Snowleopard's Mammals: A Lifetime List of Species Mammalian and Non-Mammalian

[Enzo]

Yesterday I looked at FOUR gazelle species (Cuvier's, Goitered, Dorcas, Sand) and today I'm going to look at THREE more gazelle species. One thing about going through pages and pages of gazelle photos, is that so many of the types of gazelle look remarkably similar. Watching one in a zoo makes it tricky to instantly differentiate which species one is gazing at!

Of all the mammals with the word 'Gazelle' in their name, the most common for me has been the Addra Gazelle, far ahead of any others. In second place is the Thomson's Gazelle, which is a species that has held strong in North American collections, but is extremely scarce in the rest of the world's zoos. Almost every zoo where I've seen this species has been in North America.

Speke's Gazelles are only in around a dozen or so zoos on the planet, with almost all of them being in North America. Every zoo where I've seen Speke's Gazelles has been in the USA. Check out the photos and analysis below to see some rare mixed-species exhibits featuring Speke's Gazelles. White Rhinos, Okapis, etc.

The rarest gazelle for me has been the Red-fronted Gazelle as I've only ever seen that species at a single zoo. It's interesting to note that while some hoofstock was really common for me in Southeast Asia this past summer, that part of the world essentially has almost zero gazelles of any kind. There's plenty of Javan Rusa Deer, Lowland Anoas, Nilgai and other species, but gazelles are in short supply.

Ranking for mammals with the word 'Gazelle' in their name:

Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 8 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Sand Gazelle - 2 zoos
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo

I've seen Thomson's Gazelles at 18 zoos:

2008 = 6 zoos

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 1975
2- Woodland Park Zoo (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2005
3- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2006
4- Knoxville Zoo (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2008
5- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2008
6- Mountain View Conservation Centre (Canada) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2008
7- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2008
8- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2008
9- Zoo Miami (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2008
10- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2010
11- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2010
12- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2010
13- Audubon Zoo (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2010
14- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2011
15- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2012
16- Peoria Zoo (USA) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2014
17- Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2019
18- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Thomson’s Gazelle – 2019

AND...

I've seen Speke's Gazelles at 11 zoos:

1- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Speke’s Gazelle – 2006
2- Oregon Zoo (USA) – Speke’s Gazelle – 2007
3- Saint Louis Zoo (USA) – Speke’s Gazelle – 2010
4- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Speke’s Gazelle – 2010
5- Reid Park Zoo (USA) – Speke’s Gazelle – 2011
6- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Speke’s Gazelle – 2011
7- Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) – Speke’s Gazelle – 2011
8- Indianapolis Zoo (USA) – Speke’s Gazelle – 2012
9- Houston Zoo (USA) – Speke’s Gazelle – 2015
10- Los Angeles Zoo (USA) – Speke’s Gazelle – 2017
11- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Speke’s Gazelle – 2023

AND...

I've seen Red-fronted Gazelles at 1 zoo:

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Red-fronted Gazelle – 2006

Seeing Thomson's Gazelles at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) has become a rite of passage for many zoo nerds, as that species has been there for decades.

@King of Komodo Dragons

Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) still maintains Thomson's Gazelles to this day.

@pachyderm pro

This exhibit held Thomson's Gazelles and a couple of Giraffes at Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) when I toured the zoo in 2010.

Another Louisiana facility, Audubon Zoo (USA), had Thomson's Gazelles with Common Eland that same summer.

Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) had two exhibits for Thomson's Gazelles when I was there last year and one of the paddocks was flooded as that Arizona zoo practices an intriguing method of irrigation where some of the enclosures are covered in water. I even saw aviaries and gibbon cages with flooded floors.

Greater Kudu, Giraffes, Plains Zebras and Thomson's Gazelles all shared this space when I was at Artis Royal Zoo (Netherlands) in 2019.

As for Speke's Gazelles, they have shared a space with Lesser Kudu at San Diego Zoo (USA) in the past. The remaining Horn & Hoof Mesa enclosures are quite nice.

@IndianRhino

Oregon Zoo (USA) has had Speke's Gazelles for a long time, either with Giraffes or Bontebok.

Speke's Gazelles have been a common sight at Saint Louis Zoo (USA) in the Red Rocks hoofstock zone for ages.

@Forge

Here's the bare bones yard for Speke's Gazelles that was at San Antonio Zoo (USA) in 2010:

When I toured Reid Park Zoo (USA) for the first time in 2011, this yard held these 4 species: Speke's Gazelle, White Rhino, Kori Bustard and Marabou Stork.

Speke's Gazelles have been at Phoenix Zoo (USA) and the last ZooChat photo of this species in Phoenix was a decade ago.

@Ituri

When I toured Fresno Chaffee Zoo (USA) for the first time in 2011, this yard held these 5 species: Speke's Gazelle, Giraffe, Common Eland, Dromedary (!!) and Ostrich.

Houston Zoo (USA) had Okapi, Speke's Gazelles and Blue Cranes all together and here's a gazelle sneaking under one of the barriers.

Speke's Gazelles are still at Los Angeles Zoo (USA) in a dry, dusty enclosure.

@Coelacanth18

Speke's Gazelles were with Kori Bustards at Living Desert Zoo (USA) as of last year.

As for Red-fronted Gazelles, I've seen this species at only one zoo ever. San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) has shifted the species around, as they tend to do, including mixed with Giant Eland. Alas, I think BOTH species are extinct in San Diego.

@Kudu21

@geomorph

Family Bovidae: 37 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 8 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Sand Gazelle - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo
Saiga - 1 zoo
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

I saw the final Thomson's gazelle in Brazil way back when I was five, in São Paulo

This is a picture my mother took during our first visit to the São Paulo zoo, in 2011. The gazelle was gone when I went there again, the next year.

We still have the species in South America, though. They are present at a few Chilean zoos, including Buín.

@David Matos Mendes

Gazelle are difficult to keep in zoos. They have a character of run-first and-ask-questions-later, jump and injure themselves during the care normal with other ungulates. In large herds they are relatively calmer. They also easily catch parasitic diseases, probably especially in wet climate and on grassy paddocks - many species live on barren ground in the wild. They breed easily, but also die easily - so large herds have somewhat more stability. And many are impossible to import from the wild. Large enclosures and wildlife parks in the south of the USA, Spain and the Middle East have most success.

Pity, because they are quintessential animals of African and Asian plains, and also have many endangered species.

They also do well in Mediterranean Europe (Spain) and in Far Western South America (Chile). If I recall correctly, a few species (and subspecies) have their studbook holders in Spain.

I have no doubt another place they would fare just fine is the Caatinga, but no zoos in the region have enough resources to acquire any.

 

[David Matos Mendes]

I saw the final Thomson's gazelle in Brazil way back when I was five, in São Paulo

This is a picture my mother took during our first visit to the São Paulo zoo, in 2011. The gazelle was gone when I went there again, the next year.

We still have the species in South America, though. They are present at a few Chilean zoos, including Buín.

@David Matos Mendes

They also do well in Mediterranean Europe (Spain) and in Far Western South America (Chile). If I recall correctly, a few species (and subspecies) have their studbook holders in Spain.

I have no doubt another place they would fare just fine is the Caatinga, but no zoos in the region have enough resources to acquire any.

Buin breeds them quite well. I saw 5.10.0 in the end of august.

