There are also exciting antelopes in the Leipzig Zoo!

There are also exciting antelopes in the Leipzig Zoo!

Leipzig, Deutschland - in the Leipzig zoo, the spring months are all about animal births. This season, visitors enjoy the offspring of saber antelopes, four of whom recently saw the light of day. These sociable animals live together with giraffes, zebras and other species in the Kiwara Savanne opened in 2004, which simulates a natural habitat. The saberlantelope is particularly worth protecting because it was eradicated in nature and the breeding in the zoo is part of a coordinated European conservation breeding program. The zoo provides information on this type and lifestyle on its website, where the current feeding times are also published ( zoo-leipzig.de ).

The MDR Documentary soap "Elefant, Tiger and Co." Accompanied the first adventures of the young animals and showed how the antelopes explore their outdoor enclosure and come into contact with the zebras. In the last episode, which was broadcast on May 9, the curious behavior of the zebras, which actively approached the newbies, was emphasized. However, nurse Daniel Volkmann expressed concerns. The natural stomach design with hiding and stones could prove to be dangerous, especially when panic breaks out among the animals. He reminds that a small saber tilope has come too close to a giraffe in the past, which ended in an unsightly incident, since giraffes are able to use their legs when they feel threatened ( thueringen24.de ).

background information on saber antelope

The saber tilope was eradicated in nature in the end of the 1990s by extreme hunting practices. In order to preserve the way from extinction, their remaining stocks are bred in various zoos coordinated. This is done not only in Leipzig, but also in other European zoos that are involved in conservation breeding programs. Overall, the saber tilope and other endangered species have been particularly funded in Zoos since the introduction of the "Convention for International Trade with Endangered Species" in 1975. This was directed against the release of wild animals and ensured that zoos had to take care of their own offspring ( planet-wissen.de ).

Thanks to the European cooperation in breeding, it has been possible to make the first saber antelopes in 1997 and 1998 in secure areas in Tunisia, Senegal and Morocco. The Leipzig Zoo was actively involved in these projects and thus contributed to the rescue of the species. At the same time, visitors benefit from the particularly lively feeding and commentary times that take place at 1:15 p.m., and thus learn more about the impressive lifestyle of these animals.