AZA species numbers

ColumbusZoo001 said:
Also, Safari Park, look at it from a business perspective. While zoos are the primary conservation centers for ex situ conservation, they have to stay in business. To a visitor most species of deer and antelope are "just another deer." I've heard guests complain about endless paddocks full of "boring" deer. And even as a zoologist, after walking through Horn and Hoof Mesa at SD I was relieved to go another exhibit that featured things other than ungulates.
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Maybe the design of the exhibit itself is boring. Exhibits are like a stage not only to display the animal, but also to inform about their habitat. Only a few exhibit in the zoo world could actually do that, like the Congo Forest of the Bronx Zoo. The important thing is how we can showcase the animals that would keep visitors interested.
 
One thing to consider here is how much room it takes to exhibit many of these species. Species are often phased out because there is not adequate space to maintain sufficient numbers of the animals to insure genetic diversity. Zoos are asked to project how many animals they can maintain of a particular species for the next 5 years. As was pointed out many animals are moved out to make room for a newer, potentially more popular (revenue-producing) exhibit. Other institutions may be constrained from housing a sufficient number of these larger species by space. Displaying just a couple of these species does little to contribute to the long-term genetic viability.
 
It's easy for casual zoo goers to overlook the missing hoofed stock. They go to see elephants, apes and big cats. It's tough for a lot of serious fans, though. It seems to be kind of taboo, but there are still people here who love diverse collections. Not many zoos can pull a diverse collection off humanely, but places like SD could and did. Now they are going to go in another direction, and others will surely follow. Bronx is doing it out of finacial neccessity.

It just seems like zoos are becoming a bit homogenized. People rennovate the same kinds of exhibits, improve ones for the same species. It's always eles and polar bears, sometimes apes. Perhaps some of the zoos racing to improve these exhibits should question whether or not they should keep these species to begin with. Why not try to make an interesting exhibit for hoofed-stock if that is indeed the problem?

If the goal for all zoos is to keep the same flagship animals at every institution, then the real star of the zoo will ultimately become the quality and uniqueness of exhibitry. That's a good thing. I'd just like to see it take another step. If exhibitry is going to become the draw over the animals themselves, then focus on exhibitry that makes traditionally "boring" animals seem more exciting. At least this would make trips to new zoos more exciting in the sense that you will see something different in terms of species and exhibitry.
 
I cannot say much about AZA zoo numbers i mainly work in the "private sector" with ungulates and our numbers are huge. If AZA would have opened their minds a bit more on hoofstock in private hands in the past they would not be in this hoofstock rut.
 
What species have huge numbers in the private sector? Sure, there are quite a few deer(fallow, sika, elk, etc) but what antelope other than blackbuck, nilgai, and eland have huge numbers in the private sector. I've been in it for years and pretty much every species i've listed is nowhere near huge numbers.
 
Safari Park, this is a very sad, and a alarming thread too, thank you for posting it!!!, a few of these species such as the Moroccan dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas massaesyla), Burmese muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak curvostylis), and Sindh wild goat (Capra hircus blythi) I wasn't aware that they were ever held in North American zoos until I found this thread ? Which zoos had them ?

Also I always enjoy reading your posts, I very much agree with every single one of them, they are quite thought provoking...

Also here are some hoofstock species missing from your lists that are gone from or are extremely rare in North American zoos, some of these species date back as early as the 1920s, but I guarantee you that if you were to combine our lists, it would be far from complete regarding how many hoofed mammals are gone or almost gone from North American zoos, here is the list I compiled:

Jentinks duiker
Hirola
Black fronted duiker
Visayan spotted deer
Cokes hartebeest
Maral
British red deer
Carpathian red deer
Cottons oribi
Roberts gazelle
Marco polo argali
Marsh deer
Chaco pampas deer
Manchurian wapiti
Yucatan brown brocket
Chinkara gazelle
Mountain gazelle
Isabelline gazelle
Aders duiker
Bohor reedbuck
Tsessebe
Dibatag
White eared kob
Burmese banteng
Lichtensteins hartebeest
Water chevrotain
Pygmy hog
Javan warty pig
Wild yak
Spanish ibex
Red goral
Giant forest hog
Indonesian wild boar
Newfoundland caribou
Osborns caribou
North andean huemul
Cape grysbok
Bokharan argali
Stones sheep
Fannin sheep
Abbotts duiker
Tiang
Kabul markhor
Astor markhor
Philippine brown deer
Nubian wild ass
Siberian roe deer
Central african savanna buffalo
Sri lankan sambar
Alpine chamois
Saiga
Peary caribou
Altai argali

And I can go on and on...
 
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