 

[Enzo]

Buin breeds them quite well. I saw 5.10.0 in the end of august.

It's quite expected because the whole Western regions of Chile have a Mediterranean climate.

 

[aardvark250]

Seeing all these gazelles do make me jealous a bit . They are quite rare in (east/Southeast)Asia that even seeing one is cool enough. I actually dont think I've ever seen one gazelle with the exception of blackbuck, if it even counts

 

[snowleopard]

After analyzing SEVEN gazelle species in the last couple of posts, I'm going to talk about THREE mammal species today. We are rolling along and it's a spooky day in Canada with Halloween tonight. Boo!

Dik-diks are confusing. All the Mammals of the World (2023) lists 8 species, but numerous other websites have less, plus there's loads of subspecies and there's been a lot of taxonomic changes over the years. A few of my old reviews had 'Dik-dik' as the zoo's sign, with no indication of the species and so Zootierliste and ZooChat photos have both been invaluable in coming up with my statistics. It would appear that I have definitely seen at least 3 species (Cavendish's, Guenther's, Kirk's), but after that who knows as going back 15 years it would seem that some zoos didn't have much of a clue or their Dik-diks were a different species/subspecies than what was first indicated on a sign. These mammals are small, fast, cute, and I saw a TON of Dik-diks in two distinct summers.

I've seen Dik-diks at 30 zoos and that includes 3 species (21 Kirk’s, 7 Guenther’s, 2 Cavendish’s).

2010 = 10 zoos (lots of AZA zoos)
2019 = 8 zoos (lots of EAZA zoos)

Scandinavia in 2022 = only 1 zoo
Southeast Asia in 2024 = 0 zoos

1- San Francisco Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2006
2- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Cavendish’s Dik-dik – 2006
3- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2008
4- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2008
5- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Cavendish’s Dik-dik – 2008
6- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
7- Tulsa Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
8- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
9- Maryland Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
10- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
11- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
12- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
13- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
14- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
15- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
16- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2011
17- Little Rock Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2012
18- Denver Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2012
19- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2012
20- Roosevelt Park Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2014
21- Pueblo Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2014
22- Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
23- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
24- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
25- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
26- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
27- ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
28- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
29- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
30- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2022

San Diego Zoo (USA) still has Cavendish's Dik-dik to this day. The species has moved around the zoo over the years, but I do recall seeing Dik-diks in the Elephant Odyssey complex.

@RatioTile

You can just make out a Cavendish's Dik-dik (on the left) in my photo taken at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA). The two San Diego zoos have done very well with Dik-diks over the decades.

Phoenix Zoo (USA) had African Spurred Tortoises with 3 very rare species (Gerenuk, Kirk's Dik-dik, Kori Bustard) back in 2011. How many of those rarities are still there?

I recall being surprised at coming across a Kirk's Dik-dik at Wildlife Safari (USA) during my first visit in 2010. It was in the walking section of that drive-through establishment.

Kansas City Zoo (USA) has held Kirk's Dik-diks for a long time in their 95-acre African zone.

@DesertTortoise

I saw a Blue Duiker in with a Guenther's Dik-dik at Montgomery Zoo (USA) in 2010. An interesting mix!

There's at least 4 Kirk's Dik-diks in my photo from BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) in 2010:

Here's my shot of a Guenther's Dik-dik 'kissing' an African Spurred Tortoise at Caldwell Zoo (USA):

The Caldwell Zoo Dik-dik exhibit is inside the Penguin House and above an aquarium tank!

San Antonio Zoo (USA) is one of FOUR Texas zoos where I've seen Dik-diks, in this case the Kirk's species.

@jbnbsn99

Just like at Montgomery Zoo, Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) had Blue Duikers and Guenther's Dik-diks together during one of my visits.

A Blue Crane shares a Kirk's Dik-dik exhibit at Little Rock Zoo (USA):

When I was last at Denver Zoo (USA) in 2012, I saw two Kirk's Dik-dik exhibits. In one, the tiny antelopes shared an enclosure with Colobus Monkeys, while the habitat in this photo was shared with Crowned Cranes.

I remember seeing more than one Kirk's Dik-dik at Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) in a large exhibit that was apparently a former Cheetah enclosure.

Duisburg Zoo (Germany) has had Kirk's Dik-diks for a long time.

@Glutton

When I toured ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands) in 2019, this walk-in African Aviary held the following 4 species: Kirk's Dik-dik, Grey Crowned Crane, Palm-nut Vulture and Hooded Vulture.

Here's a Kirk's Dik-dik at Osnabruck Zoo (Germany):

@Fat-tailed dwarf lemur

Family Bovidae: 39 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo
Saiga - 1 zoo
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

 

[Panda_Fan]

After analyzing SEVEN gazelle species in the last couple of posts, I'm going to talk about THREE mammal species today. We are rolling along and it's a spooky day in Canada with Halloween tonight. Boo!

Dik-diks are confusing. All the Mammals of the World (2023) lists 8 species, but numerous other websites have less, plus there's loads of subspecies and there's been a lot of taxonomic changes over the years. A few of my old reviews had 'Dik-dik' as the zoo's sign, with no indication of the species and so Zootierliste and ZooChat photos have both been invaluable in coming up with my statistics. It would appear that I have definitely seen at least 3 species (Cavendish's, Guenther's, Kirk's), but after that who knows as going back 15 years it would seem that some zoos didn't have much of a clue or their Dik-diks were a different species/subspecies than what was first indicated on a sign. These mammals are small, fast, cute, and I saw a TON of Dik-diks in two distinct summers.

I've seen Dik-diks at 30 zoos and that includes 3 species (21 Kirk’s, 7 Guenther’s, 2 Cavendish’s).

2010 = 10 zoos (lots of AZA zoos)
2019 = 8 zoos (lots of EAZA zoos)

Scandinavia in 2022 = only 1 zoo
Southeast Asia in 2024 = 0 zoos

1- San Francisco Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2006
2- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Cavendish’s Dik-dik – 2006
3- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2008
4- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2008
5- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Cavendish’s Dik-dik – 2008
6- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
7- Tulsa Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
8- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
9- Maryland Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
10- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
11- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
12- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
13- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
14- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
15- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
16- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2011
17- Little Rock Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2012
18- Denver Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2012
19- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2012
20- Roosevelt Park Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2014
21- Pueblo Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2014
22- Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
23- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
24- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
25- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
26- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
27- ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
28- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
29- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
30- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2022

San Diego Zoo (USA) still has Cavendish's Dik-dik to this day. The species has moved around the zoo over the years, but I do recall seeing Dik-diks in the Elephant Odyssey complex.

@RatioTile

You can just make out a Cavendish's Dik-dik (on the left) in my photo taken at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA). The two San Diego zoos have done very well with Dik-diks over the decades.

Phoenix Zoo (USA) had African Spurred Tortoises with 3 very rare species (Gerenuk, Kirk's Dik-dik, Kori Bustard) back in 2011. How many of those rarities are still there?

I recall being surprised at coming across a Kirk's Dik-dik at Wildlife Safari (USA) during my first visit in 2010. It was in the walking section of that drive-through establishment.

Kansas City Zoo (USA) has held Kirk's Dik-diks for a long time in their 95-acre African zone.

