Barbary deer

kiang

kiang

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
As the only endemic deer species in Africa, and locally threatened, i would have thought there would be some in a European collection, but according to ISIS there is not a single specimen.
What are other zoochatters thoughts on this situation?
Personally speaking, i would like to see them here in the UK, i realise at the end of the day they are a sub species of red deer, and probably many a regular zoo punter wouldn't give them a second look, but i think a lightly forested exhibit, mixed with a troop of Barbary macaque could give the regular visitor a feeling for the foothills of the Atlas mountains, and not the desert that everyone thinks encroaches the whole of north Africa.
As well as showing the ONLY African species of deer, surely worth the enclosure space for that alone!
 
I certainly think there should be a few 'back-up' groups breeding in captivity(or semi captivity) as insurance against the dwindling wild stock.

I can't see any UK collection ever taking the trouble to import them though-unless it was somewhere 'specialist' like Port Lympne. And climatically they might be better suited to being kept in a Mediterranean- based collection?
 
I am sure that Tierpark Berlin keeps Barbary Red Deer or at least has done recently.

I noted two captive groups in Tunisia earlier this year. I don't think it would be difficult for more European zoos to obtain specimens.
 
San Diego has a large herd between the Zoo and the Wild Animal Park.

It would also seem that the Barbary red deer is more than just a subspecies of European red deer. Some have elevated it (along with the deer from Corsica) into a seperate species Cervus corsicanus.

http://arts.anu.edu.au/grovco/Pitra deer.pdf
 
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I've been play designing an Atlas exhibit that features Barbary Deer, Aoudad, Cuvier's Gazelle, and maybe Barbary Macaque. This is definitely an under represented area from Africa.

Here in the US there is what is known as a PMP in place for it (basically a level below an SSP program). Unfortunately there is just the one holder at SDWAP and the SD Zoo. Maybe we should share the wealth.
 
@Paradoxorus,there are no Barbary Deers in Tierpark Berlin, neither in the past they had kept this species, mayby you have mistaken them with Bactrian Wapitis. According to zootierliste.de Berlin Zoo had kept them between 1930's and 1940's.
 
I am surprised Woburn have not got this species as they have had a big history with deer species for a long time?
 
MARK said:
I am surprised Woburn have not got this species as they have had a big history with deer species for a long time?
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Being closely related to other Red Deer, they would have to keep them seperate from their large herds of European Red Deer, to avoid inbreeding. Not impossible as they have various smaller paddocks/areas(mostly in the Safari Park area) but I imagine it would create complications, whereas unrelated species don't and can all be kept together.

I read somewhere Barbary Deer may have either been introduced to North Africa from Corsica/Sardinia, or the other way round. Or it may not be true at all...
 
kiang said:
Tierpark Berlin has imported 1.3 animals recently from the SDWAP, these are the only ones of their kind on exhibit in Europe.

Hauptstadt Zoo*-*Tierpark*-*Tiere & Wissenswertes*-*Tier-News
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I know that the TAG has been looking for some time into endangered sika and red deer ssp. Whether this is the first sign of a nod ... I do not know (sometimes Tierpark likes to take a route of their own :D).

It would however be very nice to have more zoos invest into this ssp. or the already existing Bukhara deer stock. Also, 1 or 2 more pure-bred sika deer ssp. of the mainland variety would be an obvious benefit (currently the Vietnam sika + a very select group of zoos with Dybowski sika).
 
I was reading somewhere that the Los Angeles Zoo actually wanted to get Barbary red deer (Cervus corsicanus barbarus), but those plans fell through
 
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