San Diego Zoo Safari Park San Diego Zoo Safari Park News 2025

A male desert bighorn sheep lamb was born yesterday and is on exhibit with the rest of the herd in Condor Ridge.

A new breeding bull for the common eland herd has been introduced to the South Africa field exhibit. He is still quite young, so he’s difficult to pick out from the females and castrated males currently.
 
I would say "watch this space" for these three species. The biggest hurdle with the blackbuck and nilgai has been trying to figure out how to most efficiently manage these herds without major boom and bust cycles. Both blackbuck and nilgai are prolific breeders (blackbuck females can reproduce within their first year of life, and nilgai can regularly twin and triplet), so it is very easy to achieve an overpopulation of both species (which is how the Park ended up with close to 200 blackbuck in the mid 2010s). Nilgai then come with the added difficulty of the males tending to be very aggressive, towards other species and humans. The Park realizes that the Asian exhibits are quite empty nowadays, and there is a push by the curatorial staff to try and save floundering populations, so there is interest in maintaining these species, it is just figuring out how.


To be fair, there has yet to be a gemsbok birth, either, they just have a breeding bull in the herd (hopefully there will be calves this year!). The scimitar-horned oryx herd was also bred around the same time, so there should be scimitar-horned oryx calves soon, as well. The Park has been desperately trying to breed their fringe-eared oryx herd (moving all of the breeding age females behind-the-scenes), but from what I understand, they have been having a very difficult time finding a healthy, fertile breeding bull.

The Park does also intend on breeding the common eland and banteng again; however, they have similarly had a very difficult time sourcing a banteng bull. There are apparently very few breeding-age banteng bulls available in North America right now. There is a young cohort of bulls, but they would be too young to breed the Park's cows.


The bachelor warty pigs were moved to the Park to free up space for the Zoo to breed again. There has ben reinvigorated interest in trying to salvage the population, so the Zoo should be receiving a new male soon, and one of the males from the Park has moved out to be a breeder somewhere else.


The pudu have moved back to their exhibit; however, yes, all of the other species you have mentioned remain behind-the-scenes. The only other species managed entirely behind-the-scenes are the North Indian red muntjac and common warthog.


The remaining AZA animals are purebred, but that is just the Park's herd, four elderly females at St. Louis, two young females at the Dakota Zoo, and a 1.1 pair at the Utica Zoo, so... I believe the plan is to consolidate the remaining breeding age animals at the Park to try and build the numbers back up.


I think the future of the brow-antlered deer herd is still very much up in the air. There are only 2.4 animals left, but they are all of breeding age, so there is potential there, and I think their best hope is with the current curatorial staff... So we will have to see!
Your insight into the park and hoofstock populations generally-speaking is always appreciated. Thanks for taking the time.

It's great to hear about these recent developments at the San Diego facilities!
 
Quite a few updates from the Park today!

-There are two additional desert bighorn sheep lambs on exhibit in Condor Ridge!

-There are now at least 0.2 addax living in the former peninsular pronghorn exhibit across from the South Africa field exhibit along the Africa Tram.

-Masai giraffe "Setchan" and her 0.1 calf are now being kept in the boma between the South Africa and Central Africa field exhibits.

-There is now only one male Grevy's zebra remaining in the Central Africa field exhibit.

-There are at least two scimitar-horned oryx calves with the herd in the North Africa field exhibit! They, apparently, were born earlier this month and are just now starting to keep up with the herd.
 
A couple of more updates from one last trip to the Park before my trip abroad!
-There are now at least 0.2 addax living in the former peninsular pronghorn exhibit across from the South Africa field exhibit along the Africa Tram.

-Masai giraffe "Setchan" and her 0.1 calf are now being kept in the boma between the South Africa and Central Africa field exhibits.
-There is a total of 0.4 addax living in the old peninsular pronghorn exhibit along the Africa Tram.

-The female Masai giraffe calf is now being cared for behind-the-scenes. "Setchan" is back with the herd in the South Africa field exhibit.

-There are two very young eastern white-bearded wildebeest calves in the herd in the Central Africa field exhibit!

