pronghorns
- Thread starter zorg
- Start date
pronghorns are extremely difficult to keep healthy in captivity, and I don't think there are any left outside America. Forget about them.
You might talk to people at the Los Angeles Zoo and/or San Diego Zoo about them. Those zoos both have captive populations that have been successful for many years.
Both maintain one of the rarest south US pronghorn subspecies. I really would discount any European zoo attempting to maintain them here .. without having any prior experience of other delicate / difficult antelope species. Not saying you should not take up the offer of asking LA or SDZ for advice on pronghorn. Also, it does not make much sense to go it alone ... so to speak on a given species (see also the North American moose at Emmen ...).
It would be much better to have other zoos within the European zoo world to consider the species first. Also, I guess you would have to get in touch with the EAZA Antelope TAG too on collection planning.
Anyhow, @zorg ... good luck!
Bib Fortuna
Well-Known Member
All european attempts to Keep pronghorns have failed sucessfully,but Hannover could Keep and breed them a couple of years, until all animals were dead after that short period. But this was in the 70ties and since then, no other attempts to Keep them were made.
Maybe they should try it again-with common pronghorns ? But for what ? As Long as enough animals are available to replace the losses-why not ? But I'm afarid, the costs of the Import are too high and it Needs a Long time, to get in hooftstock into the EU.I think, thats why european zoos are not interested in them.
I saw one in japan-the last one in that Country-a handraised male-the keepers had a lot of fun with him..... But it is the only way, to transport them-I don't know how it may be now, but in former times, it was impossible to transport adult pronghorns-they died all on the way, so the Zoos got only calfs and handraised them.
@zorg. Maybe you should contact Hannover Zoo or the other european holders, before you think about pronghorns....paying a lot of Money just to fail again ?
Maybe they should try it again-with common pronghorns ? But for what ? As Long as enough animals are available to replace the losses-why not ? But I'm afarid, the costs of the Import are too high and it Needs a Long time, to get in hooftstock into the EU.I think, thats why european zoos are not interested in them.
I saw one in japan-the last one in that Country-a handraised male-the keepers had a lot of fun with him..... But it is the only way, to transport them-I don't know how it may be now, but in former times, it was impossible to transport adult pronghorns-they died all on the way, so the Zoos got only calfs and handraised them.
@zorg. Maybe you should contact Hannover Zoo or the other european holders, before you think about pronghorns....paying a lot of Money just to fail again ?
to all informers
lot of thank's for these answers that show the challenge to keep them far from an available and reliable source of very tame ,captive born animals and with hope that local wheather and diseases kill them step by step if not during transport
Saint Felicien (CA) told me they stopped trying to keep them
lot of thank's for these answers that show the challenge to keep them far from an available and reliable source of very tame ,captive born animals and with hope that local wheather and diseases kill them step by step if not during transport
Saint Felicien (CA) told me they stopped trying to keep them
I was very surprised a while ago when I learned on ZooChat that pronghorns were not held outside North America. Since I live in the Southwest United States and there are so many zoos here that have them, I was unaware of the difficulties. There are several small zoos in New Mexico and Arizona with them, but I suppose most of them are unreleasable rescue animals and not zoo bred animals. Still, they obviously keep them alive so I do not understand why a major European zoo could not do it.
I have seen small groups at Phoenix Zoo and Heritage Park Zoo (Arizona) and at Living Desert and Wildlife West (New Mexico), plus zoos in other states (California, Minnesota, etc). And I have seen them in the wild in my state of Arizona in at least two places - Buenos Aires NWR (south of my home Tucson) and Prescott Valley (north of my home Tucson - photo attached).
If small rescue zoos like Heritage Park and Wildlife West can get them, I do not see why a major European zoo could not get at least some rescue animals. If transport has been a problem, why not sedate them for the entire flight? I think it is worth a try. You may want to contact Arizona Game and Fish or New Mexico Game and Fish department (or other western states) about receiving orphaned or rescued animals.
I have seen small groups at Phoenix Zoo and Heritage Park Zoo (Arizona) and at Living Desert and Wildlife West (New Mexico), plus zoos in other states (California, Minnesota, etc). And I have seen them in the wild in my state of Arizona in at least two places - Buenos Aires NWR (south of my home Tucson) and Prescott Valley (north of my home Tucson - photo attached).
If small rescue zoos like Heritage Park and Wildlife West can get them, I do not see why a major European zoo could not get at least some rescue animals. If transport has been a problem, why not sedate them for the entire flight? I think it is worth a try. You may want to contact Arizona Game and Fish or New Mexico Game and Fish department (or other western states) about receiving orphaned or rescued animals.
Attachments
It's the climate of Europe which causes the problem - the cool humid climate of the area is unconductive to pronghorn survival. Although the species is found as far north as southern Canada, in these areas it is found more or less in the dead-centre of the continental mass, where the air is significantly drier than it is anywhere in Europe.
Issues relating to the humidity of the air are also the reason why Saiga have never tended to do well in European collections, to a lesser extent; even so, the only collections to hold the species for significant periods of time have been those found well-within the landmass and thus benefiting from drier air.
AD, the locations you have mentioned all are in fairly dry arid environments. European temperate climate is very wet and humid and does not suit the species all that well (see also example of saiga from Central Asia and experiences in Europe and US zoos). Having said that some pronghorn ssp. seem to do well in more temperate climes (vis a vis strong recovery of pronghorns on Yellowstone following wolves re-introduction.
I am not quite sure zorg has mentioned any location for the zoo.
Pronghorn in Europe would be a challenge that is for sure!
Considering the decent number of zoos that keep them in the United States and that these are located in very different parts of the country, I find it hard to believe that the weather in Europe (except perhaps the northern half and part of the interior) should present a major problem in keeping pronghorns today. Among others, there are a handful of zoos in the far northeastern part of The States that keep pronghorns, including small groups at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo (Connecticut), Queens Zoo (New York) and Roger Williams Park Zoo (Rhode Island). Not sure about the last, but the first two zoos have also bred pronghorn within the last 5 years. These are regions that anually receive much more rain than London, Berlin, Paris, etc, and have cold winters.
To my knowledge, most pronghorns kept in Europe were ~50 years ago or more, and the last were in the early 1970s. Much has happened in animal keeping since then.
To my knowledge, most pronghorns kept in Europe were ~50 years ago or more, and the last were in the early 1970s. Much has happened in animal keeping since then.
Last edited:
As many of you know I raise cattle/bison/exotics in Alabama. Its been mentioned several times that Pronghorn would not do well in my area because the humidity and the mosquitoes cause bad skin lesions.
