipspringers in recent times and it's fascinating at just how rare this species is outside of a few American zoos. The other bizarre thing about Klipspringers is that there was always one species for decades, then Groves & Grubb came out with the revelation that there were Klipspringers splitting left and right into all different species, and now things have settled down again to the single species.

Topi, also called Tsessebe, are one of those animals that I've been incredibly fortunate to see in captivity. Other than perhaps a couple of zoos in Africa, there's zero anywhere else in the world. Even Zootierliste only has 7 former zoos with Topi, so for me to have toured San Antonio Zoo (USA) in 2010 and spent a few minutes watching Topi is a lucky occurrence as I'm not sure that the species lasted many more years in that zoo.

Kob, also called Uganda Kob, are arguably just as rare as Topi. Other than a couple of zoos in Africa, and San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA), does any other captive environment have Kob? It really hits home how rare some of these ungulates have been and it's important to appreciate them when they are seen. I definitely don't take anything for granted these days, as a zoo can have a large herd of a particular species and then a few years down the road that herd has dwindled to hardly anything.

I've seen Klipspringer at 13 zoos:

1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2006
2- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
3- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
4- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
5- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
6- Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
7- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
8- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
9- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
10- Denver Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
11- Brevard Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
12- Jackson Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
13- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Klipspringer – 2023

AND...

I've seen Topi at 1 zoo:

1- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Topi – 2010

AND...

I've seen Kob at 1 zoo:

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Kob – 2006

The very first time I ever came across Klipspringer was at San Diego Zoo (USA) and they are kept in the East African Kopje complex along with two other small species: Rock Hyrax and Dwarf Mongoose. This exhibit opened in 1986 and now has been included as part of the Africa Rocks area. Here's a stunning photo:

@Julio C Castro

Within the African Journey complex at Lincoln Park Zoo (USA), there used to be a Klipspringer exhibit with the small antelopes in with Black-masked Lovebirds. I'm not sure if this combination exists these days.

At another Illinois zoo, this time Brookfield Zoo (USA), there's also been an indoor Klipspringer exhibit. Habitat Africa! - The Savanna is the name and the Kopje building is where a number of birds and Klipspringers have been located for many years.

@geomorph

Here's a Klipspringer inside the legendary Desert Dome at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA). Yet another all-indoor affair, the tiny antelope have a mock-rock environment.

@pachyderm pro

The good news is that Omaha built a massive African Grasslands complex that is larger than most zoos, and it included a new, outdoor Klipspringer habitat. Meerkats and Leopard Tortoises are in with the antelope and it's a delightful setup, like everything Omaha has built in the last 20 years.

You can just barely see a Klipspringer resting on a ledge beneath a tree in this image from Memphis Zoo (USA). Klipspringers have been moved around in Memphis over the years, from the Round Barn zone to Cat Country, although I'm not sure if the species is still there these days.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) opened its famous Monkey Mountain in 1936 and back then it was crawling with 150 Rhesus Macaques. That would have been quite a sight! I saw Klipspringers, Colobus Monkeys and Rock Hyrax all together on this island when I toured the zoo in 2010, but since then the exhibit has been bulldozed and the zoo opened an expanded Black Rhino exhibit called Rhino Reserve on the same footprint.

Yet again, Klipspringers were combined with Rock Hyrax and this time it's at Dallas Zoo (USA) in 2010 in a spacious outdoor exhibit.

You can just see the hindquarters of a Klipspringer at ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA), where I saw the species in a small yet naturalistic habitat back in 2010.

When I visited Brevard Zoo (USA) a dozen years ago, this exhibit held Klipspringers, Crowned Cranes, Marabou Storks and Southern Ground Hornbills. It was part of the Expedition Africa complex.

The now crumbling and barely surviving Jackson Zoo (USA) had a variety of rarities back in 2012, including Klipspringers in a sprawling African Savanna habitat.

Klipspringers, Grevy's Zebras and Marabou Storks all together at Living Desert Zoo (USA):

@GoldenTakin

As for Topi, here's a photo of mine from San Antonio Zoo (USA) of two Topi resting in the shade.