@DesertTortoise

I saw a Blue Duiker in with a Guenther's Dik-dik at Montgomery Zoo (USA) in 2010. An interesting mix!

There's at least 4 Kirk's Dik-diks in my photo from BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) in 2010:

Here's my shot of a Guenther's Dik-dik 'kissing' an African Spurred Tortoise at Caldwell Zoo (USA):

The Caldwell Zoo Dik-dik exhibit is inside the Penguin House and above an aquarium tank!

San Antonio Zoo (USA) is one of FOUR Texas zoos where I've seen Dik-diks, in this case the Kirk's species.

@jbnbsn99

Just like at Montgomery Zoo, Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) had Blue Duikers and Guenther's Dik-diks together during one of my visits.

A Blue Crane shares a Kirk's Dik-dik exhibit at Little Rock Zoo (USA):

When I was last at Denver Zoo (USA) in 2012, I saw two Kirk's Dik-dik exhibits. In one, the tiny antelopes shared an enclosure with Colobus Monkeys, while the habitat in this photo was shared with Crowned Cranes.

I remember seeing more than one Kirk's Dik-dik at Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) in a large exhibit that was apparently a former Cheetah enclosure.

Duisburg Zoo (Germany) has had Kirk's Dik-diks for a long time.

@Glutton

When I toured ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands) in 2019, this walk-in African Aviary held the following 4 species: Kirk's Dik-dik, Grey Crowned Crane, Palm-nut Vulture and Hooded Vulture.

Here's a Kirk's Dik-dik at Osnabruck Zoo (Germany):

@Fat-tailed dwarf lemur

Family Bovidae: 39 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo
Saiga - 1 zoo
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

I find very funny the noises they make with their nose! When I visit SDZ and there's no people around the dik-dik exhibit, I can sometimes hear their adorable noises.

 

[Enzo]

After analyzing SEVEN gazelle species in the last couple of posts, I'm going to talk about THREE mammal species today. We are rolling along and it's a spooky day in Canada with Halloween tonight. Boo!

Dik-diks are confusing. All the Mammals of the World (2023) lists 8 species, but numerous other websites have less, plus there's loads of subspecies and there's been a lot of taxonomic changes over the years. A few of my old reviews had 'Dik-dik' as the zoo's sign, with no indication of the species and so Zootierliste and ZooChat photos have both been invaluable in coming up with my statistics. It would appear that I have definitely seen at least 3 species (Cavendish's, Guenther's, Kirk's), but after that who knows as going back 15 years it would seem that some zoos didn't have much of a clue or their Dik-diks were a different species/subspecies than what was first indicated on a sign. These mammals are small, fast, cute, and I saw a TON of Dik-diks in two distinct summers.

I've seen Dik-diks at 30 zoos and that includes 3 species (21 Kirk’s, 7 Guenther’s, 2 Cavendish’s).

2010 = 10 zoos (lots of AZA zoos)
2019 = 8 zoos (lots of EAZA zoos)

Scandinavia in 2022 = only 1 zoo
Southeast Asia in 2024 = 0 zoos

1- San Francisco Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2006
2- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Cavendish’s Dik-dik – 2006
3- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2008
4- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2008
5- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Cavendish’s Dik-dik – 2008
6- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
7- Tulsa Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
8- Kansas City Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
9- Maryland Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
10- Montgomery Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
11- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
12- Caldwell Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
13- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
14- Cameron Park Zoo (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2010
15- San Antonio Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2010
16- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2011
17- Little Rock Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2012
18- Denver Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2012
19- Calgary Zoo (Canada) – Guenther’s Dik-dik – 2012
20- Roosevelt Park Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2014
21- Pueblo Zoo (USA) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2014
22- Planckendael Zoo (Belgium) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
23- Frankfurt Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
24- Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
25- Duisburg Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
26- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
27- ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
28- Erlebnis Zoo Hannover (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
29- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2019
30- Skaerup Zoo (Denmark) – Kirk’s Dik-dik – 2022

San Diego Zoo (USA) still has Cavendish's Dik-dik to this day. The species has moved around the zoo over the years, but I do recall seeing Dik-diks in the Elephant Odyssey complex.

@RatioTile

You can just make out a Cavendish's Dik-dik (on the left) in my photo taken at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA). The two San Diego zoos have done very well with Dik-diks over the decades.

Phoenix Zoo (USA) had African Spurred Tortoises with 3 very rare species (Gerenuk, Kirk's Dik-dik, Kori Bustard) back in 2011. How many of those rarities are still there?

I recall being surprised at coming across a Kirk's Dik-dik at Wildlife Safari (USA) during my first visit in 2010. It was in the walking section of that drive-through establishment.

Kansas City Zoo (USA) has held Kirk's Dik-diks for a long time in their 95-acre African zone.

@DesertTortoise

I saw a Blue Duiker in with a Guenther's Dik-dik at Montgomery Zoo (USA) in 2010. An interesting mix!

There's at least 4 Kirk's Dik-diks in my photo from BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) in 2010:

Here's my shot of a Guenther's Dik-dik 'kissing' an African Spurred Tortoise at Caldwell Zoo (USA):

The Caldwell Zoo Dik-dik exhibit is inside the Penguin House and above an aquarium tank!

San Antonio Zoo (USA) is one of FOUR Texas zoos where I've seen Dik-diks, in this case the Kirk's species.

@jbnbsn99

Just like at Montgomery Zoo, Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) had Blue Duikers and Guenther's Dik-diks together during one of my visits.

A Blue Crane shares a Kirk's Dik-dik exhibit at Little Rock Zoo (USA):

When I was last at Denver Zoo (USA) in 2012, I saw two Kirk's Dik-dik exhibits. In one, the tiny antelopes shared an enclosure with Colobus Monkeys, while the habitat in this photo was shared with Crowned Cranes.

I remember seeing more than one Kirk's Dik-dik at Wuppertal Zoo (Germany) in a large exhibit that was apparently a former Cheetah enclosure.

Duisburg Zoo (Germany) has had Kirk's Dik-diks for a long time.

@Glutton

When I toured ZooParc Overloon (Netherlands) in 2019, this walk-in African Aviary held the following 4 species: Kirk's Dik-dik, Grey Crowned Crane, Palm-nut Vulture and Hooded Vulture.

Here's a Kirk's Dik-dik at Osnabruck Zoo (Germany):

@Fat-tailed dwarf lemur

Family Bovidae: 39 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo
Saiga - 1 zoo
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

No records of Madoqua in South America that I am aware of. No duikers either...

 

[snowleopard]

I've been pounding out the species in recent days, going through 10 types of gazelle and 3 types of dik-dik and now I will have only TWO species in today's post. The pace is unrelenting, but so have been the responses from zoo nerds on here as well as privately, so I've got to keep things rolling in order to wrap it up in the next month or so. In a way, it's going to be a real shame when it's all said and done. Anyway, today is 'Lechwe Day'!

Nile Lechwe have been relative rarities for me, at only a dozen zoos in my lifetime and 10 of those facilities have been in the USA. Outside of America, seeing Nile Lechwe has been an anomaly and I just found out today that this antelope species used to be called Mrs. Gray's Lechwe. Weird.

The other Lechwe species is Southern Lechwe, which is commonly called Red Lechwe, and I'd seen that species in 12 zoos as well prior to my Southeast Asian trip in August. So, it was neck-and-neck between the two Lechwe and then in Asia the Southern Lechwe, specifically the Kafue Lechwe subspecies in most cases, skyrocketed the numbers. That part of the world has Southern Lechwe everywhere.

