Chester Zoo Should Chester obtain Gaur's

[MARK]

Since we have quite few forum members who are fans of Chester zoo I would be interested to hear if you guys feel that Chester should add Gaurs to their collection, since Whipsnade now has a possible breeding pair would it not be a good move for another large UK zoo to keep a pair with the view breeding them for the long term to keep this species going in the UK?.

 

[taun]

I would of thought Marwell would be better placed to keep Gaur.

Being selfish thou I would like to see them in the 'Natural Vision' plans when they create the asian plains area (If that is still the plans by then).

 

[Paix]

Being selfish though I would like to see them in the 'Natural Vision' plans when they create the asian plains area (If that is still the plans by then).

That is exactly what I told Haz_Cat this morning. I do agree though, maybe Marwell would be more suited. Or maybe a safari? What is their temperament like?

 

[Little Lion Man]

I can not see Chester getting Gaur I cannot think of a area that they could house Gaur in a good sized paddock without removing animals out of exhibits they already have filled. I would also like to see a new a small herd displayed of about 5 as they are a herd animal.

Gaur fact of the day!

The bull on the side of a can of red bull energy drink is a Gaur

 

[Hexaprotodon]

They kept Gaur at Port Lympne for years with very little breeding success. I don't know why, but they didn't do very well with Banteng either. Are the more exotic large wild cattle (except water buffs and bison) hard to keep in the UK for any reason in particular?

 

[kiang]

London regularly bred from theirs on the Cotton terraces

 

[Javan Rhino]

Does anybody think that Chester might look into getting this species? In a selfish way I would like Chester to get them so that I can see them regularly. However, there are many ungulate species I would prefer them to get, such as Addax (this was talked about, but plans abandoned?), European Bison, Elk, a gazelle species (preferably an import of Thomson's Gazelles) and imported Gerenuk. Thought I think these are a touch unlikely .

As for Chester keeping Guars, are they difficult to keep and would Chester have the means. They have a massive amount of undeveloped land, so I don't think space would be much of an issue if they didn't mind where they could put them? Personally though, I would like to see the East Zoo get some more 'West Zoo' animals, and vice versa. This way, Guars could go in a paddock on disused land near the Realm of the Red Ape.

 

[johnstoni]

Port Lympne did very well with Banteng, and built up a herd of about 10 animals. I *think* they sent some to West Midlands, then lost a few, until they have maybe just one or two older animals left.

The captive gaur population is very inbred, successive generations are less genetically robust and so we see mortality increase and breeding rates drop.

 

[Hexaprotodon]

I remember some sort of mystery disease taking out several banteng in quick succession around 1999/2000. It was a great shame to see them turning up in the meat yard in fantastic condition but very dead indeed! As to what caused this, I have no idea.

As for Gaur, it must be time to bring in new blood!!

 

[Javan Rhino]

Port Lympne did very well with Banteng, and built up a herd of about 10 animals. I *think* they sent some to West Midlands, then lost a few, until they have maybe just one or two older animals left.

The captive gaur population is very inbred, successive generations are less genetically robust and so we see mortality increase and breeding rates drop.

This is going to sound very odd indeed, but would it be possible for people in-situ to somehow get semen from wild bulls and then use this in AI to get captive females pregnant? How possible is this, and could it be successful in trying to make a more diverse group without having to capture any animals from the wild?

This is quite off-topic in general, but relevant to what I was asking above as well, it would be interesting to know. In an attempt to try and get a secure captive population of Javan Rhinos, how possible would it be to take semen from wild bulls and again use this for AI, implanting it in a female Indian Rhino? I know a hybrid scenario would never be ideal, but hybrids are often born healthy and fertile (an example being Sumatran/Bornean Orang hybrids). If they could get a healthy population of hybrids, could it be possible then to selectively breed in an attempt to get a pure specimen. This would save having to remove any from the wild and could possibly bring about a back-up captive breeding programme. As you can probably tell genetics is not my strongest area, and this is probably a massively bad idea. But hey, off-topic

 

[taun]

This is going to sound very odd indeed, but would it be possible for people in-situ to somehow get semen from wild bulls and then use this in AI to get captive females pregnant? How possible is this, and could it be successful in trying to make a more diverse group without having to capture any animals from the wild?