I have a further 5 photos in the ZooChat gallery of the Topi/Marabou Stork/Ostrich exhibit at the zoo, but of course the Topi are long gone now and in fact that whole area has been overhauled for different species since my visit in 2010.

It would appear that Topi are not that difficult to spot in the wild, with a lot of nature images of the species in the ZooChat gallery. Here's a herd of these spectacular creatures:

@Jogy

As for Kob, they are apparently still hanging on at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) but there's very few left. Here's the big male (castrated) and there's also 6 females according to @Kudu21

@Julio C Castro

What happened to all the Kob? I can recall seeing a large herd on several occasions over the years, and this 2021 photo shows at least a dozen Kob in one spot. Were they not prolific breeders? Does no other U.S. zoo want to take on the species? It's a crying shame that soon they will be extinct on the continent in public zoos.

@ThylacineAlive

Family Bovidae: 80 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blue Wildebeest - 47 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Scimitar-horned Oryx - 43 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Aoudad - 40 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Addax - 36 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Bontebok - 33 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Bighorn Sheep - 26 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Takin - 23 zoos
Mouflon - 22 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gemsbok - 20 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Arabian Oryx - 16 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Rocky Mountain Goat - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Markhor - 14 zoos
Roan Antelope - 14 zoos
Alpine Ibex - 13 zoos
Dall Sheep - 13 zoos
Klipspringer - 13 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Beisa Oryx - 10 zoos
Chinese Goral - 10 zoos
Himalayan Tahr - 10 zoos
Nubian Ibex - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Siberian Ibex - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
West Caucasian Tur - 5 zoos
Black Wildebeest - 4 zoos
Japanese Serow - 4 zoos
Mainland Serow - 4 zoos
Northern Chamois - 4 zoos
Urial - 4 zoos
Bharal - 3 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Sand Gazelle - 2 zoos
Argali - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Burmese Goral - 1 zoo (Chiang Mai Night Safari - Thailand)
Hartebeest - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Iberian Ibex - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Kob - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Rhebok - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Topi - 1 zoo (San Antonio Zoo - USA)

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

The male kob in the photo you shared was an intact male that was shipped out a few years ago. The male left at the Park was castrated shortly after birth, and as a result, has very abnormal horn growth — they are very thin and curl downwards. The majority of the Park’s herd of kob was sent out to the Center for the Conservation of Tropical Ungulates (CCTU).

Having grown up with klipspringers at both of my local zoos, the idea of them being some rare and obscure species anywhere outside of the U.S. is bizarre. It's not like they're going anywhere either, Nashville will be adding them next year and there are plans to mix klipspringers with geladas at the new Sacramento Zoo. Is there a reason they declined so dramatically in European collections?

Klipspringers are not the easiest animals to breed. They are monogamous, and as such, it’s not as simple as just introducing a male to a herd and you end up with calves X months later. The pair has to be compatible. They are also territorial, so they don’t do well with unrelated animals around, and you have to make sure that their middens and scent marking areas are maintained or they will be more focused on remarking their territory than breeding.

 

[Enzo]

We keep motoring along and today I have THREE more species to analyze, which takes me to 80 species (and counting!) for Bovidae. After this post, I'm now sure it's down to duikers.

I know that Klipspringers are true rarities for European zoo nerds and that is shown in my list of 13 zoos as every single facility is found in the United States. I've never seen Klipspringers anywhere else, and in truth I've seen very few at all in the past dozen years. Repeat visits aside, such as to San Diego, Omaha and Dallas, I've only seen ONE zoo with Klipspringers in recent times and it's fascinating at just how rare this species is outside of a few American zoos. The other bizarre thing about Klipspringers is that there was always one species for decades, then Groves & Grubb came out with the revelation that there were Klipspringers splitting left and right into all different species, and now things have settled down again to the single species.

Topi, also called Tsessebe, are one of those animals that I've been incredibly fortunate to see in captivity. Other than perhaps a couple of zoos in Africa, there's zero anywhere else in the world. Even Zootierliste only has 7 former zoos with Topi, so for me to have toured San Antonio Zoo (USA) in 2010 and spent a few minutes watching Topi is a lucky occurrence as I'm not sure that the species lasted many more years in that zoo.