I have seen Nile Lechwe at 12 zoos (4 zoos had both Nile Lechwe + Southern Lechwe):

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2006
2- Toledo Zoo (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2008
3- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2008
4- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2008
5- White Oak Conservation Center (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2008
6- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2010
7- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2010
8- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2015
9- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2017
10- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Nile Lechwe – 2019
11- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Nile Lechwe – 2019
12- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2023

AND...

I have seen Southern Lechwe at 22 zoos:

2024 = 10 zoos

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2006
2- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2011
3- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2015
4- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2015
5- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2015
6- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2015
7- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Southern Lechwe – 2019
8- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Southern Lechwe – 2019
9- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Kafue Lechwe – 2019
10- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Kafue Lechwe – 2019
11- Tierpark Strohen (Germany) – Southern Lechwe – 2019
12- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Southern Lechwe – 2022
13- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Southern Lechwe – 2024
14- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Southern Lechwe – 2024
15- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
16- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
17- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
18- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
19- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) -Kafue Lechwe – 2024
20- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
21- Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
22- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024

The first time I ever saw a Nile Lechwe was at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA):

@Julio C Castro

The first time I visited Toledo Zoo (USA), in 2008, the big African Savanna had the following species: Giraffe, Nile Lechwe, Blue Wildebeest, Plains Zebra, Impala, Greater Kudu, Ostrich, Saddle-billed Stork, White Stork, Crowned Crane, Helmeted Guineafowl and at least two types of vulture. There's no way that this paddock has 13 species these days. Without even doing any research, I'd bet half those species are gone.

North Carolina Zoo (USA) has its famous Watani Grasslands, which is an almost 40-acre African Savanna, and Nile Lechwe have been roaming those fields for ages.

@Milwaukee Man

When I toured BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) in 2010, the zoo had TWO Nile Lechwe exhibits. One combined those antelope with Plains Zebras and Ostriches, while this one had the Lechwe with Roan Antelope.

A new exhibit at Safaripark Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) has Nile Lechwe with Waterbuck and African Elephants. Dutch zoos don't mess around with mixed-species combinations and I love it!

@KevinB

Beekse Bergen also has Nile Lechwe with Common Hippos and Marabou Storks. What's next there...Nile Lechwe in a walk-through exhibit?

@KevinB

As for Southern Lechwe, I've seen the species at Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) in big paddocks and always mixed with other animals.

Just in 2015, I toured 4 zoos with Southern Lechwe and all 4 had drive-through sections with antelope roaming massive fields. Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) is one such location and I'd be curious to note if any Lechwe species are listed on hunting ranches in the southern states.

@jbnbsn99

Berlin Zoo (Germany) has Southern Lechwe in an exhibit set against the backdrop of the glorious old Antelope House. What genuine zoo nerd wouldn't want to head to Berlin right now?

@Green_mamba

@twilighter

I saw TEN zoos with Southern Lechwe in Southeast Asia in 3 weeks, starting with Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand). My photo is from the Safari tour and it was still light out at the time.

At Zoo Negara (Malaysia), there's Southern Lechwe at that big, famous Asian zoo.

@DannySG

Melaka Zoo (Malaysia) has two exhibits for Southern Lechwe, set against jungle backdrops with the occasional troop of wild monkeys running through the yards.

There's a big herd of Southern Lechwe at Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia), with a rocky foreground and jungle background to the enclosure.

This is only one small section of the large, sprawling, well-shaded African Savanna at Solo Safari (Indonesia) and Southern Lechwe roam the paddock with 6 other species.

Family Bovidae: 41 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo
Saiga - 1 zoo
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

 

[Tim May]

Outside of America, seeing Nile Lechwe has been an anomaly and I just found out today that this antelope species used to be called Mrs. Gray's Lechwe. Weird.

Not really weird. Called Mrs. Gray's waterbuck because the zoologist J. E. Gray named the species Kobus maria after his wife Maria.
The name Mrs. Gray's waterbuck is still sometimes used in Germany.

 

[cornu aspersum]

A new exhibit at Safaripark Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) has Nile Lechwe with Waterbuck and African Elephants. Dutch zoos don't mess around with mixed-species combinations and I love it!

@KevinB

Beekse Bergen also has Nile Lechwe with Common Hippos and Marabou Storks. What's next there...Nile Lechwe in a walk-through exhibit?

Not as 'extreme' as common hippo or bush elephant, but Fota Wildlife Park in Ireland house their herd of kafue lechwe with their wisent herd. I can't find a picture of the two together unfortunately.

 

[Maguari]

Not as 'extreme' as common hippo or bush elephant, but Fota Wildlife Park in Ireland house their herd of kafue lechwe with their wisent herd. I can't find a picture of the two together unfortunately.

The lechwe kept their distance but I just about managed one.

 

[KevinB]

Beekse Bergen also has Nile Lechwe with Common Hippos and Marabou Storks. What's next there...Nile Lechwe in a walk-through exhibit?

The Nile lechwes are now only in with the African elephants in the elephant valley and in the savanna exhibit on the Safari Resort. They now have sitatungas and marabous with their hippos.

 

[Enzo]

I've been pounding out the species in recent days, going through 10 types of gazelle and 3 types of dik-dik and now I will have only TWO species in today's post. The pace is unrelenting, but so have been the responses from zoo nerds on here as well as privately, so I've got to keep things rolling in order to wrap it up in the next month or so. In a way, it's going to be a real shame when it's all said and done. Anyway, today is 'Lechwe Day'!

Nile Lechwe have been relative rarities for me, at only a dozen zoos in my lifetime and 10 of those facilities have been in the USA. Outside of America, seeing Nile Lechwe has been an anomaly and I just found out today that this antelope species used to be called Mrs. Gray's Lechwe. Weird.

The other Lechwe species is Southern Lechwe, which is commonly called Red Lechwe, and I'd seen that species in 12 zoos as well prior to my Southeast Asian trip in August. So, it was neck-and-neck between the two Lechwe and then in Asia the Southern Lechwe, specifically the Kafue Lechwe subspecies in most cases, skyrocketed the numbers. That part of the world has Southern Lechwe everywhere.

I have seen Nile Lechwe at 12 zoos (4 zoos had both Nile Lechwe + Southern Lechwe):

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2006
2- Toledo Zoo (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2008
3- Memphis Zoo (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2008
4- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2008
5- White Oak Conservation Center (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2008
6- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2010
7- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2010
8- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2015
9- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2017
10- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Nile Lechwe – 2019
11- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Nile Lechwe – 2019
12- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Nile Lechwe – 2023

AND...

