An historical overview of selected rare ruminants in captivity

In assessing the situation revealed by the survey, we concluded that in general when sufficient numbers of founders were available and attention paid to the animals general and specific needs, including preventative medicine, the captive populations have done reasonably well. Is is obvious that some small groups, such as the small African antelope and the duikers, need highly specialised care and there is a great deal of work still to be done on their husbandry. The mountain or alpine species have been fairly successful with the goats showing the greatest adaptability. We feel there are grounds for optimism for the future of such animals as the Rocky mountain goat, the Japanese serow and even the Blue sheep. Of those species whose captive future is still in doubt, particularly those which are threatened in the wild, our researches indicate that concentrated efforts should be made to obtain sufficient founder stock to establish self-sustaining populations as a hedge against total disaster in the wild. We felt that the evidence was strong that any of the ungulate species reviewed could be successfully maintained in captivity given the right circumstances. Basically, the husbandry procedures of all the reporting zoos were similar, although, of course, each zoo had its own variations. In some cases these measurably affected the success of the animal population. In the last 20 to 25 years inter-zoo co-operation and sharing of information has greatly expanded. Nevertheless we would now urge that even more emphasis should be put on the exchange of information to provide each zoo with up- to-date data which would ensure that all zoos are kept abreast with the 'state of the art. With such a spirit of co-operation the prospect of managing species as total captive populations appears to be practical and promising.