Kob, also called Uganda Kob, are arguably just as rare as Topi. Other than a couple of zoos in Africa, and San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA), does any other captive environment have Kob? It really hits home how rare some of these ungulates have been and it's important to appreciate them when they are seen. I definitely don't take anything for granted these days, as a zoo can have a large herd of a particular species and then a few years down the road that herd has dwindled to hardly anything.

I've seen Klipspringer at 13 zoos:

1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2006
2- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
3- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
4- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
5- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2008
6- Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
7- Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
8- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
9- ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2010
10- Denver Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
11- Brevard Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
12- Jackson Zoo (USA) – Klipspringer – 2012
13- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Klipspringer – 2023

AND...

I've seen Topi at 1 zoo:

1- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Topi – 2010

AND...

I've seen Kob at 1 zoo:

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Kob – 2006

The very first time I ever came across Klipspringer was at San Diego Zoo (USA) and they are kept in the East African Kopje complex along with two other small species: Rock Hyrax and Dwarf Mongoose. This exhibit opened in 1986 and now has been included as part of the Africa Rocks area. Here's a stunning photo:

@Julio C Castro

Within the African Journey complex at Lincoln Park Zoo (USA), there used to be a Klipspringer exhibit with the small antelopes in with Black-masked Lovebirds. I'm not sure if this combination exists these days.

At another Illinois zoo, this time Brookfield Zoo (USA), there's also been an indoor Klipspringer exhibit. Habitat Africa! - The Savanna is the name and the Kopje building is where a number of birds and Klipspringers have been located for many years.

@geomorph

Here's a Klipspringer inside the legendary Desert Dome at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA). Yet another all-indoor affair, the tiny antelope have a mock-rock environment.

@pachyderm pro

The good news is that Omaha built a massive African Grasslands complex that is larger than most zoos, and it included a new, outdoor Klipspringer habitat. Meerkats and Leopard Tortoises are in with the antelope and it's a delightful setup, like everything Omaha has built in the last 20 years.

You can just barely see a Klipspringer resting on a ledge beneath a tree in this image from Memphis Zoo (USA). Klipspringers have been moved around in Memphis over the years, from the Round Barn zone to Cat Country, although I'm not sure if the species is still there these days.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (USA) opened its famous Monkey Mountain in 1936 and back then it was crawling with 150 Rhesus Macaques. That would have been quite a sight! I saw Klipspringers, Colobus Monkeys and Rock Hyrax all together on this island when I toured the zoo in 2010, but since then the exhibit has been bulldozed and the zoo opened an expanded Black Rhino exhibit called Rhino Reserve on the same footprint.

Yet again, Klipspringers were combined with Rock Hyrax and this time it's at Dallas Zoo (USA) in 2010 in a spacious outdoor exhibit.

You can just see the hindquarters of a Klipspringer at ABQ BioPark Zoo (USA), where I saw the species in a small yet naturalistic habitat back in 2010.

When I visited Brevard Zoo (USA) a dozen years ago, this exhibit held Klipspringers, Crowned Cranes, Marabou Storks and Southern Ground Hornbills. It was part of the Expedition Africa complex.

The now crumbling and barely surviving Jackson Zoo (USA) had a variety of rarities back in 2012, including Klipspringers in a sprawling African Savanna habitat.

Klipspringers, Grevy's Zebras and Marabou Storks all together at Living Desert Zoo (USA):

@GoldenTakin

As for Topi, here's a photo of mine from San Antonio Zoo (USA) of two Topi resting in the shade.

I have a further 5 photos in the ZooChat gallery of the Topi/Marabou Stork/Ostrich exhibit at the zoo, but of course the Topi are long gone now and in fact that whole area has been overhauled for different species since my visit in 2010.

It would appear that Topi are not that difficult to spot in the wild, with a lot of nature images of the species in the ZooChat gallery. Here's a herd of these spectacular creatures:

@Jogy

As for Kob, they are apparently still hanging on at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) but there's very few left. Here's the big male (castrated) and there's also 6 females according to @Kudu21

@Julio C Castro

What happened to all the Kob? I can recall seeing a large herd on several occasions over the years, and this 2021 photo shows at least a dozen Kob in one spot. Were they not prolific breeders? Does no other U.S. zoo want to take on the species? It's a crying shame that soon they will be extinct on the continent in public zoos.

