persian onagers
i wonder actually how well-represented our australian group actually is? i mean, the onagers went from taronga in the 1970s to dubbo and have been breeding there ever since. so perhaps they represent a line of animals not seen in alot of overseas collections, in which case it would be a shame to 'waste them'.
and also, these animals could be used to revitalise demographically stagnant overseas herds, even if they dont show a high degree of genetic diversity.
this is another species like malayan tapir and brazilian tapir that leaves me a little puzzled as to why they are being phased out. sure, if the zoos cannot commit resources to them thats understandable, but the collapse of the artiodactyl tag should see the zoos refocusing their efforts on this tag.
if it was an antelope species i wouldnt be having this argument. in fact, maybe the onager would make a better candidate for australian breeding programs than przewalski's wild horse. the wild horse might have a remarkable story to tell, but internationally that species is in safe hands. i would like to see our open range zoos to use the expertise they already have with onagers to foster the growth of the international population.
on the other hand, whilst the onager could be imported, the logisitcs and costs associated with sourcing and importing more onagers would be a night' mare'
and come with a hellish price tag.
maybe best we stick with przewalski horse. 8 were imported to dubbo fairly recently from england to dubbo, and this species is viable.
