One of the elands at the zoo a little while ago was the first to give birth to an actual bongo. To answer your question, I cannot remember there being baby elands.
I think that you'll find that the birth of the bongo calf to the eland cow was not "a little while ago", but rather in 1984. You'll also find that the eland that gave birth to the bongo calf was a Common Eland, not a Giant Eland like the beautiful animal in this photograph.
It is quite the shame that the zoo quit keeping Giant Elands. They had such success with the species, and, in my opinion, they are among the most beautiful and impressive of the antelopes. I was hoping that they might make a return in the African exhibit, but from what I have heard from zoo officials it will be the Common Eland that will be returning.
I agree with you, Kudu21. Especially both subspecies of Giant Eland are highly endangered in the wild, so it is important to increase the captive population, it makes no sense to keep instead of them common elands.
What species is now kept in the former giant eland exhibit ?
I agree with you, Kudu21. Especially both subspecies of Giant Eland are highly endangered in the wild, so it is important to increase the captive population, it makes no sense to keep instead of them common elands.
What species is now kept in the former giant eland exhibit ?
Those were exactly my thoughts. It doesn't make much sense. The zoo moved the Giant Elands out of the zoo when Vanishing Giants closed and the Okapis moved to the Veldt. The bongos moved to the former Giant Eland yard, after a short period of a few months where it held Scimitar-horned Oryx, and the Okapis took over the former bongo yard. Then about two years ago they split the former Giant Eland yard in half to hold both the bongos and the Okapis. This was to make room on the other side of the Veldt for another Indian Rhinoceros enclosure. Now they have a perfect chance to bring the species back, and they're settling with their very common relatives. The zoo did such work with the species, and then just ships them out... I'm curious of their reasons.
As Moebelle said, there are bongos and crowned cranes in half of the former Giant Eland yard, but in the other half there are Okapis and supposedly the old male Yellow-backed Duiker.