@ThylacineAlive

Family Bovidae: 80 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blue Wildebeest - 47 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Scimitar-horned Oryx - 43 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Aoudad - 40 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Addax - 36 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Bontebok - 33 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Bighorn Sheep - 26 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Takin - 23 zoos
Mouflon - 22 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gemsbok - 20 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Arabian Oryx - 16 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Rocky Mountain Goat - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Markhor - 14 zoos
Roan Antelope - 14 zoos
Alpine Ibex - 13 zoos
Dall Sheep - 13 zoos
Klipspringer - 13 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Beisa Oryx - 10 zoos
Chinese Goral - 10 zoos
Himalayan Tahr - 10 zoos
Nubian Ibex - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Siberian Ibex - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
West Caucasian Tur - 5 zoos
Black Wildebeest - 4 zoos
Japanese Serow - 4 zoos
Mainland Serow - 4 zoos
Northern Chamois - 4 zoos
Urial - 4 zoos
Bharal - 3 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Sand Gazelle - 2 zoos
Argali - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Burmese Goral - 1 zoo (Chiang Mai Night Safari - Thailand)
Hartebeest - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Iberian Ibex - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Kob - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Rhebok - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Topi - 1 zoo (San Antonio Zoo - USA)

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

No records of either species in South America.

You might have noticed Spain is a antelope stronghold. Bioparc Valencia, as an example, had the last Ethiopian klipspringer in Europe (and in captivity, I am quite sure).

Another very rare species present in Spain is the black lechwe. The only herd in captivity that I am aware of is at Safari Madrid.

I first became aware of topi through The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. They appear in the opening scene.

 

[biggest_dreamer]

Klipspringer is a species that I had to visit exactly half of the current US holders before finally managing to see the little guys. Glad I was finally able to add them to my list a few months ago.

I know I’m a few days late to tur talk, but what does everyone think about this lil fella I saw last winter? Possible tur, or just some sort of goat mutt?

Hollywild Animal Preserve - Capra hybrid? 12/23/23 - ZooChat

 

[Nix]

It would appear that Topi are not that difficult to spot in the wild, with a lot of nature images of the species in the ZooChat gallery. Here's a herd of these spectacular creatures:

it's interesting to note that Topi, strictly reffered to as Tsessebe or Basterhartbeest ('false hartebeest") are notoriously rare in the South African parks. They're extrodinarily skitting and have habits of bounding head first into fences.

They were formerly found throughout most of the country but now persist in isolated pockets in reserves large enough to support them without issues with fences. Interestingly, tsessebe refuse to drink out of non natural appearing water bodies in the country (i.e troughs and small cement ponds) which I've always thought could be a reason for their struggle in captivity.

Currently only one zoo in the strict term of the word keeps Tsessebe in South Africa, and even still in a large safari paddock. Emerald Animal World has had struggles with keeping them, and only two remain of a formerly large herd.

Common Tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus lunatus) - ZooChat

 

[Panda_Fan]

The male kob in the photo you shared was an intact male that was shipped out a few years ago. The male left at the Park was castrated shortly after birth, and as a result, has very abnormal horn growth — they are very thin and curl downwards. The majority of the Park’s herd of kob was sent out to the Center for the Conservation of Tropical Ungulates (CCTU).


Klipspringers are not the easiest animals to breed. They are monogamous, and as such, it’s not as simple as just introducing a male to a herd and you end up with calves X months later. The pair has to be compatible. They are also territorial, so they don’t do well with unrelated animals around, and you have to make sure that their middens and scent marking areas are maintained or they will be more focused on remarking their territory than breeding.

Tho klipspringer require rock "mountains" in the same way as caprids do? You've made a great point with the difficult husbandry for this species, and apart from Valencia (which has already an exhibit and has worked with the species before), I sadly can't see the species going anywhere in european institutions.

 

[Kudu21]

Tho klipspringer require rock "mountains" in the same way as caprids do?