I have seen Southern Lechwe at 22 zoos:

2024 = 10 zoos

1- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2006
2- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2011
3- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2015
4- Cherokee Trace Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2015
5- Franklin Drive-Thru Safari (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2015
6- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Southern Lechwe – 2015
7- Pakawi Park (Belgium) – Southern Lechwe – 2019
8- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Southern Lechwe – 2019
9- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Kafue Lechwe – 2019
10- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Kafue Lechwe – 2019
11- Tierpark Strohen (Germany) – Southern Lechwe – 2019
12- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Southern Lechwe – 2022
13- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Southern Lechwe – 2024
14- Taiping Zoo (Malaysia) – Southern Lechwe – 2024
15- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
16- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
17- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
18- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
19- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) -Kafue Lechwe – 2024
20- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
21- Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024
22- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Kafue Lechwe – 2024

The first time I ever saw a Nile Lechwe was at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA):

@Julio C Castro

The first time I visited Toledo Zoo (USA), in 2008, the big African Savanna had the following species: Giraffe, Nile Lechwe, Blue Wildebeest, Plains Zebra, Impala, Greater Kudu, Ostrich, Saddle-billed Stork, White Stork, Crowned Crane, Helmeted Guineafowl and at least two types of vulture. There's no way that this paddock has 13 species these days. Without even doing any research, I'd bet half those species are gone.

North Carolina Zoo (USA) has its famous Watani Grasslands, which is an almost 40-acre African Savanna, and Nile Lechwe have been roaming those fields for ages.

@Milwaukee Man

When I toured BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) in 2010, the zoo had TWO Nile Lechwe exhibits. One combined those antelope with Plains Zebras and Ostriches, while this one had the Lechwe with Roan Antelope.

A new exhibit at Safaripark Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) has Nile Lechwe with Waterbuck and African Elephants. Dutch zoos don't mess around with mixed-species combinations and I love it!

@KevinB

Beekse Bergen also has Nile Lechwe with Common Hippos and Marabou Storks. What's next there...Nile Lechwe in a walk-through exhibit?

@KevinB

As for Southern Lechwe, I've seen the species at Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) in big paddocks and always mixed with other animals.

Just in 2015, I toured 4 zoos with Southern Lechwe and all 4 had drive-through sections with antelope roaming massive fields. Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) is one such location and I'd be curious to note if any Lechwe species are listed on hunting ranches in the southern states.

@jbnbsn99

Berlin Zoo (Germany) has Southern Lechwe in an exhibit set against the backdrop of the glorious old Antelope House. What genuine zoo nerd wouldn't want to head to Berlin right now?

@Green_mamba

@twilighter

I saw TEN zoos with Southern Lechwe in Southeast Asia in 3 weeks, starting with Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand). My photo is from the Safari tour and it was still light out at the time.

At Zoo Negara (Malaysia), there's Southern Lechwe at that big, famous Asian zoo.

@DannySG

Melaka Zoo (Malaysia) has two exhibits for Southern Lechwe, set against jungle backdrops with the occasional troop of wild monkeys running through the yards.

There's a big herd of Southern Lechwe at Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia), with a rocky foreground and jungle background to the enclosure.

This is only one small section of the large, sprawling, well-shaded African Savanna at Solo Safari (Indonesia) and Southern Lechwe roam the paddock with 6 other species.

Family Bovidae: 41 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo
Saiga - 1 zoo
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

I have seen Southern lechwe twice, both times during my 2018 trip to Portugal and Spain.

In Lisbon, they were mixed with Grevy's zebras.



At Zoo Santo Inácio, a small group lived alongside many other African megafauna.



None are currently held in South America, although CITES lists an import to Brazil in the 1990s (maybe it was an input error?).

I actually saw Nile lechwe for the first time this year! A breeding herd (though none have been born yet) lives at Animália Park. They were imported from Czechia two years ago.



These antelope however, were not the first Nile lechwe in South America. São Paulo had a few in the 1970s and 1980s, though their origin has yet to be known. I have placed my bets in Italy, especially because everytime the species was mentioned on the news, journalists and zoo staff referred to them by their Italian name ("Cobo lichi (do Nilo)").

This picture was taken around 1972 (which means I did not take it). You can see the lechwe on the left-hand corner.

 

[USZOOfan42]

The first time I visited Toledo Zoo (USA), in 2008, the big African Savanna had the following species: Giraffe, Nile Lechwe, Blue Wildebeest, Plains Zebra, Impala, Greater Kudu, Ostrich, Saddle-billed Stork, White Stork, Crowned Crane, Helmeted Guineafowl and at least two types of vulture. There's no way that this paddock has 13 species these days. Without even doing any research, I'd bet half those species are gone.

We will see what species are in that paddock tomorrow! I’m betting on 8 species.

 

[snowleopard]

A type of antelope that is on the more common end of my Bovidae list is the Waterbuck. This water loving animal has been seen by me at zoos all over the place, including loads of AZA zoos back on my earlier trips, a lot of zoos in Europe and even a whole bunch in Asia. Waterbuck are a single species, but quite often at a zoo there will be a sign mentioning the names Ellipsen or Defassa, but in many cases there is no such sign or the signage is inaccurate and so I've done my best to piece together the two main subspecies of Waterbuck for today's post. Incredibly, there's 13 subspecies in total but they are grouped under two distinct names.

I have seen Waterbuck at 43 zoos: (29 Ellipsen, 17 Defassa and that includes 3 zoos with both subspecies)

2008 = 8 zoos
2019 = 10 zoos
2024 = 8 zoos

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Ellipsen Waterbuck, Defassa Waterbuck – 1975
2- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck, Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2006
3- Monarto Zoo (Australia) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2007
4- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
5- Knoxville Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
6- Zoo Atlanta (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
7- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
8- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2008
9- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
10- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
11- Zoo Miami (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2008
12- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2010
13- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2010
14- Binder Park Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2010
15- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2010
16- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2010
17- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck, Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2011
18- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2014
19- Pueblo Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2014
20- Riverside Discovery Center (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2015
21- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2015
22- Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2015
23- West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2015
24- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2019
25- Zoo Neuwied (Germany) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2019
26- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2019
27- Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2019
28- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2019
29- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2019
30- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2019
31- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2019
32- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2019
33- Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen (Netherlands) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2019
34- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2022
35- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2023
36- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2024
37- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024
38- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024
39- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2024
40- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024
41- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024
42- Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024
43- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024

Here's a Defassa Waterbuck at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA):

@Julio C Castro

And here's an Ellipsen Waterbuck, also at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) and shot by the same elite photographer:

@Julio C Castro

This superb shot of a Waterbuck looks as if it could have been taken on an African Savanna in the wild, rather than at Monarto Safari Park (Australia):

@Sunbear12

Back in 2008, I saw Waterbuck and Giant Eland together at Zoo Miami (USA). Those were the days!

Check out the distinctive rumps on these Waterbuck at Milwaukee County Zoo (USA):

@Milwaukee Man

Binder Park Zoo (USA) has an enormous, 18-acre African Savanna that is home to a myriad of species, including Waterbuck.

@Rhino0118

One of the highlights of the old monorail ride at Dallas Zoo (USA) was the River Habitat that held Waterbuck and various waterfowl. C'mon Dallas, speed up your plans for a walking zoo nerd tour of that ungulate-rich area!

@geomorph

Of course, Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) has had Waterbuck for many years, often in multiple exhibits at once.

Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) has had Waterbuck for a long time, including mixing the species on their African Savanna with White Rhinos.

@Morgan

What stunning architecture! A Waterbuck/Giraffe feast for the eyes is at Berlin Zoo (Germany):

@SivatheriumGuy

The huge African Savanna at Ree Park Safari (Denmark) is home to a large herd of Waterbuck.

The Taman Safari parks, such as Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia), have safari rides and there's invariably a herd of Waterbuck at each zoo somewhere out in the vast expanse of land. Some Waterbuck are actually quite easy to spot because of the white rings on their rumps.

