To be quite frank and a little on the nose, I think we’re beating a dead horse here and are being unnecessarily hostile and overly reactionary…
The entire AZA SSP program has changed, so many taxa no longer qualify for the new population and holder number requirements, including the Somali wild ass. I am not going to argue that the new system is flawed because it is, but it is what we’re working with. That said, a lot of facilities have rallied behind a lot of the taxa that have been dropped as SSP programs, and there has been increased cooperation with some of these taxa as studbooks and consortiums. The studbooks and consortiums have increased flexibility to work with private facilities and individuals, which has been incredibly helpful for a lot of the ungulate programs. It is definitely still a rocky road, and there are still kinks to work out, but there is still hope for a lot of the programs, and the Somali wild ass program is one of them. The facilities that house them are very dedicated to them, and they are still breeding regularly and slowly spreading. Equids are always going to be a hard one, though, as a whole, they do not always really play well with others (animals and humans alike, often times) and require a certain amount of space, labor, and upkeep (being hind-gut fermenters, Equids have a higher in-put and higher out-put than ruminant ungulates of similar size). As such, Somali wild ass are always going to play third fiddle to the zebras and Przewalski’s horses when facilities are planning for equids in their collection, which is unfortunate, but just true (and I say this with them being my favorite of the Equids, by far). We are seeing an increase in the number of open-space breeding facilities for ungulates open up across the country, and I would fully expect both the St. Louis and Denver facilities to feature wild asses, as both facilities have a long history with the taxon. I think for many ungulate populations to be able to exist in the long-term in the United States, private facilities will have to be involved as well. While there are, of course, many genuinely poor, “roadside” private facilities across the country that absolutely should not be exhibiting animals, to paint them all in such a wide brush is inaccurate and harmful to the relationship between these good facilities and AZA zoos that will be necessary to maintain these populations long-term. If ZooChatters want to to continue to see any diversity in the ungulate collections in this country, they will have to support and accept zoos working with private individuals. (And for what it’s worth, I’ve worked with Somali wild asses, and they really do not have “specialist needs” that are any different than any other Equid. They can require more regular hoof trims/care if not held on dry or hard enough ground, and they can be prone to easy weight gain, so their diet sometimes needs to be monitored, but those are issues seen in most wild Equids).
The entire AZA SSP program has changed, so many taxa no longer qualify for the new population and holder number requirements, including the Somali wild ass. I am not going to argue that the new system is flawed because it is, but it is what we’re working with. That said, a lot of facilities have rallied behind a lot of the taxa that have been dropped as SSP programs, and there has been increased cooperation with some of these taxa as studbooks and consortiums. The studbooks and consortiums have increased flexibility to work with private facilities and individuals, which has been incredibly helpful for a lot of the ungulate programs. It is definitely still a rocky road, and there are still kinks to work out, but there is still hope for a lot of the programs, and the Somali wild ass program is one of them. The facilities that house them are very dedicated to them, and they are still breeding regularly and slowly spreading. Equids are always going to be a hard one, though, as a whole, they do not always really play well with others (animals and humans alike, often times) and require a certain amount of space, labor, and upkeep (being hind-gut fermenters, Equids have a higher in-put and higher out-put than ruminant ungulates of similar size). As such, Somali wild ass are always going to play third fiddle to the zebras and Przewalski’s horses when facilities are planning for equids in their collection, which is unfortunate, but just true (and I say this with them being my favorite of the Equids, by far). We are seeing an increase in the number of open-space breeding facilities for ungulates open up across the country, and I would fully expect both the St. Louis and Denver facilities to feature wild asses, as both facilities have a long history with the taxon. I think for many ungulate populations to be able to exist in the long-term in the United States, private facilities will have to be involved as well. While there are, of course, many genuinely poor, “roadside” private facilities across the country that absolutely should not be exhibiting animals, to paint them all in such a wide brush is inaccurate and harmful to the relationship between these good facilities and AZA zoos that will be necessary to maintain these populations long-term. If ZooChatters want to to continue to see any diversity in the ungulate collections in this country, they will have to support and accept zoos working with private individuals. (And for what it’s worth, I’ve worked with Somali wild asses, and they really do not have “specialist needs” that are any different than any other Equid. They can require more regular hoof trims/care if not held on dry or hard enough ground, and they can be prone to easy weight gain, so their diet sometimes needs to be monitored, but those are issues seen in most wild Equids).
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Making it an almost certainty that she directly came off of Canyon Colorado Equid Sanctuary itself.