San Antonio Wildlife Business a Rare Breed in Exotics Industry

In a dense South Texas thicket of mesquite and grass, a small herd of wild antelope known as nyala is grazing serenely when an all-terrain vehicle comes to a stop on the dirt path. A calf, born just hours before, wobbles to its feet among those sturdy animals with entrancing eyes that peer cautiously at the intrusion. The scene on a recent autumn day is a long way from Brian Gilroy’s upscale workplace in a far North San Antonio office building. But Gilroy is at home on this 1,750-acre parcel of land – enough to step from the ATV, walk gingerly through the brush, and scoop the newborn into his arms. A San Antonio native, Gilroy is CEO of WildLife Partners, a business he founded in 2016 with his brother, Chris, after a long career in the oil and gas industry and finance and investing. He set up his office in Shavano Park and now operates three ranches populated with 3,000 super-exotic animals – 70 species ranging from Nubian ibexes to Cape buffaloes – owned by five partnerships made up of 45 investors. Each partnership is a $5 million investment. Gilroy brokers the exotic animals, buying and selling monthly about $1 million worth, mostly non-native hoofstock and birds. He has moved 8,000 animals in three years from zoos or Texas ranches needing to reduce their populations. WildLife Partners has 300 regular customers – ranchers who buy the animals for the novelty of owning them and to earn tax breaks, Gilroy said. Ranchers also make money selling off surplus animals. It is the full-time job of a dozen WildLife Partners employees to carefully catch, transport, and release animals without harming them, a guarantee the company offers...MORE