White-tailed gnus and Cape mountain zebras in North America

elefante

elefante

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Does anyone know of any North American zoos that have white-tailed gnus (black wildebeest)? I know blue wildbeest are present in North America but I haven't heard of any zoos with black wildbeest? I think those have very unique horns.

Also, what about Cape mountain zebras? I have heard there is some debate about whether these are a separate species from Hartmann's mountain zebras which are present in North America.
 
Six Flags Wild Safari in New Jersey has White-Tailed Gnu and two years ago I went to Catoctin Zoo in Maryland and they had White-Tailed Gnu off exhibit in a barn. Don't know if Catoctin ever put them on exhibit though or even still have them.
 
San Diego Wild Animal Park used to have a nice herd of white-tailed gnus, in their South African section. They had a herd of Hartman's mountain zebras and a herd of sable antelope. It was a very beautiful group of animals. The whole herd of gnus was removed because they were considered carriers of malignant catarrhal fever. I was very sad to see them go. That was probably 12 to 15 years ago.:(
 
beastdoctor said:
San Diego Wild Animal Park used to have a nice herd of white-tailed gnus, in their South African section. They had a herd of Hartman's mountain zebras and a herd of sable antelope. It was a very beautiful group of animals. The whole herd of gnus was removed because they were considered carriers of malignant catarrhal fever. I was very sad to see them go. That was probably 12 to 15 years ago.:(
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That does sound like a nice display. They must have figured Hartmann's mountain zebras are the same species as Cape mountain zebras so displayed them in that themed area. Is there still a South African themed area in the zoo? Too bad about the white-tailed gnus. I take it blue wildebeest don't carry that disease?
 
In 1969, the following North American zoos kept Black wildebeest

Alberta Game Farm
Catskill Game Farm
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Honolulu Zoo
Kansas City Zoo
Bronx Zoo
Oklahoma City Zoo
Philadelphia Zoo
St Louis Zoo
San Antonio Zoo
San Diego Zoo
and
Busch Gardens Tampa

Besides Six Flags Wild Safari, I believe that there are some in the private sector too, they have them at Texas Hunt Lodge in Texas, Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park in Michigan, and at the Wilderness Drive Through Safari in Arkansas

As for Cape mountain zebras in North America, I will check for that information in the following books for you

The Longevity of Mammals in Captivity by Richard Weigl

The Management of Wild Mammals in Captivity by Lee S Crandall

And

The International Zoo Yearbooks
 
Pertinax said:
I believe there are no Cape Mountain Zebras in captivity anywhere outside South Africa(or possibly there either.)
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I visited both Pretoria and Jo'burg Zoos in 2011, and neither had Cape Mountain Zebras (only Hartmann's).

I guess captive specimens may exist in a game farm somewhere?
 
I wish somebody would get some Cape Mountain Zebras out. It takes a lot of grazing to keep viable populations of wild equids. It would not be wise to assume that the lands where the animal has found refuge will be safe for all time in South Africa.
 
It would certainly be beneficial to try to establish a captive population of these - although populations have risen in recent decades, the wild population is pretty bottlenecked and thus prone to disease and the slightest change in conditions.
 
Pertinax said:
I believe there are no Cape Mountain Zebras in captivity anywhere outside South Africa(or possibly there either.)
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For sure there are no Cape mountain zebra in captivity in North America anymore, I meant to say that I was going to see if past records in North American zoos exist, for sure they were held in European zoos, and probably South African zoos but I cannot for sure confirm this
 
ungulate nerd said:
For sure there are no Cape mountain zebra in captivity in North America anymore, I meant to say that I was going to see if past records in North American zoos exist...........
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Crandall (1964)records a Cape mountain zebra stallion at Bronx Zoo that fathered three Cape mountain zebra x Hartmann’s mountain zebra hybrids between 1924 and 1931.
 
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