Nice to see Gemsbok still here but its a pity they lost the Arabian Oryx. Whipsnade(being ZSL) is one place that should, IMO, maintain as representative a collection of Ungulates as possible, they certainly have the space to do so. I would like to see species like Blackbuck and Nilgai re-established in viable herds again here too.
I agree about the blackbuck. Such a shame there is just the one left now. Apparently they bred regularly but the young just never survived, mostly due to environmental factors I believe. The male that is left is lovely though, great looking animals
Maybe they would do better in a seperate enclosure and not in the drive-through. I would imagine rearing young would be much easier with access to a heated indoor area, though seeing a herd in the vast space of the drive through would be more impressive.
Agreed. The drive-through area is a good example of anthropomorphic zoo design - not many taxa have done well in its 25 years, and it really needs a revamp. Blackbuck, Chital and Nilgai would look very nice on Round Close, the paddock by the cafe.
I think both Bongo and Arabian Oryx were supposed to return to London when the Painted Dog pack had built up to a size suitable for moving to Whipsnade - but that was the idea several years ago. The disappearance of Arabian Oryx from ZSL really is something that I regret, especially as paddocks have been put up at London in the last two years for Reindeer and Bactrian Camel, domesticated animals already held at Whipsnade.
I know the arguments about "The public like to see them" - but isn't there also a duty to show the rare and the exotic so the next generation of enthusiasts will be inspired?
Agreed. The drive-through area is a good example of anthropomorphic zoo design - not many taxa have done well in its 25 years, and it really needs a revamp. Blackbuck, Chital and Nilgai would look very nice on Round Close, the paddock by the cafe.
I think both Bongo and Arabian Oryx were supposed to return to London when the Painted Dog pack had built up to a size suitable for moving to Whipsnade - but that was the idea several years ago. The disappearance of Arabian Oryx from ZSL really is something that I regret, especially as paddocks have been put up at London in the last two years for Reindeer and Bactrian Camel, domesticated animals already held at Whipsnade.
I know the arguments about "The public like to see them" - but isn't there also a duty to show the rare and the exotic so the next generation of enthusiasts will be inspired?
By paddock by the cafe which do you mean? The disused one on the opposite side of the road to the lake? (EDIT: Just looked it up, you mean this paddock that the gemsbok and ostrich are in. Oh well) If so I have often thought when walking past it that it is a waste of a nice big area (I was trying to guess it's size earlier!). I do remember though asking why it wasn't used and being told it was because the water from the lake is/used to be drained into that paddock when they needed to do some sort of cleaning of the lake, meaning that although it looks perfectly fine from the road, it is actually quite boggy apparently...?
I agree on the Arabian oryx front. What better way to educate the public about conservation and the part zoos play in it than by telling the story of the Arabian oryx, and for that matter the scimitar-horned oryx and Przewalski's horse too?! I think they're missing out on something important there.
I remember being distinctly unimpressed by the reindeer enclosure at London when I visited a few months ago, not that there's anything special about Whipsnade's particularly... From what I can remember it was very sparse and heavily covered in bark chip?
I agree about the blackbuck. Such a shame there is just the one left now. Apparently they bred regularly but the young just never survived, mostly due to environmental factors I believe.
Maybe they would do better in a seperate enclosure and not in the drive-through. I would imagine rearing young would be much easier with access to a heated indoor area, though seeing a herd in the vast space of the drive through would be more impressive.
I think you are pretty much right about the reason for the decline, small tropical antelope like Blackbuck in a vast enclosure are bound to suffer heavier mortality of fawns, than under closer conditions. Keeping them in smaller paddock would actually make them more visible too, than in the enormous Asian area.
Another factor for the decline could be inbreeding- IMO not enough attention is given to bringing in unrelated blood into some of those Deer and Antelope herds at Whipsnade, I wonder when the last time any unrelated stock was deliberately acquired to infuse fresh blood into any of those Asian plains species?
I agree on the Arabian oryx front. What better way to educate the public about conservation and the part zoos play in it than by telling the story of the Arabian oryx,
I think they did make some attempt at that when they were displayed on the Cotton Terraces, but they have still lost them from the ZSL collection anyway- as if they weren't important enough to bother with.
I agree they should take precedence over domestic species like Bactrian Camels or Reindeer in a so-called national collection.
I think both Bongo and Arabian Oryx were supposed to return to London when the Painted Dog pack had built up to a size suitable for moving to Whipsnade - but that was the idea several years ago.
I wasn't aware the Dogs were originally intended for Whipsnade. Why did they go to London first- quarantine restrictions? I imagine the Bongo are actually better off at Whipsnade spacewise(as long as they actually hold on to them) but I think the Arabian Oryx definately should have been returned to the dry paddocks on the Cotton terraces- which are more suitable for them than Whipsnade's grassy paddocks anyway, and this should be an iconic species for ZSL, given their involvement with the initial founding of the 'World herd', the FFPS etc. I suppose they could get them again but will they bother, especially if reimportation was/is necessary with just the tiny group at Marwell now remaining?
Another factor for the decline could be inbreeding- IMO not enough attention is given to bringing in unrelated blood into some of those Deer and Antelope herds at Whipsnade, I wonder when the last time any unrelated stock was deliberately acquired to infuse fresh blood into any of those Asian plains species?
I think you are right there too. The only new animals I've known of to introduce new animals to the drive through was a few weeks ago when a female hog deer was brought in. Apart from that I couldn't say if any others have...
