If the numbers are as large as I have heard reported (20,000+) eradication will be very difficult indeed.
AZA Ungulate Updates
- Thread starter Kudu21
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If the numbers are as large as I have heard reported (20,000+) eradication will be very difficult indeed.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Oh dear, I didn't imagine they would be as high as that and yes it will incredibly difficult.
Looking around online some sites are saying numbers are as high as 35,000 animals. Texas is encouraging hunting/eradication.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
The problem seems dire and I am sure that in spite of Texas being a gigantic state that it will eventually spread across the USA (perhaps down into Mexico too ?).
Perhaps American trophy hunters might practice their marksmanship closer to home and help out with a problem that they ultimately helped cause ?
Strangely enough I was totally unaware that Nilgai were an invasive species in the USA until reading it on this thread and it sort of still shocks me.
This is being encouraged and pushed, yes.
Yeah, they've been around a long time now too. We've also got Gemsbok and Aoudad in New Mexico as well, also causing damages where they occur. Not nearly in such numbers as Nilgai.
Also the feral zebras along California's Big Sur coast.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
I find nilgai to be such a majestic looking species (gemsbok and aoudad too) and they are beautiful to watch at zoos or in documentaries about Indian wildlife but certainly if I was in Texas I would get myself a Remington model rifle and do my small part to help control this invasive.
I get where you are coming from, but respectfully, I do not think we are on a slippery slope here. This situation just demonstrates that the ecosystem is far from balanced in Texas, perhaps. Worthy of its own topic, perhaps not here.
The population is sitting at 5.7 total. The remaining animals in the United States (2.3) have been consolidated at Roosevelt Park for the time being. You’re right in that there is interest in the species in Canada. They are working on trying to export those remaining animals at Roosevelt to Canada, but as we all know that is not an easy process.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Maybe its own thread ?
I have one question/possible idea for the gaur program. Could gaur be managed successfully in former Asian elephant exhibits? I know quite a few zoos are either phasing out Asian elephants or building new exhibits, and maybe some of these zoos could opt to bring in gaur to the old elephant habitat instead of Indian rhinos, which is what a lot of these zoos are doing. I'd expect gaur to have rather similar habitat requirements to the elephants anyways meaning not too much renovation would be needed.
A gaur wouldn’t be able to attract as much guests as an Indian rhinoceros.
It may not make the most sense as the gaur is to be phased out according the last AZA ungulate meetings, pending the recommended TAG specie. Perhaps Banteng could be introduced into such habitats but @PossumRoach is right, Indian Rhinos are much more interesting to the general public.
That is an absolutely horrendous idea that gaur should be phased out.
It's sad that the AZA has decided to phase out such a wonderful species however they don't have much to work with since Bronx is pretty much the only holder on the continent with a herd suitable for breeding. I don't really know how feasible it is to import more from India or any other range countries but I would imagine it to be quite difficult.
Bronx has enough though that they could send some to other facilities (like the former elephant exhibits I was talking about), and start a program up again. Gaur would be a good fit for these former elephant Habitats and I also don't buy the argument that zoos should get rhinos since they'll be "more popular". People may not know what a gaur is, but I'm willing to guess that with proper marketing zoos could make the gaur a popular exhibit, as it is a large, impressive, beautiful animal.
I disagree. With the exception of people who dream of having one as a trophy and animal nerds like you and I, I don’t see any member of the general public getting interested into gaurs with the family friendly marketing zoos could make. The only way I see some people liking gaurs is by being made into a meme because of how roided they look. Otherwise I don’t see the general public liking them anytime soon.
Sending some out just makes them harder to breed. At least with the herd at Bronx, they can go a few more generations before genetics becomes a big issue.
No campaign would ever make gaur half as popular as rhinos are. They're essentially just a big cow (to the public), and kids will prefer cows that look like the ones they know.
To add what others have said, rhinos are unequivocally popular animals in zoos. Whether it’s a GOH, White, or Black Rhino, guests would want to see rhinos and have the allure of being “living tanks” if I were to put it in my own terms. Us as zoo enthusiasts can appreciate most, if not all, species we see in zoos including those most guests oversee or miss. I do feel the same as others do about seeing such beautiful and wonderful animals leave collections but as mentioned before, it’s a multi-layered issue as to why some animals leave collections.
As for the marketing aspect, perhaps it can be a viable way to attract attention to said specie. However, to be blunt, gaur may appear to just be big and muscular cows to most guests. I have yet to see how guests exclaim “Oh wow, that gaur is a beauty and show stopper!”
. Although I do find them beautiful and impressive, there isn’t enough public interest after years of being in multiple collections to keep them. Along with their notoriety of being difficult animals to work with, why put such a vast amount of effort and resources to working with an animal that isn’t popular at the same time?
I agree it would be difficult but it’s never impossible. A campaign by some zoo 99% would not work unless they had a master marketing department but as just some random internet trend is definitely possible. But chances of that happening are entirely random if there is no influence from an outside source.
That being said there is also little chance zoos would revive the population with overseas animals even if they became popular.