@SusScrofa Hollywild had “Alpine Ibex / West Caucasian Tur” on their USDA reports for years, before listing the species with a count of 0 in February 2022 and nothing since. I really wasn't sure which of the two it seemed likelier to be.
And it's really nothing great. I’m not sure if they’re even open outside of the holiday season anymore. The species visible during the holiday drive-through, deer forest, and Santa‘a village are almost entirely domestic hoofstock and safari park staples. The enclosures for the deer forest seem probably fine for temporary setups, but the ones in Santa’s village seemed really dismal even for temporary things. The creature in this picture honestly had one of the better setups (climbable rocks!) and even then it was way too small. I intended to do a full writeup/rough species list for it, but it will likely be after Christmas.
@biggest_dreamer The thick horn ridges and large beard make me think its a tur, but I'm not a goat expert. I also don't think there are any Alpine Ibex around in the US, but there are for sure tur here.
Yeah, from what I see on their website they are closed outside of the holidays. These enclosures do seem small. Are the animals also confined to pens in the drive-thru area or is it a standard open safari field?
@SusScrofa I'll go with tur then unless anyone provides more compelling evidence to the contrary. Thanks!
I visited Hollywild pretty frequently throughout the 90s and into the early 2000s, with my last visit being in 2009. During all that time, the drive-through area was fully open, standard safari park fare. Since then they’ve changed it so that while there are a ton of fallow deer and a few emus and cattle free roaming, most of the species are confined to pens in the field that you can drive up alongside, including other deer and cattle. It definitely felt like some of the “magic” of a safari park was lost, but at the same time it all but guarantees you can pull right up beside everything there with no issue.
Edit: I just uploaded a photo of the female in this enclosure, in case that sheds any additional light on the matter.
@SusScrofa, as far as I know there have been no Alpine ibex in North American zoos, just don't quote me on it. I do think it is far more likely West Caucasian Tur. What I have personally observed as Tur and knowing intimately Alpine ibex and Pyrenean ibex ..., I am also tending towards Tur.
