@captain alligator
China's Gansu Endangered Animal Protection Center still has over 1,600 saiga (more than 100 bred locally, and 1,500 gifted by Kazakhstan this year). Unfortunately, visits are not allowed.
@captain alligator As for why they are no longer kept... I suppose it might be because they are too timid? If visitors come, it might frighten them, potentially leading to breeding failure?
@fourclover Saigas have been kept in several zoos in Europe and North America in the past, but this species is not kept at all in Europe or North America today.
I really miss this species. My home zoo of Oklahoma City used to keep Siaga in the late 1970s and early 1980s. At one time they had close to a dozen and bred them for several years. I'm not sure why they no longer have them, but my understanding is that they were prone to respiratory issues during our humid spring and summer weather. Surprisingly, I don't recall that they were timid, but I might not have realized that as a kid. There was a breeding group on the south side of the zoo in a large paddock (roughly an acre) and then there were others in two small paddocks in the Children's Zoo where you could see them closely.
