Sub-Saharan in the Deep South: Endangered Animals Get a New Opportunity on the Mississippi
The Audubon Nature Institute and San Diego Zoo Global have a new, joint “breeding program for rare and endangered species on 1,000 acres south of this city, bringing herds of antelope, okapi and Masai giraffe to graze on the banks of the Mississippi River.” “Among the more than two dozen species expected in the program, which is slated to begin in 2014, are lions, flamingos, storks and several kinds of antelopes.”
The NYTimes reported that the breeding site is among the largest in the United States, and this “wildlife conservation model [is] based on the finding that certain species mate more successfully when allowed to roam in herds rather than when paired off in captivity.” Especially for those animals that breed based on a hierarchical order like hyenas.
“The location in Plaquemines Parish, which has an ideal climate for some subtropical species.”
