CONSERVATION

The studbook of the European bison Bison bonasiis

E. M O H R Hamburg-Langenhorn, Kraemerstieg 8, Germany

The first survey of European bison or wisent Bison bonasus was undertaken by Mr Heinz Heck, Sr, who established a card index of all animals still living after the first World War. When the International Association for the Preservation of the Wisent was founded on 25 August 1923, Goerd von der Groeben took over the job of studbook keeper and on 31 December 1924 made the following report on the world population at that time: 24 males (three unfit for breeding), 22

females (three unfit for breeding), two males born in 1922, five females born in 1922, seven male calves born after I January 1923, and six female calves born after I January 1923. The total was thus 33 males and 33 females.

After years of preparatory work, in which I assisted from 1927, the first Wisent Studbook was finally published on 15 April 1932. I t contained not only all the pure-bred wisent living on I

January 1931, but also all their traceable ancestors, as well as their genealogy, including animals that had no breeding importance for the world stock. Taking into account the then current theory that the wisent's low fertility was due to inbreeding, stillbirths were also recorded.

The first studbook, prepared by von der Groeben and printed in Berlin, contained data on 171 purebred wisent, with the serial numbers 1-200. A few numbers were left vacant to allow for the insertion of any individuals discovered later. The data on 73 wisent hybrids of known origin were registered in a separate appendix (these were mainly animals at or from Askaniya Nova), which for some time had influenced breed- ing in France, Copenhagen, Budapest, Stockholm, Poland and Woburn (the animals at Woburn still include this hybrid blood).

The following two parts of the studbook (193 1-36) were prepared and edited by me. They contained Nos Z O I - ~ O pure-blooded wisent, and Nos. 74-177 hybrids. The drawing up of pedigree cards was completed in 1933: the studbook had a complete set and each owner had those relating to the animals in his care.

From 1937-45 the Studbook was in other hands, and during these years no lists were prepared or printed, and no pedigree cards drawn up.

From 1945 Dr Jan Zabinski and I began to collect the missing data and to reconstruct the studbook. It was reckoned that a large number of unrecorded animals might occur, and so the new list did not continue from the last printed number (270) but began anew with No. 471. The first post-war part of the studbook appeared in Warsaw on I January 1947, with Nos 471-707 for the years 1937-46. Hybrids were no longer registered. As there are now so many pure-bred wisent, they are superfluous and are of no interest. However, those hybrids still existing were nevertheless watched in case they became mixed up with pure stocks.

The collection of data for the studbook is now shared between Dr Heinz Heck at the Catskill Game Farm (for America), D r Erna Mohr (western Europe and Asia) and Dr Jan Zabinski of Warsaw (eastern Europe). Dr Zabinski is also chief editor.

Data for each two-year period are summarised and printed in Warsaw. Unfortunately printing conditions there cause delay, so that parts have been appearing three or four years late. The last part to appear contains births during 1959-60. It is dated January 1963, but was not issued until 1966. The corrected proofs for the years 1961-62 were submitted in October 1964, but the relevant part was not published until August 1966. Thus on several occasions animals have been born, reared and died before data concerning them have been published.

The system of pedigree cards worked out 40 years ago by von der Groeben has been preserved. The cards for bulls are white, and those for the females green. Five generations of ancestors can be included on the card.

In 1944 the Studbook card index was destroyed by bombing. However, it has been possible to reconstruct them from documents that were stored outside Hamburg.

188 CONSERVATION

As the remaining stock of printed forms for the pedigree cards is small, and as the Wisent Association is at the moment non-functional and has no income, it is still not possible to renew the breeding card index (in April 1966 it contained about 2,600 cards), and only those animals which change hands can be given pedigree cards. For any new printing of forms, it is recommended that the number of ancestral generations should be reduced from five to three. This would save 50 per cent of the time taken by the transcriber, would be easier to survey and would be in keeping with current practice of other breed societies. The ancestors not recorded on the pedigree cards

could still be extracted from the studbook. It would be desirable to reprint the old, out of print parts of the studbook, published in Berlin 1924- 36 (Nos. 1-270). This would enable every owner to trace back the complete ancestry of each of his animals. For this, little more than a single printed sheet would be necessary.

In order to maintain the interest of wisent breeders, despite the delayed publication of the studbook, we have for some years sent out lists of existing stocks, with the numbers of animals reported from each.

On I January 1966 there were about 790 pure- bred registered wisent.

Numerical status of the White-tailed gnu Connochaetes gnou

D. J. B R A N D Director, National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

The White-tailed gnu or Black wildebeest Connochaetes gnou occurred in large numbers on the open plains and in the Karoo areas of the Cape Province, from Cape Agulhas to The Orange River, as well as on the open grass plains of the Orange Free State, and the high veld regions of the southern and western Transvaal (Selous, 1914). The numbers of these animals decreased seriously owing to injudicious hunting and the periodical outbreak of scab epidemics. Selous (1914) mentions that the White-tailed gnu was extinct in the Cape Province in 1871, except for a few surviving animals in the Beaufort West District.

Large herds of these animals were, however, still found between Potchefstroom in the Transvaal and Harrismith in the Orange Free State, as well as in the Harz River area in the western Transvaal.

In the Transvaal the species became extinct in 1885. The remaining animals were confined to a number of farms in the Orange Free State (Selous, 1914). The total number of White-tailed gnu was less than 600 in 1899 (Bryden, 1899). In 1937, according to Shortridge (19pj), only a few hundred of these animals survived. Since the White-tailed gnu was protected at that time by

keen farmers and government departments and some animals were sent to suitable farms, parks, and reserves, the re@ was that their numbers gradually increased. During 1945 Bigalke con- ducted a national survey (Table I ) .

P R O V I N C E NUMBER

Cape Province 215

Natal =7

Orange Free State 755 Transvaal 61

Estimated total 1,048

Table I . Number of White-tailed gnu Conno- chaetes gnou in South Africa in 1945.

In 1965 a second survey was undertaken and information was requested on numbers of present stock, place of origin, and numbers of foundation stock originally used to establish the herds. Questionnaires were sent to farmers, nature reserves, national parks, and other organisations. The survey was accompanied by a publicity