Rare ungulates in Britain

lechweoryx

lechweoryx

Well-Known Member
Does anyone have any images and infomation about rare ungulate species in British zoos which are not kept there anymore? I am particulary interested in Giant Eland, Besia Oryx, Impala, Savannah Gazelle species and Argali.
 
I am fairly certain the giant eland have never been kept in the UK
 
There are no Giant Eland in the UK (nor, as far as I'm aware, in Europe). The only place I've seen them is San Diego.

There are also currently no Beisa Oryx, Impala (weirdly) or Argali. There are small numbers of Beisa and Argali in Europe (see ZootierlisteHomepage for more information). Beisa are in enough numbers that it's conceivable they could turn up, but probably unlikely. Impala are pretty common on the continent - I'm not at all sure why no British collections have gone for them. Chester had Beisa until 1984 - probably the last ones in the UK?

Gazelle-wise, the UK has ('Arabian') Mountain Gazelles (Blackpool), Dama Gazelles (Marwell), Saharan Dorcas Gazelles (Marwell again) and Mhorr Gazelles (Woburn). No others have been kept recently; but there were Thomson's not so long ago.

Within Europe, there are reasonable numbers of Thomson's and Goitered Gazelles, so these are both possibilities for imports. Planckendael and Dvur Kralove have Slender-horneds, but I don't think any will be exported any time soon.
 
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I've been racking my brains trying to think of ungulates I've seen in Britain that are no longer present - and to me honest there aren't that many - most have maintained themselves over the last decade or so or have been brought in during that time. I never saw them but Howletts used to have Chousingha. Whipsnade of course had Musk Oxen until relatively recently - they were the main reason for my first visit. And Suffolk Wildlife Park (now Africa Alive!) were the last place with Bontebok.

After that I'm struggling to think of any other recent disappearances.


EDIT: And of course, no sooner do I post that than I think of another one - Alpine Chamois - last seen at one of the smaller Scottish collections (Auchingarrich?).
 
kiang said:
I am fairly certain the giant eland have never been kept in the UK
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Though of course it is named after the 13th Lord Derby of Knowsley (Taurotragus derbianus) so if it had been kept anywhere I would have thought it could be his menagerie.

Some helpful Bartlett Society member will be through in a moment to confirm, I'm sure. :D
 
I think Bristol had Beisa Oryx in the old house that also held Reedbuck , Grevy Zebra and Bushpig . Marwell has Impala in the early days but they did not survive for long . I seem to remember reading that Woburn SP had a few unusual species such as Hartebeest though do not think they thrived .
 
Maguari said:
Though of course it is named after the 13th Lord Derby of Knowsley (Taurotragus derbianus) so if it had been kept anywhere I would have thought it could be his menagerie. :D
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When J.E. Gray named the Giant Eland in 1847, we did so on the basis of horns and a skin brought back from The Gambia by a 'Mr. Whitfield'. He dedicated the new species to the Earl of Derby "who has done so much to illustrate the species of this group"; but there was no direct relationship between the eland and the earl.
 
MikeG said:
When J.E. Gray named the Giant Eland in 1847, we did so on the basis of horns and a skin brought back from The Gambia by a 'Mr. Whitfield'. He dedicated the new species to the Earl of Derby "who has done so much to illustrate the species of this group"; but there was no direct relationship between the eland and the earl.
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Thanks Mike - authoritative as ever! :)
 
Bele said:
I think Bristol had Beisa Oryx in the old house that also held Reedbuck , Grevy Zebra and Bushpig . Marwell has Impala in the early days but they did not survive for long .

Bristol certainly had one Beisa oryx in that 'Antelope House'. It was a male with horn stumps only.

Marwell's Impala bred several fawns but as many adults died as they were extremely nervous.
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Maguari said:
Though of course it is named after the 13th Lord Derby of Knowsley (Taurotragus derbianus) so if it had been kept anywhere I would have thought it could be his menagerie.

Some helpful Bartlett Society member will be through in a moment to confirm, I'm sure. :D
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The specific name of the giant eland was, indeed, in honour of Lord Stanley, the 13th Earl of Derby, who had a superb private menagerie at Knowsley.

As well as the menagerie, Lord Derby also had a private museum. A certain Thomas Whitfied collected material in Africa for this museum and he sent back both horns and skins of the giant eland; the original scientific description was based on this museum material.

Although a painting of giant eland features in the book “Gleanings from the Menagerie and Aviary at Knowsley Hall”; this painting is based on the museum material NOT on a live giant eland at Knowsley.

I am not aware that there was ever living giant eland in the menagerie.

Reference:- “A Passion for Natural History: The Life and Legacy of the 13th Earl of Derby” (Edited by Clem Fisher)
 
Pertinax said:
Marwell's Impala bred several fawns but as many adults died as they were extremely nervous.
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Yep: The paddocks were so large that when they were spooked and set out their flight instincts, they would make fatal collisions with chain-link fencing.

I'd love to see Thomson's Gazelles in Marwell's African Valley myself.
 
Belfast at one time had a herd of springbok that was quarantined at Edinburgh, where one of the females gave birth to a male, which stayed at the zoo, in a small area of what is now the goral/musk deer enclosure. Also kept at Edinburgh for many years was a successful breeding group of Maxwell's duiker, the last animal left the zoo in the early 90's for Amsterdam zoo.
HWP of course had a breeding group of saiga, right up till the early 80's, and the last Alpine ibex in the UK.
Auchengarrach in Fife, i believe had the last chamois, up till a few years ago.
And when it comes to rare ungulates, there were the 2 Sumatran rhino at Port Lympne, as well as their herd of Calamanian deer.
 
kiang said:
HWP of course had a breeding group of saiga, right up till the early 80's, and the last Alpine ibex in the UK.
Auchengarrach in Fife, i believe had the last chamois, up till a few years ago.
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After casting a nostalgic sigh in the direction of the Saiga (a species now gone, not just from the UK, but from mainland Europe) and pausing to thank you for supporting my Auchingarrich Chamois Theory, I must say that I really don't get why no-one has brought in more ibex. Nubians and Pyreneans are very limited in numbers in European zoos but there are reasonable numbers of Siberians and plenty of Alpines - and they make such a good display species.
 
Maguari said:
And Suffolk Wildlife Park (now Africa Alive!) were the last place with Bontebok.
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Are you sure they were Bontebok, Maguari, and not Blesbok? I visited there about 4 or 5 years ago, and they had Blesbok back then.

Cotswold had Thomson's Gazelles in the 1970s/80s.

I have a photo of the Chousinga at Howletts, I'll dig it out & post it.
 
Maguari is quite right, they got their animals from Whipsnade, when Banham took over the running of the park
 
What is currently the rarest ungulate in a British Zoo and how many does that zoo have and are they breeding them
 
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