Highland Wildlife Park Musk oxen at HWP

kiang

kiang

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Just had an e-mail reply from Iain Valentine at Edinburgh zoo and in it he slipped in that in a couple of weeks time a pair of musk oxen will be arriving at the park, i have asked him in a reply from where are they coming from.:)
There is a god!
 
I'll believe there's a god when they slip Mercedes in there somewhere!
That's good about the Musk owen though :)
 
Whipsnade used to have a herd of them, I dont think there are any there these days
 
This is amazing. I really hope they breed. It must be a really exciting time to be a ranger at the HWP.
 
Pertinax said:
I'm presuming these are again the only Musk Oxen anywhere in the UK?
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I think so, the musk oxen at Whipsnade have died out. An attempt to establish a herd at Chester in 1976 came to nothing because no females were available, so they only ever had 2 males.
 
Where are they coming from?
 
What has happened here? Is there any news on this exciting development Kiang? Are the musk ox at HWP already?
 
The musk oxen pair are in quarantine in a centre in Holland waiting approval for shipment to UK, hold up due to blue tongue restrictions, but they are on their way.
 
Fantastic news. Thanks Kiang. No doubt you will keep us all informed of any developments.:D
 
bongorob said:
I think so, the musk oxen at Whipsnade have died out. An attempt to establish a herd at Chester in 1976 came to nothing because no females were available, so they only ever had 2 males.
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Lets hope if the HWP can get a herd going that they dont end up dying out like the Whipsnade group did, maybe another zoo in the UK should carry a second group so they can swap bloodlines in the future, well just maybe Whipsnade could exhibit them again since they did so well with them in the past :D
 
MARK said:
well just maybe Whipsnade could exhibit them again since they did so well with them in the past :D
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Whipsnade is probably the next best location for Musk Oxen after HWP- 'cos its ****** freezing there for about nine months of the year!! ;) it maybe why they did well there before....
 
I always liked the idea of a Polar exhibit on the edge of the escarpment at Whipsnade. But I'm sure the musk oxen will find the Highlands to their liking too.

Alan
 
How about "Musk Ox Hill" next to "Bison Hill"at Whipsnade, and while they are at it, they can build a new polar bear enclosure there as well, as it was before, but bigger and better, and carry on the fantastic breeding record they had in the 1960s and 1970s!
 
Not a bad idea. There are also several species they already have from colder climates which would probably do well on that colder exposed side of the zoo- Yak, Bactrian Camel & Prezwalski's horse, all of them might make more interesting exhibits if they were placed in a ' cold climatic zone' type exhibit.

There is plenty of space to do a really good Polar Bear exhibit too- its possibly the best' cold weather' location in the UK after HWP and ZSL could perhaps do something along the lines of the recent Lion & Cheetah exhibits.
 
That is a good idea :)
It's not like they don't have the space, and I think Whipsnade would be the best place for polar bears, next to HWP (although I've never been there).
 
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