A zoo is a place where animals are kept in enclosures, cared for, and shown to the public, as well as being bred for conservation. Every day, zoo animal care and animal health teams perform a wide range of tasks, including monitoring and feeding our animals, cleaning, enriching and stimulating their environments, training them to participate in husbandry and medical procedures, ensuring their environment is safe and secure, implementing preventive health care, routine health checkups and medical procedures, and ensuring the safety and security of the zoo itself. For example, they make sure waterbucks don’t suffer.
What exactly is a waterbuck?
They are large, robust animals, with the males being around a quarter of a size larger than their female counterparts. White patches appear above and below the eyes, on the nose, mouth, and throat of these canines, which have large, rounded ears. One-hundred-centimeter-long, prominently ringed and male only, are the characteristics of the horns (40 inches). Despite their large size, the horns of this ram have a graceful curvature to them. When males fight over territories, they are sometimes used with deadly results.
Its smelly, oily secretion is thought to serve as a waterproofing agent for its shaggy brown-gray coat. A white pattern on the rump distinguishes the common waterbuck from the defassa waterbuck in East Africa. White rims encircle the dark rump of the common waterbuck, while the defassa has large white patches on either side.
Waterbucks rely heavily on water for survival. They must consume water on a daily basis and only live in areas close to water sources. In order to escape predators, they will readily wade into the water. Herds of waterbuck are dominated by a single male and a few females. Males are the only ones with horns that curve forward. Habitat loss is a major threat to the waterbuck.
Conservation and Ecology
These animals are vulnerable to hydroelectric power projects in some regions because of their dependence on the reed beds and shrub growth for foraging within wetland habitats. Habitat destruction for agricultural development is reducing their grassland habitat.
Due to unregulated hunting, the population of most waterbuck species has decreased. It is important for antelope to graze and browse in their environments. Carnivores like lions, leopards, wild dogs, and spotted hyenas use them as prey.
Zoos Where You Can See Waterbuck
1. The North Carolina Zoo
The North Carolina Zoo is dedicated to preserving and promoting the wonders of nature. If you want to see a variety of animals, this is a great place to visit. More than 1,800 animals call our Park home, and we are proud to have them as part of our family. To ensure our common future, they are also leading initiatives both locally and globally to preserve wildlife and wild places. They have a wide variety of virtual programs that you can use to stay in touch and learn about nature. Everyone is welcome to join the North Carolina Zoo’s efforts to preserve nature’s diversity.
2. Birmingham Zoo, Alabama
Founded in 1955, the Birmingham Zoo is a zoological park located in the Alabama city of Birmingham. Our non-profit Birmingham Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), and we actively participate in AZA Species Survival Plans (SSP). The only AZA-accredited zoo in the state of Alabama is the Birmingham Zoo. It is home to more than 500 animals of nearly 200 different kinds from six different continents, including endangered species such as sea lion and zebra.
3. Safari Wilderness, Florida
Is this really possible? Right in the middle of Central Florida, to be exact! And it’s not a rip-off of a theme park. A trip to the savannah. 260 acres of untamed wilderness are the setting for Safari Wilderness, an authentic safari experience. Safari Wilderness is the only place in Central Florida where you can see African animals in their natural habitats. It’s hard to believe you’re in the middle of Florida if the native species and Cyprus trees blend in so seamlessly with the landscape.
Wildlife encounters have never been more exciting than in Safari Wilderness, an outdoor safari unlike any other. It’s not like a zoo or a theme park, and it’s peaceful. Seeing the animals in their natural habitat while on safari in Lakeland will be a memory you’ll cherish for the rest of your life! It’s possible to see eland and other wildlife such as red lechwe, axis deer, fallow deer, and water buffalo while on a safari trip.
4. Binder Park Zoo, Michigan
When the Binder Park Zoo opened in 1977 in Battle Creek, Michigan, it had 433 acres (175 ha) of land. The Wild Africa Exhibit at Binder Park Zoo, one of Michigan’s largest zoos, showcases a diverse collection of animals and plants. As well as the Wildlife Discovery Theater and the Trams and Carousels. One of the world’s leading zoos, the Binder Park Zoo is an accredited member of AZA and the World Association of Zoo and Aquariums (WAZAA) (WAZA).
Exhibits of many African species are featured in the Wild Africa Exhibit. An 18-acre (7.3 ha) savanna-like setting, similar to how the animals would live in the wild, is the setting for this award-winning exhibit. Giraffes aren’t the only animals in the exhibit, but they’re the most prominent ones. Other exhibits for cheetah, red-capped mangabey and Aldabra tortoise, as well as colobus monkey, black mangabey, red river hog, and other animals can be found further down the trail.
5. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs
Located southwest of downtown Colorado Springs, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is a zoological park in the United States on Cheyenne Mountain. It is the highest zoo in the United States, rising to a height of 6,714 feet (2,046 meters) above sea level. There are 140 acres total in the zoo, but only 40 of those are used. There are more than 750 animals in the zoo, representing nearly 150 different species, with over 30 endangered species. USA Today ranked the zoo as the fourth best in North America in 2018. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums has given it its seal of approval.
Black-footed ferrets and Wyoming toads are among the endangered animals that the zoo raises. There are over 30 Species Survival Plan programs that the zoo participates in. Through the Quarters for Conservation program, visitors are able to choose which conservation projects the zoo financially supports. Since 2008, the zoo has raised over $2 million through the program.