Gaur; Whipsnade; 31st May 2014

Excellent photo of a species much sadly under-represented in European zoos. A shame Whipsnade don't keep a larger group.

Thank you very much

All four gaur, out in the paddock together, made a superb exhibit yesterday.

It is unfortunate that the recent calf is another male though.

Indeed. Could the Institute not look at embryo transplants from some of the US Gaur? Either somebody in Europe goes high tech (and a species so closely related to domestic cattle is as feasible as it ever gets), or someone in Europe organises new blood from elsewhere. Or the existing Gaur in Europe are phased out. I don't really see that the species has a future otherwise.

What is the history of gaur at Whipsnade? Wasnt this a rhino paddock years ago?

Both the Gaur paddock and its neighbour were built for rhino; look at those bars. The Gaur paddock housed Whipsnade's first pair of Southern White Rhino, which arrived in 1961/2 when this was still a very rare animal in captivity. When the present Elephant House was built in 1970 to accommodate the arrival of twenty animals from South Africa, the existing White pair moved in with them to begin the history of breeding White Rhino at Whipsnade. The Indian Rhino were then moved in from their exiating, smaller quarters nearer the Giraffe. "Manik" and "Mohini" and then "Kumar" and "Roopa" lived there until 1988, when Gaur were installed.

The present (older) Indian Rhino House held Eastern Black Rhino. These arrived in 1964 and had been collected in Kenya alongside a pair earmarked for London's Elephant & Rhino Pavilion, which was nearing completion. It does occur to me to wonder in retrospect how closely related those four calves were; their offspring don't seem to have had much reproductive success.

In any event, "Bwana Mkubwa" (aka "Fred") and "Mama Kidogo" (aka "Stumpy") stayed at Whipsnade until 1988. The decision was then taken to concentrate on Black Rhino at London and to use their paddock for Indian Rhino (as it is to this day). "Fred" went off to Port Lympne. "Stumpy" joined him a year or so later, having given birth to "Rosie" at London. She was the only one of her mother's calves that had to be hand-reared, a factor that probably hasn't helped her subsequent development. Hindsight does query the wisdom of moving a female in a reasonably advanced state of pregnancy.

Sorry to be pedantic, Ian, but just a couple of details:-

The black rhinos "Bwana Mkubwa" (aka "Fred") and "Mama Kidogo" (aka "Stumpy") arrived at Whipsnade in 1963, not 1964. The original black rhinos in the London Zoo’s Elephant and Rhino Pavilion, “Paul” and “June”, arrived in 1966, three years after the pair arrived at Whipsnade.

Whipsnade’s first pair of southern white rhino arrived in 1962. The male didn’t live long; the female was ‘Mashobini’ who was moved to London as a companion for the northern white rhino ‘Ben’ when London’s female northern white rhino died. (‘Mashobini’ did subsequently spend a while at Whipsnade in the mid 1970s.)

The pair of white rhinos that were already at Whipsnade when the big herd arrived in 1970 were acquired by Whipsnade in 1967.

Just for the record I believe the male 'Bwana' was sent three times(see below) to London before then as their female June's last three calves were all fathered by him, after their own male Paul died.

So he fathered calves at three places; Whipsnade(5) London(3) Port Lympne(I or 2)

A sentiment quite frequently expressed on Zoochat.

Yes, between arriving at Whipsnade in 1963 and being sent to Port Lympne in 1988 "Bwana Mkubwa" ("Fred") had three spells at London Zoo.

I dug out an old copy of the Black Rhinoceros Studbook. According to this "Bwana Mkubwa" ("Fred") was at London Zoo:-

• April 1974 – June 1975
• April 1977 – April 1978
• October 1978 – May 1985

Only the first and third of these spells at Regent’s Park are recorded in Rookmaaker’s work on captive rhinos; his second stay at Regent’s Park is omitted from this book (which is why my unedited post only mentioned two stays in London).

I was wrong, it was actually three times; Paul only fathered two calves.

'Bwana' fathered with 'June'; 'Noelle' born November 1975
'Kes' born September 1978
'Esther' born May 1982.

Working back from those dates you an estimate approximately the periods he would have been at ZSL.