Gerenuk Conservation Research

The gerenuk is a unique antelope species, sometimes called the giraffe gazelle, found throughout East Africa.  Gerenuk are browsing herbivores that employ their ability to rear up on their hind legs and use their long neck and legs to reach leaves of bushes and small trees on which they feed.  Their exploitation of food sources unavailable to most other herbivores results in a distinct way of life for the gerenuk, which form small related herds in their search for food in the semi-arid habitats in East Africa.  This lifestyle presents challenges in captivity too, as managers attempt to meet their exceptional social, nutrition, and health requirements.

White Oak Conservation Center has been extremely successful in developing husbandry practices for the gerenuk captive program, and over 75 gerenuk calves have been born at the facility since the program’s inception in 1985.  The staff at WOCC recognized the need for focused research to address the challenges associated with the captive management of the species and the gerenuk conservation research program was initiated in 1997.  We understood that the results and information from gerenuk studies at WOCC are valuable to other related conservation programs.

The captive gerenuk program at WOCC has supported research projects to develop bachelor group management techniques, animal handling and anesthesia techniques, artificial insemination projects, and genetic, nutrition, and behavioral assessments.  A critical component of this work has been the formation of research and animal management staff, and interns, who have participated at all levels with the development of the gerenuk conservation research program.  Staff members competently manage the WOCC gerenuk program and research, and interns work closely with the program and projects gaining valuable skills and experience.  Several zoo partners have provided support and expertise for the project including Miami Metrozoo, Los Angeles Zoo, San Antonio Zoo, and North Carolina Zoological Park.

The international component involves several facets, with the hands-on part of the project taking place on the Ol Jogi Ranch on the Laikipia Plain, where there are large numbers of gerenuk.  Tom DeMaar, veterinarian and previous wildlife manager at Ol Jogi, has assisted GIC to organize the construction of bomas on the ranch where the gerenuk are held for the 45 days needed after capture for the project to be implemented.  WOCC staff and interns participate with all aspects of the project, help build the bomas, capture the animals, feed and care for them, collect semen, and release the gerenuk at the end of the project.  The owners, manager, and staff of Ol Jogi are helpful at every level and participate in organizing and implementing the project. 

Perhaps the most difficult portions of the international program in Kenya are the logistics required to test and approve the ruminant (gerenuk) semen for entry into the US (See “Semen Importation Project” below).  Therefore the US Department of Agriculture is involved with the gerenuk capture, blood and semen testing, and permitting, and their vets are on the ground in Kenya for this process.  The Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Agriculture Ministry are also involved, including a permit process to capture and hold animals for collection and for exportation of semen to the US.

The spirit of international collaboration and the development of a global approach to species conservation management are the rewards of the gerenuk conservation research program. As a model holistic conservation program, both for GIC/White Oak Conservation Center and other similar programs, gerenuk research results will be applied to assist gerenuk conservation, and other related conservation programs in captivity and around the world.

Gerenuk Semen Importation Project

Gilman International Conservation (GIC) and White Oak Conservation Center (WOCC) have taken the lead in developing a project to import semen from wild caught antelope in Kenya.  Working with the Kenya Wildlife Service, the US Department of Agriculture, Ol Jogi Ranch, and various partners in Kenya, the project objective is to collect semen from wild caught gerenuk in Kenya, and import the semen to the US.  The semen will be utilized in a captive research program to artificially inseminate gerenuk in captivity, at WOCC and other zoos in the US, in support of the conservation breeding program for the species.  If successful, this will be the first project of its kind ever to import wild bovid gametes from an African or Asian country for use in a captive conservation program in North America.

The single greatest challenge to conservation breeding programs for hoofed mammals is the preservation of the wild founder genetic material of the species we are conserving.  Conservation breeding programs intend to maintain as many of the traits of the represented species as possible, as a genetic reservoir, in the event that the wild population becomes extinct.   The very nature of captive breeding programs results in the loss of the original traits, called genetic diversity, as generations continue to be produced and traits are lost with time (genetic drift).  One way to reduce the loss of genetic diversity within a population is to periodically infuse more of the species’ genetic material, i.e., additional animals from the wild would be included in the captive program.

There are numerous challenges associated with acquiring more animals from the wild for captive breeding programs including capture, acclimation, feeding, transport, quarantines, examinations, and breeding, of live animals that are unaccustomed to such activities.  If the animals can be moved safely, there are also logistical, financial, and regulatory hurdles to overcome in moving live animals from one country to another.  Perhaps the most serious of these are the international regulations controlling the movement of ruminants (animals with cattle-like physical traits).  The US Department of Agriculture has implemented stringent measures for the importation of ruminants into the US to control the disease risk to the US livestock industry.  All these challenges are being addressed by the GIC Gerenuk Conservation Research Program.