The African Savanna at Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) is smaller than most, but it still packs in a half-dozen species including Waterbuck.

This week, I uploaded approximately 420 photos from Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia), the best zoo in Indonesia and within that huge facility there's a drive-through section where visitors are taken across many areas inside a bus. Part of that trip includes going into the Common Hippo/Waterbuck paddock and it's a fantastic experience.

Family Bovidae: 42 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo
Saiga - 1 zoo
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

 

[USZOOfan42]

@snowleopard Toledo currently has 13 species in the Africa section, 12 without cheetahs and 9 without the newer Asia section.

 

[Enzo]

I saw the final Thomson's gazelle in Brazil way back when I was five, in São Paulo

This is a picture my mother took during our first visit to the São Paulo zoo, in 2011. The gazelle was gone when I went there again, the next year.

We still have the species in South America, though. They are present at a few Chilean zoos, including Buín.

@David Matos Mendes

They also do well in Mediterranean Europe (Spain) and in Far Western South America (Chile). If I recall correctly, a few species (and subspecies) have their studbook holders in Spain.

I have no doubt another place they would fare just fine is the Caatinga, but no zoos in the region have enough resources to acquire any.

A type of antelope that is on the more common end of my Bovidae list is the Waterbuck. This water loving animal has been seen by me at zoos all over the place, including loads of AZA zoos back on my earlier trips, a lot of zoos in Europe and even a whole bunch in Asia. Waterbuck are a single species, but quite often at a zoo there will be a sign mentioning the names Ellipsen or Defassa, but in many cases there is no such sign or the signage is inaccurate and so I've done my best to piece together the two main subspecies of Waterbuck for today's post. Incredibly, there's 13 subspecies in total but they are grouped under two distinct names.

I have seen Waterbuck at 43 zoos: (29 Ellipsen, 17 Defassa and that includes 3 zoos with both subspecies)

2008 = 8 zoos
2019 = 10 zoos
2024 = 8 zoos

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Ellipsen Waterbuck, Defassa Waterbuck – 1975
2- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck, Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2006
3- Monarto Zoo (Australia) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2007
4- Brookfield Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
5- Knoxville Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
6- Zoo Atlanta (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
7- Fort Worth Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
8- Phoenix Zoo (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2008
9- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
10- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2008
11- Zoo Miami (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2008
12- Wildlife Safari (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2010
13- Milwaukee County Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2010
14- Binder Park Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2010
15- North Carolina Zoo (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2010
16- Dallas Zoo (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2010
17- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Defassa Waterbuck, Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2011
18- Lee Richardson Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2014
19- Pueblo Zoo (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2014
20- Riverside Discovery Center (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2015
21- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2015
22- Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2015
23- West Coast Game Park Safari (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2015
24- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2019
25- Zoo Neuwied (Germany) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2019
26- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2019
27- Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2019
28- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2019
29- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2019
30- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2019
31- Osnabruck Zoo (Germany) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2019
32- Allwetterzoo Munster (Germany) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2019
33- Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen (Netherlands) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2019
34- Ree Park Safari (Denmark) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2022
35- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (USA) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2023
36- Chiang Mai Zoo (Thailand) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2024
37- Chiang Mai Night Safari (Thailand) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024
38- Zoo Melaka (Malaysia) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024
39- Taman Safari III Bali (Indonesia) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2024
40- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024
41- Solo Safari (Indonesia) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024
42- Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024
43- Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia) – Ellipsen Waterbuck – 2024

Here's a Defassa Waterbuck at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA):

@Julio C Castro

And here's an Ellipsen Waterbuck, also at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) and shot by the same elite photographer:

@Julio C Castro

This superb shot of a Waterbuck looks as if it could have been taken on an African Savanna in the wild, rather than at Monarto Safari Park (Australia):

@Sunbear12

Back in 2008, I saw Waterbuck and Giant Eland together at Zoo Miami (USA). Those were the days!

Check out the distinctive rumps on these Waterbuck at Milwaukee County Zoo (USA):

@Milwaukee Man

Binder Park Zoo (USA) has an enormous, 18-acre African Savanna that is home to a myriad of species, including Waterbuck.

@Rhino0118

One of the highlights of the old monorail ride at Dallas Zoo (USA) was the River Habitat that held Waterbuck and various waterfowl. C'mon Dallas, speed up your plans for a walking zoo nerd tour of that ungulate-rich area!

@geomorph

Of course, Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) has had Waterbuck for many years, often in multiple exhibits at once.

Burgers' Zoo (Netherlands) has had Waterbuck for a long time, including mixing the species on their African Savanna with White Rhinos.

@Morgan

What stunning architecture! A Waterbuck/Giraffe feast for the eyes is at Berlin Zoo (Germany):

@SivatheriumGuy

The huge African Savanna at Ree Park Safari (Denmark) is home to a large herd of Waterbuck.

The Taman Safari parks, such as Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia), have safari rides and there's invariably a herd of Waterbuck at each zoo somewhere out in the vast expanse of land. Some Waterbuck are actually quite easy to spot because of the white rings on their rumps.

The African Savanna at Bandung Zoo (Indonesia) is smaller than most, but it still packs in a half-dozen species including Waterbuck.

This week, I uploaded approximately 420 photos from Taman Safari I Bogor (Indonesia), the best zoo in Indonesia and within that huge facility there's a drive-through section where visitors are taken across many areas inside a bus. Part of that trip includes going into the Common Hippo/Waterbuck paddock and it's a fantastic experience.

Family Bovidae: 42 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo
Saiga - 1 zoo
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

Along with the Thomson's gazelles (and possibly the greater kudu), waterbuck were the first antelope I have seen.

Different from other exotic hoofstock, large numbers of waterbuck are still present in Brazil, though they are not as common as they used to be. I have seen the species many times since 2011, but many zoos have phased them out since then.

Waterbuck used to be at my local zoo (BioParque do Rio). A female named Silver arrived in Rio in 2021 (the male had died en route), but she passed away two years later, obviously leaving no offspring.



The species is still present in São Paulo, but I fear there are only females there. They are mixed with Grevy's zebras (it is noticeable zoos in Lusophone countries like to mix Equus grevyi with Kobus sp.), ostriches and spur-winged geese.

@David Matos Mendes

Itatiba still holds a breeding herd of waterbuck. They were mixed with a handful of species from across the world during both of my more recent visits.



Belo Horizonte also had waterbuck by the time of my first visit. The species was mixed with Southern giraffe and plains zebra before both passed away. They have been phased out since then. David can give you a better insight on the zoo's history with the species.

@David Matos Mendes

I also saw the species in 2021, when I went to Sapucaia do Sul, where they had a pair.



A few other current and former waterbuck holders in Brazil include:

- Portobello Safari Resort (Mangaratiba, current);
- Parque Zoológico Municipal Quinzinho de Barros (Sorocaba, former);
- ZooPark da Montanha (Marechal Floriano, current);
- Zoológico Municipal de Curitiba (Curitiba, current);
- Safari's Farm (Tibagi, current);
- Parque Zoobotânico Dois Irmãos (Recife, former);
- Aquário de Natal (Extremoz, current);
- Parque Zoológico GYN (Goiânia, ?);
- Fundação Zoobotânica do Distrito Federal (Brasília, current).