This is quite off-topic in general, but relevant to what I was asking above as well, it would be interesting to know. In an attempt to try and get a secure captive population of Javan Rhinos, how possible would it be to take semen from wild bulls and again use this for AI, implanting it in a female Indian Rhino? I know a hybrid scenario would never be ideal, but hybrids are often born healthy and fertile (an example being Sumatran/Bornean Orang hybrids). If they could get a healthy population of hybrids, could it be possible then to selectively breed in an attempt to get a pure specimen. This would save having to remove any from the wild and could possibly bring about a back-up captive breeding programme. As you can probably tell genetics is not my strongest area, and this is probably a massively bad idea. But hey, off-topic

Why? why would you want to do that when both species are in danger?

If we cannot save the Indian Rhino (which we are struggling to do, but that politics) what chance have we on the Javan?

 

[MARK]

This is going to sound very odd indeed, but would it be possible for people in-situ to somehow get semen from wild bulls and then use this in AI to get captive females pregnant? How possible is this, and could it be successful in trying to make a more diverse group without having to capture any animals from the wild?



I dont think this idea is odd at all but maybe using captive bulls in some of the Asian zoos might be somewhat easier than using wild Gaurs

 

[Javan Rhino]

Why? why would you want to do that when both species are in danger?

If we cannot save the Indian Rhino (which we are struggling to do, but that politics) what chance have we on the Javan?

I thought the Indian Rhino was relatively safe now. I think the IUCN lists them as Vulnerable, and is therefore the second safest Rhino species. I know it would never be ideal (and it is not what I 'want'), I was just wondering how feasible it was.

 

[Javan Rhino]

This is going to sound very odd indeed, but would it be possible for people in-situ to somehow get semen from wild bulls and then use this in AI to get captive females pregnant? How possible is this, and could it be successful in trying to make a more diverse group without having to capture any animals from the wild?



I dont think this idea is odd at all but maybe using captive bulls in some of the Asian zoos might be somewhat easier than using wild Gaurs

Ahhh, I thought when it mentioned the captive population being severely inbred I thought it meant the worldwide captive population, so I said wild to play it safe

 

[taun]

I thought the Indian Rhino was relatively safe now. I think the IUCN lists them as Vulnerable, and is therefore the second safest Rhino species. I know it would never be ideal (and it is not what I 'want'), I was just wondering how feasible it was.

No species is safe, plus the poaching was on the rise again in the last few years.

Not sure if the surveys who did the latest serveys for the population but if they are from a certain place I would not believe them at all.

 

[Javan Rhino]

No species is safe, plus the poaching was on the rise again in the last few years.

Not sure if the surveys who did the latest serveys for the population but if they are from a certain place I would not believe them at all.

Ahhh, why do people insist on poaching rhinos for their horns in todays day and age? Hasn't it been proven that it has no medicinal properties?

I hope my last couple of posts haven't made me look like some mad scientist, but as you can assume from my name I love Javan Rhinos (and indeed all rhinos) and just trying to see a way to save these species. I do hope that something can be done, but it looks all too bleak when people are too ignorant to accept rhino horn has no use to anybody other than Rhinos.

(If Rhino-horn is needed so much by people [humph!], could conservationists not sedate the rhinos to cut their horn off. I have heard about this being done to discourage poaching in African species, so if it is harmless why kill the animal? Surely poachers would have more to gain by taking the horn from a living [sedated] animal so that it grows back. Do the poachers not realise killing all rhinos is not what they want either?)

Ahhh well, lets get back on topic, I think we've strayed quite a way

 

[MARK]

Yes we have, @ Javan rhino you could aways start another thread about this subject if you wish?

 

[Javan Rhino]

Yes we have, @ Javan rhino you could aways start another thread about this subject if you wish?

I may do, but to be honest my main question has been answered . I think I will just post any further questions in the Javan Rhino Babies section on General Discussion

Again, I would like to see Guars, hopefully one day they may become more established, is it me or is there quite a lack of different ungulates in Britain? There are few wildebeest, no gerenuks etc. I think it's just because many people are not interested in them, zoos can only afford to house a select amount of species.

 

[SMR]

This way, Guars could go in a paddock on disused land near the Realm of the Red Ape.

I'm struggling to think of any spare land near RotRA, never mind a space big enough for gaur! The area around the Arara Lawn and RotRA was once a bison paddock... but that was over fifty years ago!

 

[Javan Rhino]

I was thinking that a paddock could be built on the off-show land. Going by the map, to the left of Realm of the Red Ape (I heard somewhere that they had land here). It could go somewhere near the semi-circle Gibbon/Orang enclosure and Cedar house (providing they do own this land, do you know where I'm on about?)

(Obviously they would either have to house the Guar off-show or expand the zoo into that section with paths, Indonesian/Asian Rainforest enclosures etc.