Gerald Durrell describes in some detail the antics of a Water Chevrotain he had obtained in the British Cameroons in 1957 in his book "A Zoo in My Luggage" (1961), which chronicles that expedition. The animals he brought back from this expedition were destined for the zoo he was planning to set up in the south of England, and which he eventualy succeeded in setting up in Jersey in 1959. Most of the animals found in that book did indeed become founder members of Jersey Zoo. I have found records of the Hairy Frogs, Black-legged Mongooses, Needle-clawed Galago, and other rarities he collected (and all of them in the book), all taking up their places at Jersey Zoo. But, despite exhaustive research, I can't discover what happened to the Water Chevrotain, and I have yet to find any evidence it made it to Jersey Zoo. It took around 18 months afer he returned from the Cameroons before Jersey Zoo opened. My guess is that it died in the interim.
Chevrotains in zoos: why no African chevrotains? Where are the best exhibits?
- Thread starter DavidBrown
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I had never heard of a hairy frog before your post zooman64. What a cool species it is.
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As “zooman64” points out the water chevrotains that London Zoo received in 1949 were from Gerald Durrell.
London zoo received various other animals from Gerald Durrell that year too including hairy frogs, an angwantibo, a chestnut-flanked goshawk and a Sjostedt’s barred owlet; the latter two being the first individuals of the species that London Zoo had in its collection.
ungulate nerd
Well-Known Member
Regarding the Water chevrotains (Hyemoschus aquaticus) that the Bronx Zoo received from Charles cordier in 1945, I found more info on Water chevrotains in the United States, here it is:
From former San Diego Zoo registrar Marvin Jones, 1958 to 1978 Clifton Quarentine Station notes: San Diego Zoo received a male on April 13 1967, but it died on April 28 1967
San Diego Zoo's Water chevrotain came from a man named Dr. Dietrich in Monrovia, Liberia. They also had Water chevrotains at the zoo in Monrovia, Liberia
And regarding Asian chevrotains, not all Asian chevrotains are or have been in captivity, I only know of Java mouse deer, Lesser malay chevrotain, Greater malay chevrotains, Balabac chevrotains, and the 3 species of Spotted chevrotains being in or having been in captivity, the 2 Asian chevrotains not in captivity are the Vietnam mouse deer (Tragulus versicolor) and the Williamsons mouse deer (Tragulus williamsoni)
@Condor are they for sure absent from captivity or are there facilities that have them, and if so which places are they ?
From former San Diego Zoo registrar Marvin Jones, 1958 to 1978 Clifton Quarentine Station notes: San Diego Zoo received a male on April 13 1967, but it died on April 28 1967
San Diego Zoo's Water chevrotain came from a man named Dr. Dietrich in Monrovia, Liberia. They also had Water chevrotains at the zoo in Monrovia, Liberia
And regarding Asian chevrotains, not all Asian chevrotains are or have been in captivity, I only know of Java mouse deer, Lesser malay chevrotain, Greater malay chevrotains, Balabac chevrotains, and the 3 species of Spotted chevrotains being in or having been in captivity, the 2 Asian chevrotains not in captivity are the Vietnam mouse deer (Tragulus versicolor) and the Williamsons mouse deer (Tragulus williamsoni)
@Condor are they for sure absent from captivity or are there facilities that have them, and if so which places are they ?
I have not received new information on the possible captive status since my earlier comment. Quote of the part dealing with captives, as it made my position clear (first four words):
The exact same can be said about T. versicolor and T. williamsoni. It is certainly possible that some were in captivity. From the limited available evidence, they appear to be found in Vietnam, northern Thailand and southern China - all places with a long history of animal collection. No one considered them distinct from the widespread greater/lesser chevrotain until 8 years ago. Without accurate collection data, it would actually be quite difficult for a zoo to be sure, even today. The slight silvery sheen of T. versicolor is not particularly distinct, and identifying T. williamsoni from external features would be even harder. That leaves skull measurements. How many zoos have skulls of their dead chevrotains cleaned and then measure them? How many zoos have people that actually know how to make these measurements? I suspect few.
However, because of their limited distributions and apparent rarity, I think it is entirely reasonable to assume that no pure T. javanicus/versicolor/williamsoni are in captivity today (at least outside their native range) until:
1) Someone provides a photo of a captive that looks like the distinct grey-necked type of T. javanicus, or
2) Matching skull measurements of specimens from a captive lineage, or
3) Captives with known origin (not just from a local animal market; especially Javan markets are notorious for having animals from all around Indonesia).
Genetics were not provided by Groves and Meijaard 2005. Until someone makes a well-sampled genetic comparison of specimens of known origin, DNA samples from captives are of no use.
I might add that chevrotains in Java (regardless of their taxonomic status) based on limited evidence appear to be quite rare. They may well be seriously endangered. This can be compared to the endangered Javan slow loris, long overlooked because it was merged with several other more widespread species.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Sorry to bump this thread which is a bit ancient but just wanted to offer my two cents on this subject.
While I find the African water chevrotain to be a fascinating species and one that I would love to see in the flesh one day (hopefully alive and not in a bushmeat market) it is not a species in any immediate grave conservation concern (although it is reputed to be declining in number in the wild in some regions of its range).
For this reason I really can't see much of a pressing need for zoos to hold the water chevrotain and doubt there will be for the forseeable future.
However, there are a couple of the Asiatic chevrotain species like the Javan mouse deer ( ostensibly "Data deficient" but most probably "vulnerable" IUCN) and the Philippine mouse deer ("Endangered" IUCN status) which would certainly benefit from ex-situ by zoos.
While I find the African water chevrotain to be a fascinating species and one that I would love to see in the flesh one day (hopefully alive and not in a bushmeat market) it is not a species in any immediate grave conservation concern (although it is reputed to be declining in number in the wild in some regions of its range).
For this reason I really can't see much of a pressing need for zoos to hold the water chevrotain and doubt there will be for the forseeable future.
However, there are a couple of the Asiatic chevrotain species like the Javan mouse deer ( ostensibly "Data deficient" but most probably "vulnerable" IUCN) and the Philippine mouse deer ("Endangered" IUCN status) which would certainly benefit from ex-situ by zoos.
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Brookfield Zoo once had the water variety in the past. Like long before my time.
Indeed: Brookfield Zoo received two African water chevrotains from Bronx Zoo in 1949.