Back in the 90's I photographed an odd looking Tahr at the Safari Park that I thought was of the Nilgiri variety. Scanned Wild Animal Park Photos 1992-2001 Photo ID? - ZooChat
Back then there was no internet for a google image search and none of my books had photos of the species, so it was really hard to tell. I even had some backing of people on this site thinking it might be Nilgiri. Ultimately, Brent Huffman (of Ultimate Ungulate fame Welcome to www.ultimateungulate.com) set me straight, explaining that photo above was merely a summer-coat Himalayan Tahr. In the meantime, I had already missed my chances to see the species "nearby" at Cape May, NJ or in Minnesota. Repeated attempts to visit the private facility in Texas that took them off San Diego's hands never materialized.
3 decades later I was victorious, and at the same place where the confusion all began.
P.S. Thank you to @UngulateNerd92 for the nudge to post these.
Does anyone have any further insight into this herd? It sounds like these are from a private holder in Texas. How large is the herd? How old is the herd (in other words can it reproduce)? How inbred is the herd?
Basically I am trying to sus out whether there is a future for this species in the country. Especially considering there endangered status, and no captive population existing in Europe. Does anyone know if there are any more held in the private trade?
@snowleopard This must be a very recent acquisition. When I visited in 2024 they had Himalayan Tahr but not Nilgiri Tahr and it didn't show on either their website or any USDA report at the time. Some of the rarer/more interesting species kept here are also not necessarily on exhibit, so I would be interested in hearing confirmation they can be seen by regular visitors.
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.
Thanks for the heads up @snowleopard I thought they looked good at first, but I saved the photo, zoomed in and reminded myself what female Himalayan Tahrs look like. They shouldn't have any distinctive markings on the face and these do...soo I'd say these should be Himalayan. Hard to tell if they're shaggy at all, since the photo isn't high quality.
@DelacoursLangur The herd came from Iron Mountain Ranch in West Texas, but had originated in San Diego before they moved on from the species. I heard Iron Mountain still had a lot and were breeding back when they sent some back to San Diego in 2024, something I'm still so excited about!! You don't often get second chances at rare ungulates in life!!
