Saiga guy reporting

TeaLovingDave said:
Yeah, it did look to be pretty good :) I think @lintworm knows more on the matter than I do, but I have a feeling I heard that there was a fungal/parasitic issue in the gazelle herd.

I've been thinking about the matter on and off since you popped up on the forum, and I reckon that the best place in Europe for an attempt at a reservoir population of Saiga (whether in a zoo or a semi-captive wild reserve) would be the arid steppe interior of Spain, despite this being well outside even the prehistoric range. Having visited the region in March 2019 and gone wildlife watching in the north of Madrid community and surrounding regions of Castilla La Mancha, I reckon it fits the climatic and habitat needs you've cited well.
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The saigas suffered from the same problems that you describe not only in Köln, but everywhere else with a mild climate. Parasites, bacterial infections on top, weakened immune system, reduced longevity, etc. I proposed slow-release anthelmintics, which have never been used in saiga to my knowledge. Plus the usual fractures, which killed many (also males are super aggressive, so even helping them can be difficult).

I did actually write here once that the arid interior of the Iberian pensisula is probably the only place in Europe suitable for saiga at the moment. So I fully agree. There is some interest in the conservation community in starting a population in the EU, but in situ is the main focus. I could give you some ideas why a saiga project in Spain would be very, very complicated even if conditions are nigh on perfect, but preferably in private, as the list of potential problems is very long. If somebody paid me loads of money to do it, I could get involved - but that's unlikely, not least because I am neither a vet, nor a biologist, nor a zoo keeper. :-)
 
Greg G said:
The saigas suffered from the same problems that you describe not only in Köln , but everywhere else with a mild climate. Parasites, bacterial infections on top, weakened immune system, reduced longevity, etc. I proposed slow-release anthelmintics, which have never been used in saiga to my knowledge. Plus the usual fractures, which killed many (also males are super aggressive, so even helping them can be difficult).
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You misunderstand - I was referring to the reason the Goitered Gazelle herd faltered at Köln :) a pity, as the species has done quite well in other German collections.
 
Greg G said:
I could give you some ideas why a saiga project in Spain would be very, very complicated even if conditions are nigh on perfect, but preferably in private, as the list of potential problems is very long. If somebody paid me loads of money to do it, I could get involved - but that's unlikely, not least because I am neither a vet, nor a biologist, nor a zoo keeper.
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By all means we can move this Spanish tangent to private messages if you like :) as you say, it's all academic as neither of us have any say or influence, but it's an interesting topic nonetheless!
 
TeaLovingDave said:
You misunderstand - I was referring to the reason the Goitered Gazelle herd faltered at Köln :) a pity, as the species has done quite well in other German collections.
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No, I understood. Just wanted to say that the same happened to the saiga, basically. the yheld on for long years, though.
 
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