-One secretarybird, a pair of European white storks, and a small gander of swan geese have moved back on exhibit in the old secretarybird exhibit in African Outpost following its renovation. The neighboring former sitatunga exhibit is still empty.
 
Back from a very hot day at the Safari Park today!

-A male southern pudu has been introduced to the pudu exhibit in Nairobi Village. No sign of either female, though.

-There is a young pink-backed pelican chick on a nest in Mombasa Lagoon!

-One of the old terrariums in the entrance tunnel to the Hidden Jungle aviary has been uncovered and reopened! It is now home to a black-breasted leaf turtle. Hopefully more of these terrariums will be reopened soon.

-There is a very young gerenuk calf on exhibit with the rest of the herd in African Woods!

-There are now at least four scimitar-horned oryx calves in the North Africa field exhibit.

-A pair each of Cape and Rüppell's griffon vultures have been introduced to the Bird Marsh exhibit along the Africa Tram.

-There are now three eastern white-bearded wildebeest calves in the Central Africa field exhibit.
 
According to the Park’s recent social media updates, there are a few more baby hooftsock updates!

1. An orphan American pronghorn calf from New Mexico has arrived at the Park and is being hand-raised behind-the-scenes.

2. A second gerenuk calf (a female!) has been born and is on exhibit with the herd in African Woods!
 
2. A second gerenuk calf (a female!) has been born and is on exhibit with the herd in African Woods!

Have there been relatively few female calves recently? Phrasing seems to indicate this is an important birth for the relatively small population.
 
Have there been relatively few female calves recently? Phrasing seems to indicate this is an important birth for the relatively small population.
That is correct. There has been a long string of male births recently, while the gerenuk population desperately needs as many reproductive females as it can get to keep it going, so this will be a very important baby!

Some other updates from around the Park from a visit today!

-There is a new Victoria crowned pigeon chick in the Wings of the World aviary.

-There are two West African black crowned crane chicks on the island in Mombasa Lagoon.

-There is at least one young western grey kangaroo joey just now peeking out of the pouch in the Australian Walkabout walk-through!

-The Egyptian vultures are back off exhibit. It appears as though they are fully netting that exhibit over.

-An Egyptian goose has moved into the secretarybird exhibit.

-The female lowland nyala have all moved into the former sitatunga exhibit. The male is still in the normal nyala exhibit at the tram loading station.

-The breeding male Ellipsen waterbuck has been removed from the South Africa field exhibit and moved back into the North Africa field exhibit.

-It looks like they moved one of the intact male Transcaspian urial into the Central Asia field exhibit from what I could see from Kalima Point.
 
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Other than the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, and my Local Los Angeles Zoo, which has gerenuks.

What other Zoos have them, and how are they breeding them, I mean, why are we getting Males rather than Females?
 
Other than the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park, and my Local Los Angeles Zoo, which has gerenuks.

What other Zoos have them, and how are they breeding them, I mean, why are we getting Males rather than Females?
In addition to the two San Diego parks and Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver, St. Louis, and White Oak are the other AZA holders. Only the Safari Park, Los Angeles, Dallas, and White Oak house breeding herds. There are some gerenuk in the private sector (Hemker and Larry Johnson), but I do not know what the population looks like outside of the AZA.

As far as why there have been so many males born recently, sometimes it is just bad luck! There are potential other factors that might influence the sex of offspring (diet, body condition of the dam, sex ratio in the herd already, etc.); however, there is not much more than anecdotal evidence to support these potential other factors.
 
In addition to the two San Diego parks and Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver, St. Louis, and White Oak are the other AZA holders. Only the Safari Park, Los Angeles, Dallas, and White Oak house breeding herds. There are some gerenuk in the private sector (Hemker and Larry Johnson), but I do not know what the population looks like outside of the AZA.

As far as why there have been so many males born recently, sometimes it is just bad luck! There are potential other factors that might influence the sex of offspring (diet, body condition of the dam, sex ratio in the herd already, etc.); however, there is not much more than anecdotal evidence to support these potential other factors.
Cameron Park Zoo also has a breeding herd of Gerenuk. They had a young calf as recently as January this year.
 
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