Besides the above two, i can only think of London, Woburn and Edinburgh as having musk ox in the past.
Highland Wildlife Park Musk oxen at HWP
- Thread starter kiang
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Besides the above two, i can only think of London, Woburn and Edinburgh as having musk ox in the past.
The Edinburgh pair arrived in 1927, and although I am not positive, it appears that at least one survived a couple of years.
Very interesting video and interview with Doug Richardson.
Britain's only Musk Ox unveiled at Highland Wildlife Park - The Daily Record
Britain's only Musk Ox unveiled at Highland Wildlife Park - The Daily Record
Lifted from the blog:
but one new and promising development is that our female musk ox is looking rotund in all the right places.
Which does not confirm a pregnancy, but certainly alludes to it.
RZSS Blog | All the current happenings at Edinburgh Zoo, Highland Wildlife Park and RZSS.
but one new and promising development is that our female musk ox is looking rotund in all the right places.
Which does not confirm a pregnancy, but certainly alludes to it.
RZSS Blog | All the current happenings at Edinburgh Zoo, Highland Wildlife Park and RZSS.
Great news; even if any young born will be hybrids.
what will they be hybrids of?
The male is a Greenland musk ox (Ovibos moschatus wardi) whilst the female is a Barren-ground musk ox (Ovibos moschatus moschatus).
Still great to have any musk ox pregnancy in the UK though.
I don't think that matters at all. The animals are never going to be used for anything other than display (i.e. they aren't going to end up being released into the wild anywhere). And there doesn't appear to be a great deal of genetic variation between musk ox populations anyway, despite them being officially separated into two subspecies.
Isn't that the kind of logic people use to justify the breeding of cross-species hybrids like ligers?
Personally I think, where possible, zoos do have a responsibility to maintain pure subspecies in captivity, but it isn't life or death if they can't. In the case of musk ox where there aren't too many individuals about, then it's more important to keep up genetic diversity.
However, if mixing subspecies doesn't matter then why do people [including me] suddenly get worried when they see a Siberian tiger mixed with a Sumatran, as likewise I doubt the animals would be used for future release and using the mentality we've applied to musk ox, it will still be a tiger. [Not arguing the point, I've probably answered my own question but I am genuinely interested in why ssp. mixing is considered ok practice in some species and absolutely forbidden in others?]
However, if mixing subspecies doesn't matter then why do people [including me] suddenly get worried when they see a Siberian tiger mixed with a Sumatran, as likewise I doubt the animals would be used for future release and using the mentality we've applied to musk ox, it will still be a tiger. [Not arguing the point, I've probably answered my own question but I am genuinely interested in why ssp. mixing is considered ok practice in some species and absolutely forbidden in others?]
I would say there is mileage in both arguments. If we were talking about a species with an excess of impure animals in the UK e.g giraffes or tigers, there would be an outcry on here. I will remain neutral as to whether the usual 'rules' should be disregarded simply because in this case, the musk oxen are the only ones in the UK.
oh yes I quite agree, zoos should preserve pure subspecies as much as possible. It is just in this case I personally don't think it matters. These musk oxen are very unlikely to be used for any kind of wild conservation programme (i.e. release) and the likelihood is that they will breed for a bit, new animals will be brought in, they'll breed some more, but they won't really become overwhelmingly productive. They will stay as a small captive population in the UK and that is all. The wild population was reduced to basically two populations which are separated as subspecies largely on the smaller size of wardi (I gather that while there are some genetic differences they are not great). Hybridising Sumatran and Siberian tigers isn't a good comparison because they are very different physically and genetically (and, I would guess, ecologically), and their very future offspring could well end up being used for reintroductions. A better comparison might be something like German red squirrels and English red squirrels?
Agree that is a more accurate comparison.
I think in the case of the HWP Musk Oxen, the key factor is availability- if those animals are all they've got to play with, then breeding from them is perfectly permissable, particularly as/provided they will be for captive exhibition only longterm, which seems the case.
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Admittedly the tail and ear tuft bleaching which is peculiar to the British race has given it its own subspecific status(S.v. lecourus-spelling?) and it is smaller than European Red squirrel too, but apart from those factors, I still think it is a closer comparison than with. e.g. Tigers.
Have just heard a Blackcap- first this cold spring!
Let it be re-iterated that my primary sentiment on the matter is that I am just happy we *have* musk ox in the UK and that they *are* breeding 
johnstoni.
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know what happened to the other female? Originally a mother-daughter pair had arrived before the male.
As for 'purity', people almost always comment very selectively on this. Elephants are a good example. If the musk oxen are being heralded as some kind of ex situ reserve of genes, probably this warrants criticism but, as a teaching tool, its not really the end of the world if they become generic zoo stock. Its not as if hybridisation doesn't occur in the wild at times among many subspecies.
As for 'purity', people almost always comment very selectively on this. Elephants are a good example. If the musk oxen are being heralded as some kind of ex situ reserve of genes, probably this warrants criticism but, as a teaching tool, its not really the end of the world if they become generic zoo stock. Its not as if hybridisation doesn't occur in the wild at times among many subspecies.
Lesley4444
Well-Known Member
The two females (mother and daughter) are together as far as i am aware