Adam Eyres speaks to group

Antelope TAG Visits Fossil Rim

There are Felid TAGs which work with all cats, Canid TAGs, all wolf, fox species, etc. The Ungulate TAG works with all ungulates and of course, Fossil Rim is very committed to working with those animals. Within the Ungulate TAG are the specific TAGs with which we participate. The Antelope TAG, Cervid TAG (deer), Equid TAG (zebras, horses and asses) and Giraffe TAG all comprise the larger group called the Ungulate TAG.

The main focus of these meetings is two-fold. First, committee chairs inform the delegates about the situations for these animals in the wild and the captive environment. Which animals need conservation work, which ones are stable, which are extinct in the wild and are only managed as captive populations and how the captive component of conservation should focus their resources--mainly money, time and space. These chairpeople will also share any projects that are ongoing in the range countries and within the captive community.

The second important reason these groups meet is to discuss how the captive populations should be managed. This is where all the breeding recommendations come from. This group determines which animals will be shipped where and which animals should and should not breed. They also determine if the species that are currently being worked with in captivity are the best species to continue to work with or if there are species in more dire need of the captive resource base. In recent years the Ungulate TAG has also reserved one day for pertinent research that is taking place in the captive population. This is a great opportunity to not only learn what we can from these animals, but also to determine what future research could be done to improve the management of these animals.

In addition to the 10 or 12 hour days during the conference, it is critical to meet more socially as well. There have been quite a few international delegates, mainly from Europe, and they manage their animals differently (and sometimes better) than we do and it's great to hear how they do it. Plus, every conference is hosted by a zoological institution which is visited during the conference. This allows other institutions to get an inside look at how those particular zoos manage their animals.

Finally, the reason that Fossil Rim was so excited to host this post conference tour is because every year we make an impression on the other facilities because we have so many animals and manage them so differently than traditional zoos that lots of people want to see this park. There are people in this field who have heard about Fossil Rim for 20 years but haven't been able to come out. Being so close (Dallas) made it easy to hire a bus and bring all these folks out to see what we do here--and just as importantly--how we do it. I spoke to every delegate and they were all impressed with our staff, facilities and of course, the herds of animals that they saw.