They are also comercially farmed at a few places. I believe all Brazilian stock are Ellipsen waterbuck, though there may be a few with Defassa blood. Of this subspecies, the only purebredindividual in Brazil in recent times (that I am aware of) was a female held in São Paulo in the 1970s.

 

[Osedax]

3- Monarto Zoo (Australia) – Defassa Waterbuck – 2007

I thought all Waterbuck in Australia are hybrids, or was this not the case in 2007?

 

[snowleopard]

From Lechwe to Waterbuck to TWO species in today's post.

When I was a kid, my favourite antelope was the Sable Antelope as I had some marvellous examples in my toy animal collection. As an adult, I've essentially gone with the flow and switched over to Bongo, but Sable Antelope are almost as large and have really impressive horns and the darker coat of the males is eye-catching. This mammal species has been in the mid-range of popularity for me, having seen the species all over the USA, Europe, a few zoos specifically in Scandinavia and even Southeast Asia, but never in big numbers anywhere. These days, there's only around 10 AZA zoos with Sable Antelope and those numbers are down big time as I saw the species at approximately that total just on two trips in 2008 and 2010.

Mountain Reedbuck, as listed in the publication All the Mammals of the World (2023), also called Southern Mountain Reedbuck, are apparently only found at Berlin Tierpark (Germany), Dvur Kralove (Czech. Rep.) and Johannesburg Zoo (South Africa) if Zootierliste is to be believed. They aren't difficult to spot in Berlin as the zoo has several of them in one of those famous paddocks with the green fencing and Dvur Kralove seems like an incredible zoo to visit for its rarities and astonishing African collection. I definitely need to get to the Czech. Rep. one day!

I've seen Sable Antelope at 32 zoos:

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Sable Antelope – 1975
2- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2006
3- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2006
4- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
5- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Sable Antelope – 2008
6- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
7- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
8- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
9- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
10- Zoo Miami (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
11- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2010
12- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2010
13- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2011
14- Jackson Zoo (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2012
15- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2015
16- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2015
17- Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2015
18- Out of Africa (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2015
19- B. Bryan Preserve (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2017
20- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2017
21- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Sable Antelope – 2019
22- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Sable Antelope – 2019
23- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Sable Antelope – 2019
24- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Sable Antelope – 2019
25- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Sable Antelope – 2019
26- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Sable Antelope – 2022
27- Odense Zoo (Denmark) – Sable Antelope – 2022
28- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Sable Antelope – 2022
29- Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Sable Antelope – 2022
30- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – Sable Antelope – 2024
31- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Sable Antelope – 2024
32- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) – Sable Antelope – 2024

AND...

I've seen Mountain Reedbuck at 1 zoo:

1- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Mountain Reedbuck – 2019

A fully-grown male Sable Antelope is a stunning sight. Here's an example at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA):

@TheoV

Toronto Zoo (Canada) had Sable Antelope during my only visit in 2008, but that species is gone now just as it's disappeared from many AZA zoos.

@arcticwolf

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA) has had Sable Antelope for as long as I can remember and when the zoo opened its $73 million African Grasslands complex a brand-new exhibit was created for the species. This paddock is more than an acre in size and you can see the zoo's train going past in the background.

Back in the day, Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) had one of the best hoofstock collections in America, with many chain-link yards for species such as Sable Antelope. It's amazing how lush and grassy some of the enclosures were.

@Baldur

I like this image of the sunlight coming through the trees and a Sable Antelope standing in what appears to be a meadow setting. It's apparent from the distinctive moat edge at the front that this can only be Zoo Miami (USA). Perhaps the greatest soccer player of all time regularly sneaks in visits to this zoo with his wife and 3 sons!

@Pleistohorse

It doesn't get much more flat and boring than this Sable Antelope exhibit at Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA):

Jackson Zoo (USA), which is barely staying open and viable these days, had a really interesting African Savanna when I toured this zoo in 2012. Four of the hoofstock species in this paddock were all gems back then: Sable Antelope, Klipspringer, Dama Gazelle and Springbok.

A dry, arid environment at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (USA) is home to a significant herd of Sable Antelope.

@Kudu21

My photo from Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) shows a Sable Antelope with Giraffes, which seems like a bit of a rare situation judging from my list of zoos with the species. You can see an Ostrich in the background, as well as the African Elephant exhibit (which is awful!)

Sable Antelope are also found at ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) and the colour variation in this photo is neat to see.

@Joker1706

Serengeti-Park (Germany) in Hodenhagen has a vast hoofstock collection in their drive-through area, including a herd of Sable Antelope.

I saw 3 Danish zoos with Sable Antelope, including Givskud Zoo (Denmark) with its sprawling African Savanna. This paddock also had 6 White Rhinos, a dozen Black Wildebeest, 10 Gemsbok, and even signs up for Cape Buffalo. There's a second African Savanna elsewhere at this excellent zoo.

When @twilighter and I visited Zoo Negara (Malaysia), we were toured around for 5 hours by one of the curators. He told us that the Sable Antelope often just jump out of their African Savanna exhibit at night and can be found wandering near their exhibit by staff who arrive early in the morning. The antelope then simply leap back into their paddock, as the barrier is extremely low. Apparently this has been going on for a long time and the zoo never has any problems with the animals going far into the zoo's grounds and they don't leave their enclosure during the day with visitors around.

At Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia), their African Savanna was unique to me. There's no chance of the Sable Antelope leaping out of their exhibit here, as everything is glass-fronted and there's walls at the back.

As for Southern Mountain Reedbuck, I have seen this species only once and it was in 2019 at Berlin Tierpark (Germany).

@twilighter

@Fat-tailed dwarf lemur

@Green_mamba

Family Bovidae: 44 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

 

[Enzo]

From Lechwe to Waterbuck to TWO species in today's post.

When I was a kid, my favourite antelope was the Sable Antelope as I had some marvellous examples in my toy animal collection. As an adult, I've essentially gone with the flow and switched over to Bongo, but Sable Antelope are almost as large and have really impressive horns and the darker coat of the males is eye-catching. This mammal species has been in the mid-range of popularity for me, having seen the species all over the USA, Europe, a few zoos specifically in Scandinavia and even Southeast Asia, but never in big numbers anywhere. These days, there's only around 10 AZA zoos with Sable Antelope and those numbers are down big time as I saw the species at approximately that total just on two trips in 2008 and 2010.

Mountain Reedbuck, as listed in the publication All the Mammals of the World (2023), also called Southern Mountain Reedbuck, are apparently only found at Berlin Tierpark (Germany), Dvur Kralove (Czech. Rep.) and Johannesburg Zoo (South Africa) if Zootierliste is to be believed. They aren't difficult to spot in Berlin as the zoo has several of them in one of those famous paddocks with the green fencing and Dvur Kralove seems like an incredible zoo to visit for its rarities and astonishing African collection. I definitely need to get to the Czech. Rep. one day!

