Afaik, there still seem to be two seperate 'lines' of these in UK- one is from Woburn/Whipsnade( presuming Whipsnade's originated from Woburn- if not, then 3 lines), the other is from Port Lympne( more recently imported from Berlin.) Newer holders have received animals from one or other of these two seperate sources. It would be good if somewhere got some from both, in order to mix the bloodlines. Port Lympne do list theirs as C.d. branderi however- the southern race, but I doubt they are this- as I don't think this numerically much rarer race is in captivity anywhere (even in India).
Afaik, there still seem to be two seperate 'lines' of these in UK- one is from Woburn/Whipsnade( presuming Whipsnade's originated from Woburn- if not, then 3 lines)........
Its long been one of my concerns as to whether some of these ungulate herds suffer inbreeding depression/loss of vigour from being 'closed' herds for many years with no outcrossing.
A lot of time and effort is made to ensure e.g. Great Apes and other higher profile species are not allowed to inbreed, but the same considerations often don't seem to be applied to lower profile species e.g. Deer. We all know Pere David Deer do not seem to have suffered any harm from extreme inbreeding, but they are something of an exception in there was no choice, and I think in other species where there are unrelated animals available, it would be beneficial to exchange bloodlines sometimes.
