Georg von Opel Zoo » Opel Zoo Kronberg

Georg von Opel Zoo
06-03-2008

Has anyone been to this German collection recently?

I have been leafing through some of my guidebook collection and my eye was caught by a photograph on the cover of an Opel Zoo guidebook of some white zebras.

The guidebook is undated but I would suggest is 1990s. The photograph on the cover is repeated inside the booklet and shows two normally-coloured, adult Grant's-type zebras, two adult white zebras (well, white with feint grey stripes) and a baby white one.

I wondered if anyone knows if the zoo still keeps these strange zebras and what their history is.

Also, are there still dingos there?

Cheers.

06-03-2008

I have never been to Opel Zoo in Kronberg, but maybe I can help.

I have heard about these strange white zebras bred there, but they are not in their collection anymore. The last died 10-15? years ago. The first specimen was imported from eastern Africa together with "normal" ones.

They do not have any dingos now, but there are still some interesting animals as a pair of brown hyenas, euro-kangaroos or a breeding group of mountain reedbuck.
BR

06-03-2008

Do they still have the Persian(Mesopotamian)Fallow Deer? At one time I believe they only had hybrid stock but not sure of the situation now...

07-03-2008

I visited the zoo in 2006. It at the time was under going some major building work for a savanah area. It was a nice collection with just a couple of bad exhibits. I'll upload soem photos to my gallery!

28-06-2008

@Pardoxurus. The Zoos has imported the white zebra mare from Kenia in 1958. She was coupled with a normal stallion, but all foals of this pair were normal. The fisrt white fwas born first until they have bred with the white mare and her first son. Its the same story as like as the white tigers story. The foals did not live really long, just a couple of years. They were often ill. The last of the white zebras died in 1992. I have seen them several times, because I lived in the area, but I have only two pictures of them.

Unfortunately the zoo had to stop with the dingos, because they were to loud and the (rich)neighbours couldn't sleep in the night, so the zoo had to give them away.

01-07-2008

@Pertinax- Yes, they still keep and breed Dama dama mesopotamica. As far as I know, the hybrid group was phased out.

01-07-2008

The Opel Zoo has been the mainstay of D. mesopotamica breeding and the fact that all offspring in western captive collections derives from Opel Zoo individuals is testament to their record.

In the early 1970's indeed several years of hybridisation with a male D. dama occurred, but as soon as a new D. mesopotamica male was received from Iran this practice was discontinued and the hybrids were "phased out" or euthanised.

Unfortunately, cooperation with the Iranian authorities has not been at its best and only occasionally have foreigners been allowed to enter the country and study the D. mesopotamica in the 2 wildife refuges where wild D. mesopotamica occured and the various locations across Iran where D. mesopotamica from the captive-breeding herd at Dasht e Naz were distributed to. They do have quite an extensive reintroduction programme, but not all projects have been as equally well monitored as could have been.

I can only hope that cooperation will improve and that likewise with the Persian onager and Asiatic cheetah, that zoos can make a meaningful contribution to wildlife conservation inside Iran and exchanges of personnel and rare wildlife can take place.