Brevard Zoo Welcomes New Child Zebra ‘Zonka’

at three days previous, the foal weighed in at 83 kilos

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – We’re thrilled to welcome our third zebra foal born on the Zoo.

Nineteen-year-old Grévy’s zebra Zonka gave delivery on Could 26.

Animal care employees performed a neonatal examination on the infant and found that she is a feminine.

At simply three days previous, the foal weighed in at 83 kilos.

Some preliminary well being challenges stored us from sharing this information sooner, however the zebra foal is now doing properly and nursing.

“Zonka is a good mom and may be very protecting of the child,” mentioned Animal Curator Chelsea Herman. Our animal care staff will proceed to intently monitor the foal to make sure her wellbeing.

“We suspected that Zonka was pregnant based mostly on fetal actions and weight acquire. Over the previous a number of months, our animal care employees have been maintaining a detailed eye on her, searching for any indications that her child was quickly arriving.”

You might keep in mind that in the summertime of 2022, we welcomed our first-ever zebra foals: a boy born to mother Lauren in June and one other boy born to mother Iggy in July. Jerzy and Ziggy, the foals, are actually round a yr previous and spend their time between our Expedition Africa Veldt and prepare yard.

Zonka and her foal will stay behind the scenes as they bond. Grévy’s zebras of their pure vary sometimes separate themselves from their herd after giving delivery, and we’re mimicking that as intently as potential by permitting Zonka to have bonding time.

We’re so thrilled about welcoming one other member of this species as Grévy’s zebras are endangered as a consequence of habitat loss, human searching and competitors for assets with home hoofstock.

The foal’s sire, 10-year-old Bakari, arrived on the Zoo again in 2020 as a Species Survival Plan breeding advice. SSPs handle the populations of animals inside AZA-accredited zoos to make sure wholesome, genetically various teams – particularly essential for the endangered Grévy’s zebra.

We’ll proceed to maintain you posted on the child’s progress and allow you to know when you may see Zonka and her foal in Expedition Africa. Till then, we hope you get pleasure from some pictures of the child behind the scenes from our animal care employees!