Chester Zoo Mystery ungulate
- Thread starter Tapir
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Cat-Man I do not know, well perhaps I do and do not realise it as I have heard of many ungulates which may come, with the emphasis on may.
As for pronghorn I must reluctantly agree with Pertinax. Not that I mean I am reluctant to agree with him that is, but I'm disappointed that his statement means we will probably never see pronghorn at Chester.
As for pronghorn I must reluctantly agree with Pertinax. Not that I mean I am reluctant to agree with him that is, but I'm disappointed that his statement means we will probably never see pronghorn at Chester.
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Surprisingly, pronghorns were bred at Whipsnade in the 1960s - although I have no recollection of ever seeing them.
Nor me!
I wonder how long they managed to keep them. I believe they suffer from stress related diseases as they are very nervous, and also respiratory conditions in damp climates, being essentially a desert/dry climate dweller in the USA.
Maybe they don't like damp climates but they are certainly not restricted to desert/dry areas. They have a wide distribution from Canada to Mexico across several ecosystems. They were recently featured on TV in a series about Yellowstone where it snows for 11/12 months. Quite a few collections in the USA manage to keep them successfully. I'm not sure if Chester would be that interested in them anyway as they have hardly any Nearctic animals.
Sun Wukong
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't call it "successfully"; similar to saigas and various species of antelopes, the accident rate is very high, with whole groups panicking and crushing into fences, often without any apparent reasons. Males are especially territorial and aggressive during mating season and are also pretty rough torwards each other even in bachelor groups. Food requirements are pretty high; changes of diets are sometimes not tolerated well. Most institutions in the USA keeping the species can call themselves lucky when their pronghorn population number remains the same over a few years...
Given that and the fact that they're not much of public crowd pleasers, there is not much interest in European zoos in acquiring them.
Given that and the fact that they're not much of public crowd pleasers, there is not much interest in European zoos in acquiring them.
TBH I can't really think of any ungulate not in European zoos which would be a real crowd-puller. Antelopes/deer/goats all look pretty much the same to a lot of people. Even a Sumatran rhino might not get a second look, after all there are two species of rhino at Chester already. But I think the zoo would make a lot of fuss about the specialness of such an animal and try to whip up a bit of interest. I think this discussion is all a bit abstract anyway because I don't even believe in the Mystery Ungulate.
I don't think it snows at all(normally) in Yellowstone from April- November.. I've seen Pronghorn around Yellowstone and they always inhabit the open, treeless areas. I believe their wide distribution is governed by a dryer 'Continental' climate than we have here in Europe with our damp 'maritime' one.
I think Sun is right that they are rather similar to Saiga antelope in that they just do not do well in captivity at all and losses probably equal births just about everywhere.
Regarding Chester's 'mystery ungulate' I agree there is virtually no species which would excite the general public, just maybe a few Zoochatters....
Sun Wukong
Well-Known Member
Hoofstock in general is not very attractive to the larger crowd, although certain forms of presentation (deer feeding by visitors, walkthrough exhibits) can change that a little bit. Some species (gerenuks standing on the hindlegs) get more attention from the average zoo visitor than others. However, when acquiring a new species of hoofstock, a zoo like Chester would probably look for something else than a species like the pronghorn that only zoo geeks appretiate. 
Unfortunately, @Pertinax, the numbers of losses even seem to surpass the births in several institutions...
Unfortunately, @Pertinax, the numbers of losses even seem to surpass the births in several institutions...
a zoo like Chester would probably look for something else than a species like the pronghorn that only zoo geeks appretiate.
That's just my point - there aren't any obvious candidates. Can you think of any?
I'm glad you mentioned gerenuks, I'm still hoping okapikpr might have some inside knowledge (see posts 52/53 above).
Bother, I think I still do believe in the Mystery Ungulate.
But even Gerenuks only stand on their hindlegs to browse every so often. They are another species prone to damaging themselves too- long slender legs get broken very easily.
I believe Chester would only bother to bring in a new & unusual ungulate species if it was to play a specific role in some particular style of mixed exhibit they had planned, but I cannot think of an example.
I believe Chester would only bother to bring in a new & unusual ungulate species if it was to play a specific role in some particular style of mixed exhibit they had planned, but I cannot think of an example.
Sun Wukong
Well-Known Member
Exactly! That's why I think it's not going to be gerenuks, as the US zoos seem to have problems to keep theirs alive...
@Pygathrix: Didn't we already mention the kouprey and saola?
Honestly, I don't expect anything out of the ordinary, but rather specimens of a species that already exists in European zoos. Maybe as previously mentioned a duiker, or another deer species, if at all.
No, the whole point of the discussion is that zoogiraffe said that Chester Zoo would be getting an ungulate which is not seen anywhere else in Europe. That is not too say they won't receive other ungulates in the mean time, eg roan antelope, anoa.
Sun Wukong
Well-Known Member
No, the whole point of the discussion is that zoogiraffe said that Chester Zoo would be getting an ungulate which is not seen anywhere else in Europe.That doesn't say much. Whenever such claims are made, chances are high that some zoo you have previously never heard about, in a part of Europe that is hard to find on the map, already kept the species for a while and now wants to give away the offspring.
BTW: maybe it's just a rarely kept subspecies of an otherwisely common species...
How good are Chester's connections to Al Wabra?
Hey, @ashley-h, don't be a spoil sport; if others want to continue guessing, why not let them?
You just can't help but get doubtful when something goes on this long.
It does occaisionally snow up there between April and November, but not as a general rule. They do live in largely desert conditions throughout their range, but they do okay in damper climates like Minneapolis, Columbus, and Queens. I think the biggest issues are diet and flightiness.
Sun Wukong
Well-Known Member
Ok, following (silly) suggestion: Zebraduiker. Lovely animal with a nice pattern that even the average zoo visitor finds attractive. Leipzig has them on their Gondwana list (as well as Sumatra rhinos...), and there seems to be a facility in Liberia where several rare duikers are kept. Maybe Chester wants a piece of that...