I don't think there have been any in Europe in 30 years, since Frankfurt stopped keeping them, or so I think I've read somewhere. Would anyone have further information? I saw my first at the Los Angeles Zoo in 2003.
Wait till you see one truly "stand up" on its two hind legs to feed. That site always thrills me whenever I visit the LA Zoo. Quite a nice enclosure at DAK when I visited in 2001.
I like Gerenuks, unfortunately,they dissappered from europe in 1979. Only Manchester, Dvur Kralove, Frankfurt,Hannover, Rome,Naples and Berlin have kept that fascinating antelope, but all of these attempts to keep them in captivity have failed.
Altough Frankfurt has bred gerenuks for more than 30 years, the population was totally inbred. Inbreeding isn't a big problem for many hoofed animals, but gerenuks are one of the famous exceptions. Most of the inbred youngsters at Frankfurt died shortly after birth, the zoo has never send any offspring to other facillities and bred only for its own.
After almost the whole group has gone, the Zoo could import a new male at the beginning of the 70ty years, but the last two females at this time were to old to bred. The last animal, the male, died in 1979.
The Us-Population started in 1977 and 1978 with the importation of 9.21 gerenuks from kenya.Gerenuks are too difficult to keep them in captivity. So also the small Us-Population is high inbred, and they do have now the same problems as Frankfurt did. The Us-Population isn't growing, it's going down since 2002. The goal of the Antelope TAG to reach a population of 150 gerenuks is impossible , because of the inbreeding. L.A is handrasing all gerenuk offspring to make sure their survival,but more indivuals are dying each year than are be born in the whole Us-Population. So its just a question of time, when the population is broken.
Unfortunately, the US-Zoos have started to go another wrong way, they are doing now A.I on gerenuks. I ask me, why ? This can't help to save the gerenuk population in the USA. As like as all other animals, gerenuks are able to breed by themselfs, they don't need human assistance.Only new animals from the wild could eventually help, but fortunately, its impossible to import gerenuks from africa. After more than 40 years of gerenuks in captivity, and the zoos are still at the beginning , after the loss of too many gerenuks, because of accidents, deseases, feeding mistakes, transportation, inbreeding...The attempt, to import gerenuk semen from africa, has failed also. So thats why I said Fortunately...
Some european zoos are still interested in gerenuks, but now, after the Us-Population isn't doing well since 9 years ( it never done, after inbreeding started ), its impossible to get gerenuks from the Usa or Africa.
This would be your forth account here, unless I've missed some. First there was Zebraduiker (which you yourself put to sleep) and then Charly (who got banned) followed by Tarsius (most memorable for his love of Knut poetry). And now it is Beaker...
You're of course welcome back, even if under (at least) your forth username. It's rather that you should realise that you could start up 100 account and still we'd know.
