Dromedary camel and Somali black-headed sheep paddock, 2020-06-28

Yeah domestics are really pretty disappointing, maybe an african hoofstock species to go with the nearby lions?

@DelacoursLangur That would be nice, but I think the indoor and shelter areas for this paddock are more suited for species that can withstand some cold weather than for species from warmer areas. Also one has to take into account that this paddock can be looked into from an elevated area pretty much all the way around, which could be an issue in terms of stress for certain species also.

I too hope for some nice wild hoofstock species in this paddock, but it remains to be seen what will be possible.

@KevinB Barbary sheep?

@DelacoursLangur Perhaps a possibility. There was actually some talk a while ago about the zoo getting barbary sheep in the future. That said I think this exhibit is neither totally suitable for Barbary sheep nor escape-proof for a climbing ungulate species. If they wanted to Barbary sheep here they would have to make some substantial changes I would think.

@KevinB Makes sense, just speculating. I only know the zoo from pictures and zooming around on google earth so you would know better. I understand the zoo has certain limitations that dictate which species live where, but I will still always encourage geographical continuity when it comes to zoos. Overall Antwerp is actually heavily African species dominated already.

@DelacoursLangur I do know the zoo from actually visiting it numerous times over the last 20+ years, but what I said about the suitability of the exhibit Barbary sheep is still just a slightly educated guess. I don't really know anything about the specific requirements for keeping climbing ungulates.

It is true that Zoo Antwerpen has a large African collection - which is historical thing, because of the historical connection between Belgium and West-Africa/Congo and the resulting imports from those areas decades ago. They do however also have substantial collections of animals from other continents, and aren't hesitant to also represent those species when possible.

Personally I would be happy with pretty much anything more interesting than domestics in this area, and would be happy if they got something a little more rare for the area.

But we will just have to wait and see what they decide on.

Probably too small for a wild ass species?

@Philipine eagle I looked up the legal norm for wild donkeys and did a little measuring, and I don't think this area would be large enough to keep wild asses.