Antelope in zoos.

What do you mean by MCF? I do know there is a safari park in Arkansas that supposedly still has Black Wildebeest.
 
We are not a zoo but a private AZA Certified Conservation Preserve. We hold 3 antelope species, namely Roan, Sable, and Greater Kudu. We can understand why there not many antelope exhibits in zoos. Generally they are aggressive and difficult to manage. Additionally they do not do well in small enclosures. We maintain large antelope groups in large fields (3 to 20 acres). Also, we keep 2-4 backup genetically diverse bulls in separate fields. I believe the good zoo models for holding antelope are San Diego, Wilds, White Oak and Fossil Rim. It is unfortunate that more Zoos do not hold antelope because they are such beautiful species. In the future, I believe Zoos should reduce their species holdings and create more space to hold larger animal numbers. So much more interesting exhibits.
 
Bbryanpreserve said:
I believe the good zoo models for holding antelope are San Diego, Wilds, White Oak and Fossil Rim. It is unfortunate that more Zoos do not hold antelope because they are such beautiful species. In the future, I believe Zoos should reduce their species holdings and create more space to hold larger animal numbers. So much more interesting exhibits.
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@Bbryanpreserve: do you think that smaller antelope exhibits in smaller zoos can work adequately if the correct species are kept? This seems like it may be the only way that the majority of zoo visitors are going to get exposure to antelope seeing as most zoos are urban zoos without space to build the large open spaces like San Diego Safari Park or your facility.

Do you give public tours of your preserve?
 
Most antelope do not do well in small quarters. Zoo attendance is important so I do not know impact on species type on attendance. But having larger exhibits would lower cost to build and would require less overhead and labor. I still remind you that the good Zoos, like San Diego, have a lot of antelope.

Yes, we do tours, by reservation only.
 
To me it really depends on the species, I've never been to Marwell but they've got a brilliant record on breeding Addax, Waterbuck, Nyala etc.

At my local zoo Blackpool their's not a lot of Antelope species, the only one's I can think of are the Arabian gazelles which have plummeted in recent years. The only other is Eastern bongo.

I think every Antelope species is brilliant when exhibited well, Whipsnade have a very good record with their Bongo. Yorkshire wildlife park Addax enclosure looks very nice. I'm planning to visit Edinburgh and they've got a few species which I've never seen (Kudu, Nyala, Dik dik) so it'll be interesting to see how there exhibited. :D
 
Zebraduiker said:
Naples was the only zoo in the past with dibatag.
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Actually I am going to have to correct you on that one, here is something from the 1958 - 1978 records that went through the United States Quarentine Station at Clifton, New Jersey:

1.1 Dibatag arrived in 1969, in separate shipments of the International Animal Exchange. Both went to Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. The female arrived in Omaha on September 18 1969, and died October 20 1969, the male arrived at Omaha on January 5 1970, and died May 19 1970.

Another Dibatag imported by the IAE, arrived at Clifton on October 10 1966, but died there 2 days later.
 
Since Elephants are the big thing in Zoo design lately I wonder if any zoos will follow Dallas and Birmingham in starting to exhibit some sort of hoofstock with their elephants?
 
tschandler71 said:
Since Elephants are the big thing in Zoo design lately I wonder if any zoos will follow Dallas and Birmingham in starting to exhibit some sort of hoofstock with their elephants?
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Really in all likelihood the only chance of keeping another species with either elephant, would be in exceptionally large exhibits where the other species have elephant-free zones. Unlikely that an antelope species would fall into this category, as they tend to be pretty skittish. I know that there are exceptions to the rule - Burgers? in Netherlands. But have not seen the exhibit nor am familiar with how successful the exhibit is/was.
 
tetrapod said:
Really in all likelihood the only chance of keeping another species with either elephant, would be in exceptionally large exhibits where the other species have elephant-free zones. Unlikely that an antelope species would fall into this category, as they tend to be pretty skittish. I know that there are exceptions to the rule - Burgers? in Netherlands. But have not seen the exhibit nor am familiar with how successful the exhibit is/was.
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Dallas, Birmingham, Tampa are decently sized (multiple acre) elephant exhibits that are/will exhibit Elephant with hoofstock.

It seems to be the same eventual line up at all three institutions. The elephants with Zebra, Giraffe, White Rhino, Ostrich, Guinea Fowl, and Impala. It seems Impala is a species likely to have more spaces available (compared to other hoofstock) because it seems to have a good track record (Dallas/Tampa the Zoo in Sweden) mixing with Elephants. Their speed must be an asset for avoiding complications.

If these experiments are successful I would like to see some of the bigger zoos do it. North Carolina would be a great place to try the next bull herd mixed with hoofstock because of the adjacent and large paddocks.
 
tschandler71 said:
Dallas, Birmingham, Tampa are decently sized (multiple acre) elephant exhibits that are/will exhibit Elephant with hoofstock.

It seems to be the same eventual line up at all three institutions. The elephants with Zebra, Giraffe, White Rhino, Ostrich, Guinea Fowl, and Impala. It seems Impala is a species likely to have more spaces available (compared to other hoofstock) because it seems to have a good track record (Dallas/Tampa the Zoo in Sweden) mixing with Elephants. Their speed must be an asset for avoiding complications.

If these experiments are successful I would like to see some of the bigger zoos do it. North Carolina would be a great place to try the next bull herd mixed with hoofstock because of the adjacent and large paddocks.
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It must have been Boras in Sweden that I was thinking about!

After my previous comments it did occur to me that if one was going to keep an antelope species alongside elephants that springbok (or impala for that matter) would be small and speedy enough to keep away from curious trunks. My main concern would be for if any of the above mentioned species should they be cornered by one or more elephants. Look at what elephants can do to humans who they know well. Always looked at them as being like large deliquents who need to be kept in line constantly.

I get the feeling that some attempts at mixed exhibits don't necessarily have their inhabitant's best interests in mind. Some species, mostly large intelligent ones - killer whales, great apes, elephants, bears and big cats are not really great candidates for mixing with other species. Doesn't stop zoos trying, though.
 
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