A HAMPSHIRE zoo is now home to two endangered animals and is the place in the UK where the rare species can be seen.
Marwell Zoo, near Winchester, recently welcomed a pair of beisa oryx, an East African species of antelope. Shango and Nago now live in the field next to the tropical house, making it the only location in the UK where the endangered animal can be visited.
Both of the new arrivals are male but the hope is to introduce females to breed in line with the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme.
Oryx are well adapted to living in arid areas and can even live for several weeks without drinking water.
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Both the males and the females have horns, which they use to defend themselves from predators and establish hierarchy. However, only the males use them to fight for mating rights.
Beisa oryx numbers in the wild are predicted to have declined 52 per cent in the last 18 years from 34,000 in the mid 1990’s to now just 16,000 to 18,000.
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Formerly widely seen in the semi-arid and arid bushland and grasslands of North-East Africa, the species is now mainly limited to Ethiopia, northern and eastern Kenya, and north-eastern Tanzania.
The species is under threat as a result of hunting and the population continues to decrease in the wild.
Marwell Zoo is operated by the conservation charity Marwell Wildlife and is currently hosting its first ever after-dark event with more than 25,000 LED lights being used to transform the attraction in the run-up to Christmas.
For more go to marwell.org.uk/.
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