Klipspringers do, indeed, require climbing structures, similarly to how Caprines do. Leaping on and between boulders and other rocky features is a very important part of their natural history, and it is essential for proper hoof ware. They can also be quite nervous animals, and such structures also help them feel more secure.

 

[snowleopard]

It's time to analyze duikers over the next 3 posts in order to finish off Bovidae. When I began this thread almost a year ago, the first few months was spent discussing more than 140 primate species and the thread was immediately a big hit. It still left a strong impression when I tackled carnivores mid-year, even though participation dipped a little, but zoo nerds LOVE ungulates and the last few months has seen this thread arguably surpass the primates in terms of popularity. What is it about hooved creatures that everyone loves so much? They are not as active as primates or as fierce as carnivores, and are in fact rather sedentary at times, and yet zoo nerds are obsessed with ungulates. Someone told me yesterday that it's their size, but I'm not sure whether that's a reason for everyone. Being larger mammals, it's usually easy enough to see an ungulate in a zoo, while with small primates and various carnivores they can often be hiding in the undergrowth. Is that size theory legitimate?

Yellow-backed Duikers are a bit like Klipspringers in that they are holding on well in American zoos, but are almost unheard of outside that nation. Zootierliste has 0 Asian zoos, 0 Australian zoos, 1 African zoo, 5 European zoos and 18 North American zoos currently with Yellow-backed Duikers. I saw a lot of zoos with this duiker species between 2006 and 2012, but very few since then.

Why is it that this particular duiker species has been the most common for me in all my years of zoo visits? I'm convinced that it's because they are the largest of all duikers. They can weigh in at 70 kg/150 lbs and that's a decent size for a mammal.

I've seen Yellow-backed Duikers at 21 zoos:

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2006
2- Denver Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2006
3- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
4- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
5- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
6- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
7- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
8- Zoo Miami (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
9- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
10- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
11- Houston Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
12- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
13- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
14- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
15- Sacramento Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2011
16- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2011
17- Naples Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2012
18- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2012
19- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2015
20- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2019
21- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2019

That distinctive patch of yellow on the back of this duiker species is amazing to see.

@Blackduiker (an appropriate name!)

San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) used to have Yellow-backed Duikers mixed with Okapi, but the most recent ZooChat photo of a Yellow-backed Duiker at this park is from 2015. Are there any left kicking around somewhere off-show?

@Giant Eland

Yellow-backed Duikers have also been mixed with Okapis at Denver Zoo (USA) and that mix still exists today. You can see one of each species in this photo:

@Pleistohorse

When I was last in Denver, Yellow-backed Duiker had their own exhibit in the Primate Panorama zone:

Habitat Africa! The Forest is a part of Brookfield Zoo (USA) and Yellow-backed Duiker have been there for many years.

@CMP

Yet another zoo with Yellow-backed Duiker and Okapi together in the past (and you can see one of each species in this photo) is Oklahoma City Zoo (USA):

@jbnbsn99

Yellow-backed Duikers and Bongo have been mixed together at Los Angeles Zoo (USA) for at least 15+ years.

@Julio C Castro

Yellow-backed Duikers have been mixed with Bongo at Zoo Miami (USA) as well.

@Austin the Sengi

Greater Kudu, Plains Zebra and Yellow-backed Duiker were all together at BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) in 2010.

When I visited Houston Zoo (USA) in 2010 the Yellow-backed Duikers were in with Okapi, Crowned Cranes and Blue Cranes. This was the first of FOUR zoos with these duikers just in Texas that I visited in 2010. When I went back to Houston in 2015, the Yellow-backed Duikers were in with Bongo and Southern Ground Hornbills.

Yet another facility with Yellow-backed Duikers and Bongos together, and this time tossing in a troop of Colobus Monkeys (!!), is Caldwell Zoo (USA). It's the only netted and fully enclosed Yellow-backed Duiker exhibit I've ever seen.

San Antonio Zoo (USA) is built out of an old rock quarry and that influences the shape and design of many of the animal enclosures. They had Yellow-backed Duiker when I was there in 2010 and still have the species today.

