Choose your takin

[Aramar]

The takin is a popular animal often mentioned on the forum. However, there are 4 subspecies and most of the time we just say takin. Even in some zoos I have seen that they just say they have takins without specifying which one. So which subspecies would you like to get? Or would you prefer to get a generic takin with colour variants covering all subspecies?

I would choose the Mishmi takin because it has the largest range and it's the one found in my local zoo, but the golden taking is visually very attractive.

 

[SuzieSky]

I would pick the golden takin, but ideally, (they are all subspecies) the brown ones would be color variations. There would be a golden morph.

 

[AlexSea]

I'll go with the Golden Takin, but I'm really not picky when it comes to the subspecies.

 

[DarthQuell]

Hot take: what if we just got the takin, but then each color variant represents a different subspecies?

If not, golden takin then

 

[Leaf Productions]

Sichuan, best of both words. Dark colors and light colors.

Plus they're at my local zoo so I'm partial to them <3

 

[Utahraptor Arcanus]

I always thought the consensuous was the golden takin, lol.

 

[macronecu]

golden or sichuan for me
i associate takins with china, so one of these two

 

[Cynogale bennettii II]

Golden would probably be my top choice (they are a colour unique among ungulates currently in-game and would fit in very well to an enclosure next door to the giant pandas). Mishmi is my second choice, as the most commonly-kept subspecies in Europe.

 

[TheHippoGirl]

I'm on the Mishmi team. Because it's the one in my local zoo (Antwerp) and, if I'm not mistaken, the most common one in European zoos. I would be happy with another one too but prefer Mishmi.

 

[BiologicalHorror]

Sichuan because I like its colors best and if they had a lighter and darker variant it could work to cover all 4.

 

[avietar]

Generic with subspecies as color variants

 

[NachoB]

I'm between golden and sichuan, but i have a slight preference for the sichuan takin.

 

[Doran]

Fun fact: there are more morphological differences between takin subspecies than coat colors. Most interesting one is skull structure and posture. It might be hard to see differences at first glance, but image below should help.

Im not picky about subspecies, but mishmi takin is endangeres so i prefer this one.

 

[DragonNTiger]

Sichuan... most colorful looking if you ask me... also apparently co-exists with Giant Pandas.

Or would you prefer to get a generic takin with colour variants covering all subspecies?

Eww... even if it would work (and it wouldn't, there's more than just color variations) I hate it when they go the generic route... it's a poor representation of the genus when you just mash subspecies together into one (I mean, look at the Timber Wolf) and it means you're mixing subspecies and creating hybrids (something I'm pretty sure they avoid in actual zoos).

 

[YesIndeed]

Sichuan all the way. Would prefer getting a generic takin with color variants though as others mentioned.

 

[Antimony96]

Sichuan are by far the most common in captivity both in Europe and North America (and I think in China as well) so I'd go with them. In an ideal world we'd have a Prehistoric Kingdom-like system where you had a single species and could choose between multiple subspecies (and then retroactively apply this to the tiger, brown bear, wolf, etc.)

 

[NZFanatic]

Wept, getting morphologically distinct subspecies as colour variations would be an absolute travesty and go against everything zoos actually do.

 

[Aramar]

Sichuan are by far the most common in captivity both in Europe and North America (and I think in China as well) so I'd go with them. In an ideal world we'd have a Prehistoric Kingdom-like system where you had a single species and could choose between multiple subspecies (and then retroactively apply this to the tiger, brown bear, wolf, etc.)

According to zootierliste, in Europe there are:

Sichuan takin: 10
Buthan takin: 0
Mishmi takin: 38
Golden takin: 19

It seems that the takin is therefore another animal whose more common kept subspecies is different in North America and Europe.

 

[Cynogale bennettii II]

According to zootierliste, in Europe there are:

Sichuan takin: 10
Buthan takin: 0
Mishmi takin: 38
Golden takin: 19

It seems that the takin is therefore another animal whose more common kept subspecies is different in North America and Europe.

There's an even more precise breakdown of takin numbers in Europe on the species' EEP page on the EAZA website:
Sichuan takin - 27 individual animals
Mishmi takin - 173 individual animals
Golden takin - 57 individual animals

The Sichuan takin population is also being phased out so that they can be replaced with either of the other two subspecies.

Takin EEP » EAZA

www.eaza.net

 

[NZFanatic]

I'm honestly not fussed on which one we receive but I think the golden takin is the best choice. As @Cynogale bennettii II just pointed out, they are steadily replacing Sichuan takins in most collections, and they are more visually interesting than the Mishmi or Bhutan takin. That said, I would accept the Mishmi takin as the most commonly held subspecies regardless of how it looks.