As of: January 31, 2024, 11:29 a.m
By: Marcel Prigge
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In the fight against the extinction of the Somali wild ass, a stallion from Berlin has been given an important task.
He is supposed to provide young talent in Hanover.
Hanover - The existence of the Somali wild ass is at stake: only a maximum of 200 of these wild donkeys with striped legs can be found in their natural habitat, while only 136 live in Europe's zoos.
A donkey stallion from the Berlin Zoo has now been brought to the Hanover Adventure Zoo as part of the European Conservation Breeding Program (EEP) in order to provide the urgently needed offspring with the two resident mares.
Threatened with extinction: Somali wild ass stallion on breeding mission in Hanover
After a short period of acclimatization behind the scenes, the wild ass stallion now begins to explore his new territory on the banks of the Zambezi.
The Hanover Zoo reports this and mentions that the animal has already made the acquaintance of the two mares and the Addax antelopes, which are also threatened with extinction, with whom it lives in the adventure zoo.
Threatened with extinction: The new Somali wild ass stallion is a guest at the adventure zoo to preserve the species.
© Hanover Adventure Zoo
“The first meeting was promising,” says zoo curator Robin Walb happily.
The donkey stallion persistently clung to the mares and tried to cover them.
“The mating behavior of equids involves a lot of roaring and looks quite rough,” explains the curator. The mares often defend themselves against the stallion, and sometimes the stallion even bites the mares on the neck.
“The sight takes some getting used to for us humans, but it’s completely normal for wild donkeys.”
Species protection in action: “We very much hope that the breeding will be successful”
If the matings are successful, offspring can be expected in about a year.
“We very much hope that the breeding will be successful, because the Somali wild ass is threatened with extinction.
With their replacement populations, the world’s zoos make an extremely important contribution to the preservation of the animal species.”
The Somali wild ass stallion is expected to spend six months in Hanover.
“The stallion is actually only visiting Hanover for species protection purposes,” says curator Walb.
The wild ass will then probably return to the Berlin Zoo as part of the European conservation breeding program.