@jbnbsn99

Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) had two exhibits for Yellow-backed Duiker when I toured that zoo in 2010. One was with Bongo and Crowned Crane and one was a solo exhibit.

Yellow-backed Duiker and Sitatunga were combined at Sacramento Zoo (USA) in 2011, but I think that both species are gone from that zoo now. That entire zoo might be gone in a few years if things work out right in Elk Grove.

I didn't see Yellow-backed Duikers during my first couple of visits to San Diego Zoo (USA) in 2006 and 2008, but by 2011 the zoo had several exhibits with the species. In an area within the Lost Forest zone that has held Bornean Bearded Pigs and Visayan Warty Pigs, and several other species over the years, could be found Yellow-backed Duikers.

@TheoV

There's a pair of Yellow-backed Duikers resting against the fence in my photo taken at Naples Zoo (USA) in 2012.

For years, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA) had Yellow-backed Duikers with Southern Ground Hornbills and Crowned Cranes in the Gorilla Valley complex. There's also been these duikers mixed with hornbills and Okapi in a separate area.

@pachyderm pro

My 2015 photo, taken at Alexandria Zoo (USA), is the solitary ZooChat image of Yellow-backed Duikers at this establishment. There's two animals on the left.

Off to Europe and I have seen Yellow-backed Duikers at only two zoos there as the species is practically extinct on that continent. Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) is a holder:

@twilighter

Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) is the other European facility where I've seen Yellow-backed Duikers and in the past they've been mixed with...you guessed it...Okapi.

@twilighter

Family Bovidae: 81 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blue Wildebeest - 47 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Scimitar-horned Oryx - 43 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Aoudad - 40 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Addax - 36 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Bontebok - 33 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Bighorn Sheep - 26 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Takin - 23 zoos
Mouflon - 22 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Yellow-backed Duiker - 21 zoos
Gemsbok - 20 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Arabian Oryx - 16 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Rocky Mountain Goat - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Markhor - 14 zoos
Roan Antelope - 14 zoos
Alpine Ibex - 13 zoos
Dall Sheep - 13 zoos
Klipspringer - 13 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Beisa Oryx - 10 zoos
Chinese Goral - 10 zoos
Himalayan Tahr - 10 zoos
Nubian Ibex - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Siberian Ibex - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
West Caucasian Tur - 5 zoos
Black Wildebeest - 4 zoos
Japanese Serow - 4 zoos
Mainland Serow - 4 zoos
Northern Chamois - 4 zoos
Urial - 4 zoos
Bharal - 3 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Sand Gazelle - 2 zoos
Argali - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Burmese Goral - 1 zoo (Chiang Mai Night Safari - Thailand)
Hartebeest - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Iberian Ibex - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Kob - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Rhebok - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Topi - 1 zoo (San Antonio Zoo - USA)

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

 

[Kudu21]

It's time to analyze duikers over the next 3 posts in order to finish off Bovidae. When I began this thread almost a year ago, the first few months was spent discussing more than 140 primate species and the thread was immediately a big hit. It still left a strong impression when I tackled carnivores mid-year, even though participation dipped a little, but zoo nerds LOVE ungulates and the last few months has seen this thread arguably surpass the primates in terms of popularity. What is it about hooved creatures that everyone loves so much? They are not as active as primates or as fierce as carnivores, and are in fact rather sedentary at times, and yet zoo nerds are obsessed with ungulates. Someone told me yesterday that it's their size, but I'm not sure whether that's a reason for everyone. Being larger mammals, it's usually easy enough to see an ungulate in a zoo, while with small primates and various carnivores they can often be hiding in the undergrowth. Is that size theory legitimate?

Yellow-backed Duikers are a bit like Klipspringers in that they are holding on well in American zoos, but are almost unheard of outside that nation. Zootierliste has 0 Asian zoos, 0 Australian zoos, 1 African zoo, 5 European zoos and 18 North American zoos currently with Yellow-backed Duikers. I saw a lot of zoos with this duiker species between 2006 and 2012, but very few since then.

Why is it that this particular duiker species has been the most common for me in all my years of zoo visits? I'm convinced that it's because they are the largest of all duikers. They can weigh in at 70 kg/150 lbs and that's a decent size for a mammal.

