This is a new rare new species to the Safari Park! This is the only place in the world to keep them for public view! I 100% didn't see this one coming from miles away! What an exciting moment for the park!
@Nile Hippo Expert No way, new ungulate imports to the AZA! Any insight into there sourcing? Any press releases or anything?
Edit: After a little digging its almost certain they came from a private ranch in Brewster County. Still cool, but not the major shift in import policy from a US zoo I was hoping for.
Absolutely incredible news! I had seen these pop up on zootierliste and was waiting for someone to see them in person.
One of my biggest nemesis species and the final Tahr species I am missing! For years I thought I had seen them at SD Safari Park in the early 90s because I had a photo of an odd looking Tahr and remembered the monorail operator mentioning Nilgiri Tahr among the species sharing the Mountain Exhibit. And then I could never find an actual photo of one in my books to verify. Unfortunately I learned many years later this was instead a shaved down Himalayan Tahr.
Then I discovered my only chance to have seen San Diego Zoo's Nilgiri Tahr was actually from the Skyfari, which I never used to take being someone interested in the best photography angles.
They were even kept at Cape May County Park & Zoo, only 3-4 hour's drive away from where I grew up, but I never made the effort to go there since I thought I had already one. My first visit to Minnesota Zoo in 2006 was also a few years too late. (Anyone have any idea when they were held at Minnesota until?)
Then I tried multiple times through 3 different connections to visit Iron Mountain Ranch in Texas, but sadly was never able to gain access.
And now in full circle they're back at the Safari Park! The only question that remains is if I'll see them in California or India for the first time. I'm hoping/planning to visit the latter in the near future, where I could also knock out another Nilgiri nemesis- Nilgiri Langur, and then Nilgiri Marten or Malabar Spiny Dormouse (a wild family lifer!) if I'm really lucky.
I really want to drive out and come see them myself. The last ones I saw were at the Minnesota Zoo in 2003. Unfortunately, I did not get any photographs.
@Kudu21 did the Safari Park receive the whole herd from Iron Mountain Ranch or only a few animals from their herd? I have to say, I never thought that an AZA-accredited zoo would try to acquire Nilgiri tahr again. In other words, I never would have thought I'd see this photo in the gallery here.
@UngulateNerd92
There is a Facebook group called "Rarely seen in Zoos" that I belong to, along with many other zoo nerds as the total number of members is almost 11,000 individuals, and on November 8th someone posted a set of photos of Nilgiri Tahr at San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Down in the comments section, a man named Jon Wesley Conley posted a photo and said, "we have a group of 16 on display/breeding at Tennessee Safari Park".
It's possible that he is mistaken and is actually identifying a group of Himalayan Tahr and I'd be intrigued to find out the truth. Mr. Conley is one of the managers of the zoo and so should know the exact species he has in his collection, but that isn't saying much when it comes to many zoo owners/managers in the USA.