I've seen Sable Antelope at 32 zoos:

1- Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park (Canada) – Sable Antelope – 1975
2- San Diego Zoo (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2006
3- San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2006
4- Lincoln Park Zoo - Illinois (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
5- Toronto Zoo (Canada) – Sable Antelope – 2008
6- Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
7- Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
8- Disney’s Animal Kingdom (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
9- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
10- Zoo Miami (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2008
11- Baton Rouge Zoo (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2010
12- Gladys Porter Zoo (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2010
13- Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2011
14- Jackson Zoo (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2012
15- Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2015
16- Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2015
17- Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2015
18- Out of Africa (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2015
19- B. Bryan Preserve (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2017
20- Safari West Wildlife Preserve (USA) – Sable Antelope – 2017
21- Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) – Sable Antelope – 2019
22- ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) – Sable Antelope – 2019
23- Beekse Bergen (Netherlands) – Sable Antelope – 2019
24- Berlin Zoo (Germany) – Sable Antelope – 2019
25- Serengeti-Park (Germany) – Sable Antelope – 2019
26- Givskud Zoo (Denmark) – Sable Antelope – 2022
27- Odense Zoo (Denmark) – Sable Antelope – 2022
28- Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) – Sable Antelope – 2022
29- Copenhagen Zoo (Denmark) – Sable Antelope – 2022
30- Zoo Negara (Malaysia) – Sable Antelope – 2024
31- Taman Safari II Prigen (Indonesia) – Sable Antelope – 2024
32- Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia) – Sable Antelope – 2024

AND...

I've seen Mountain Reedbuck at 1 zoo:

1- Berlin Tierpark (Germany) – Mountain Reedbuck – 2019

A fully-grown male Sable Antelope is a stunning sight. Here's an example at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (USA):

@TheoV

Toronto Zoo (Canada) had Sable Antelope during my only visit in 2008, but that species is gone now just as it's disappeared from many AZA zoos.

@arcticwolf

Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo (USA) has had Sable Antelope for as long as I can remember and when the zoo opened its $73 million African Grasslands complex a brand-new exhibit was created for the species. This paddock is more than an acre in size and you can see the zoo's train going past in the background.

Back in the day, Oklahoma City Zoo (USA) had one of the best hoofstock collections in America, with many chain-link yards for species such as Sable Antelope. It's amazing how lush and grassy some of the enclosures were.

@Baldur

I like this image of the sunlight coming through the trees and a Sable Antelope standing in what appears to be a meadow setting. It's apparent from the distinctive moat edge at the front that this can only be Zoo Miami (USA). Perhaps the greatest soccer player of all time regularly sneaks in visits to this zoo with his wife and 3 sons!

@Pleistohorse

It doesn't get much more flat and boring than this Sable Antelope exhibit at Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (USA):

Jackson Zoo (USA), which is barely staying open and viable these days, had a really interesting African Savanna when I toured this zoo in 2012. Four of the hoofstock species in this paddock were all gems back then: Sable Antelope, Klipspringer, Dama Gazelle and Springbok.

A dry, arid environment at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (USA) is home to a significant herd of Sable Antelope.

@Kudu21

My photo from Safari Parc Monde Sauvage (Belgium) shows a Sable Antelope with Giraffes, which seems like a bit of a rare situation judging from my list of zoos with the species. You can see an Ostrich in the background, as well as the African Elephant exhibit (which is awful!)

Sable Antelope are also found at ZOOM Erlebniswelt (Germany) and the colour variation in this photo is neat to see.

@Joker1706

Serengeti-Park (Germany) in Hodenhagen has a vast hoofstock collection in their drive-through area, including a herd of Sable Antelope.

I saw 3 Danish zoos with Sable Antelope, including Givskud Zoo (Denmark) with its sprawling African Savanna. This paddock also had 6 White Rhinos, a dozen Black Wildebeest, 10 Gemsbok, and even signs up for Cape Buffalo. There's a second African Savanna elsewhere at this excellent zoo.

When @twilighter and I visited Zoo Negara (Malaysia), we were toured around for 5 hours by one of the curators. He told us that the Sable Antelope often just jump out of their African Savanna exhibit at night and can be found wandering near their exhibit by staff who arrive early in the morning. The antelope then simply leap back into their paddock, as the barrier is extremely low. Apparently this has been going on for a long time and the zoo never has any problems with the animals going far into the zoo's grounds and they don't leave their enclosure during the day with visitors around.

At Batu Secret Zoo (Indonesia), their African Savanna was unique to me. There's no chance of the Sable Antelope leaping out of their exhibit here, as everything is glass-fronted and there's walls at the back.

As for Southern Mountain Reedbuck, I have seen this species only once and it was in 2019 at Berlin Tierpark (Germany).

@twilighter

@Fat-tailed dwarf lemur

@Green_mamba

Family Bovidae: 44 species so far

American Bison - 104 zoos
Bongo - 58 zoos
Common Eland - 58 zoos
Greater Kudu - 51 zoos
Blackbuck - 45 zoos
Waterbuck - 43 zoos
Nilgai - 40 zoos
Impala - 38 zoos
Dama Gazelle - 36 zoos
Sable Antelope - 32 zoos
Sitatunga - 29 zoos
Banteng - 27 zoos
Yak - 26 zoos
Nyala - 25 zoos
Southern Lechwe - 22 zoos
Cape Buffalo - 21 zoos (including 7 with African Forest Buffalo)
Kirk's Dik-dik - 21 zoos
Gerenuk - 19 zoos
Lowland Anoa - 18 zoos
Thomson's Gazelle - 18 zoos
Asian Water Buffalo - 17 zoos
Gaur - 16 zoos
Lesser Kudu - 16 zoos
Muskox - 16 zoos
Springbok - 16 zoos
Wisent - 15 zoos
Nile Lechwe - 12 zoos
Grant's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Speke's Gazelle - 11 zoos
Slender-horned Gazelle - 9 zoos
Guenther's Dik-dik - 7 zoos
Cuvier's Gazelle - 6 zoos
Giant Eland - 5 zoos
Goitered Gazelle - 5 zoos
Soemmerring's Gazelle - 5 zoos
Steenbok - 3 zoos
Cavendish's Dik-dik - 2 zoos
Dorcas Gazelle - 2 zoos
Mountain Anoa - 2 zoos
Royal Antelope - 2 zoos
Mountain Reedbuck - 1 zoo (Berlin Tierpark - Germany)
Northern Bushbuck - 1 zoo (Gladys Porter Zoo - USA)
Saiga - 1 zoo (Alberta Game Farm/Polar Park - Canada)
Red-fronted Gazelle - 1 zoo (San Diego Zoo Safari Park - USA)

Bonus species: (similar to my New Guinea Singing Dog example)

Gayal - 2 zoos

Ah, my beloved sable antelope!

They have been one of my favourite species for a few years now and I would love to see one again.

I saw sable antelope for the one (and still only) time in 2018, at the Lisbon zoo. I was able to see two individuals, though one, I believe a female, was off-show. The zoo was also the sole holder of the mighty Hippotragus niger variani, the giant sable antelope!



The species has been held in four South American collections (three if you do not consider Simba Safari to be separate from FPZSP).

São Paulo imported two sable antelope from Italy in 1972. They bred for the first time in 1975 and I believe another calf was born before 1982. A few of these were shared with Simba Safari in the 1980s, though they were gone by 1989. I guess they were moved back to the zoo, whose 2010 census still counted a female present, though I am skeptical of this claim.

The other two zoos to have held them were Temaikèn and Bubalcó, both in Argentina. They have been gone from these places for a while now.

@ocean_boy

@Giant Eland

No reedbuck in South America whatsoever.