I've seen Yellow-backed Duikers at 21 zoos:

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2006
2- Denver Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2006
3- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
4- Columbus Zoo and Aquarium (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
5- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
6- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
7- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
8- Zoo Miami (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2008
9- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
10- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
11- Houston Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
12- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
13- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
14- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2010
15- Sacramento Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2011
16- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2011
17- Naples Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2012
18- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2012
19- Alexandria Zoo (USA) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2015
20- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2019
21- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Yellow-backed Duiker – 2019

That distinctive patch of yellow on the back of this duiker species is amazing to see.

@Blackduiker (an appropriate name!)

San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) used to have Yellow-backed Duikers mixed with Okapi, but the most recent ZooChat photo of a Yellow-backed Duiker at this park is from 2015. Are there any left kicking around somewhere off-show?

@Giant Eland

Yellow-backed Duikers have also been mixed with Okapis at Denver Zoo (USA) and that mix still exists today. You can see one of each species in this photo:

@Pleistohorse

When I was last in Denver, Yellow-backed Duiker had their own exhibit in the Primate Panorama zone:

Habitat Africa! The Forest is a part of Brookfield Zoo (USA) and Yellow-backed Duiker have been there for many years.

@CMP

Yet another zoo with Yellow-backed Duiker and Okapi together in the past (and you can see one of each species in this photo) is Oklahoma City Zoo (USA):

@jbnbsn99

Yellow-backed Duikers and Bongo have been mixed together at Los Angeles Zoo (USA) for at least 15+ years.

@Julio C Castro

Yellow-backed Duikers have been mixed with Bongo at Zoo Miami (USA) as well.

@Austin the Sengi

Greater Kudu, Plains Zebra and Yellow-backed Duiker were all together at BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) in 2010.

When I visited Houston Zoo (USA) in 2010 the Yellow-backed Duikers were in with Okapi, Crowned Cranes and Blue Cranes. This was the first of FOUR zoos with these duikers just in Texas that I visited in 2010. When I went back to Houston in 2015, the Yellow-backed Duikers were in with Bongo and Southern Ground Hornbills.

Yet another facility with Yellow-backed Duikers and Bongos together, and this time tossing in a troop of Colobus Monkeys (!!), is Caldwell Zoo (USA). It's the only netted and fully enclosed Yellow-backed Duiker exhibit I've ever seen.

San Antonio Zoo (USA) is built out of an old rock quarry and that influences the shape and design of many of the animal enclosures. They had Yellow-backed Duiker when I was there in 2010 and still have the species today.

@jbnbsn99

Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) had two exhibits for Yellow-backed Duiker when I toured that zoo in 2010. One was with Bongo and Crowned Crane and one was a solo exhibit.

Yellow-backed Duiker and Sitatunga were combined at Sacramento Zoo (USA) in 2011, but I think that both species are gone from that zoo now. That entire zoo might be gone in a few years if things work out right in Elk Grove.

I didn't see Yellow-backed Duikers during my first couple of visits to San Diego Zoo (USA) in 2006 and 2008, but by 2011 the zoo had several exhibits with the species. In an area within the Lost Forest zone that has held Bornean Bearded Pigs and Visayan Warty Pigs, and several other species over the years, could be found Yellow-backed Duikers.

@TheoV

There's a pair of Yellow-backed Duikers resting against the fence in my photo taken at Naples Zoo (USA) in 2012.

For years, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA) had Yellow-backed Duikers with Southern Ground Hornbills and Crowned Cranes in the Gorilla Valley complex. There's also been these duikers mixed with hornbills and Okapi in a separate area.

@pachyderm pro

My 2015 photo, taken at Alexandria Zoo (USA), is the solitary ZooChat image of Yellow-backed Duikers at this establishment. There's two animals on the left.

Off to Europe and I have seen Yellow-backed Duikers at only two zoos there as the species is practically extinct on that continent. Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) is a holder:

@twilighter

Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) is the other facility where I've seen Yellow-backed Duikers and in the past they've been mixed with...you guessed it...Okapi.

@twilighter

Family Bovidae: 81 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blue Wildebeest - 47 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Scimitar-horned Oryx - 43 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Aoudad - 40 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Addax - 36 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Bontebok - 33 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Bighorn Sheep - 26 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Takin - 23 zoos
Mouflon - 22 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Yellow-backed Duiker - 21 zoos
Gemsbok - 20 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Arabian Oryx - 16 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Rocky Mountain Goat - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Markhor - 14 zoos
Roan Antelope - 14 zoos
Alpine Ibex - 13 zoos
Dall Sheep - 13 zoos
Klipspringer - 13 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Beisa Oryx - 10 zoos
Chinese Goral - 10 zoos
Himalayan Tahr - 10 zoos
Nubian Ibex - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Siberian Ibex - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
West Caucasian Tur - 5 zoos
Black Wildebeest - 4 zoos
Japanese Serow - 4 zoos
Mainland Serow - 4 zoos
Northern Chamois - 4 zoos
Urial - 4 zoos
Bharal - 3 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Sand Gazelle - 2 zoos
Argali - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Burmese Goral - 1 zoo (Chiang Mai Night Safari - Thailand)
Hartebeest - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Iberian Ibex - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Kob - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)
Rhebok - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Topi - 1 zoo (San Antonio Zoo - USA)

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

Size and a large enough founder base (to exclude the fate of the Jentink’s duiker from this conversation) are likely two of the leading factors that allowed yellow-backed duikers to become the most common duiker in North America — although blue duikers are now close to surpassing them if they have not already. Being the largest of the duikers, they are also the least fragile of the duikers (this is not to say that they are still not flighty), and I think that is key for how they were able to take off and a lot of the smaller species were not, especially earlier on. This has also allowed them to be more readily mixed with other species, namely bongo and okapi, where the size of the exhibits these species are normally kept in can tend to be too large to be safe for the smaller species.

And no, there are no more yellow-backed duikers at either of the San Diego parks.

 

[Enzo]

No records of duiker in South America that I am aware of.

However, Africam Safari (Puebla, Mexico) held red-flanked duiker a few years ago.

@carlos55

 

[ralph]

For a long time, the only time I had seen a yellow-backed duiker was in 2005 in zoo Wuppertal.

And then between 2022 and 2024 I have seen the species four times at four zoos. Wuppertal (again), Frankfurt, Nürnberg and Houston (my first and so far only US zoo!)

I love this species and other duikers. I've seen only four species, but I'm sure you have seen more.

 

[Zz123]

Klipspringers
In Southeast Asia, Vinpearl Safari Phu Quoc in Vietnam exhibits Klipspringers, and I’ve heard they are successful in breeding them as well.

 

[Emanuel Theodorus]

What is it about hooved creatures that everyone loves so much? They are not as active as primates or as fierce as carnivores, and are in fact rather sedentary at times, and yet zoo nerds are obsessed with ungulates.

For me it's quite simple, really. The best thing about ungulates is just how diverse they make an environment look. They easily had the best skin colors, skin patterns, and super interesting to watch. Also in terms of appearance I feel like they just differentiate with each other so well. Sure there are similarities here and there, but hippos and giraffes obviously are two incredibly different things, and it's fascinating how many herbivores are connected to each other even though their main similarities are their hooves.

I have my reasons for loving a lot of different kinds of ungulates. Gemsbok has great coloration on their face, Scimitar Horned Oryx has great horns and nice brown and white coloration, Greater Kudu has some of the most beautiful horns I've seen on an antelope, Sable Antelope has great coloration, Waterbuck and Lechwes have interesting behavior on the waters, Impalas always looked super majestic when they leaped, Blackbucks have great black or brown coloration, Nyalas and Elands are chunky animals that I loved to watch, and other kinds of ungulates, especially Nile Hippos, I don't need to explain why I love those animals.

 

[USZOOfan42]

For years, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA) had Yellow-backed Duikers with Southern Ground Hornbills and Crowned Cranes in the Gorilla Valley complex. There's also been these duikers mixed with hornbills and Okapi in a separate area.

@pachyderm pro

Does this still exist? I only saw the habitat near the event area and aquarium when I visited in 2023.