It is the first baby zebra born at the zoo since 2019 and the zoo said it’s unique stripes are as individual as a human fingerprint
Visitors to the Los Angeles Zoo will now be able to celebrate the birth of the first baby zebra born there since 2019.
The yet-to-be named foal has spent his first weeks since his birth behind the scenes to allow him to bond closely with his mother. The young Gevry zebra, which is classified as endangered, “has been intermittently on public view as he has been getting used to his surroundings and will be regularly on exhibit beginning next week, weather permitting,” the zoo said Friday.
“This is an exciting birth for the Zoo and for the entire animal care team,” said Dominick Dorsa II, Director of Animal Care, L.A. Zoo. “It’s been quite some time since we’ve had a Grevy’s zebra foal at the Zoo, and now guests will be able to see the behaviors of a juvenile zebra that they may have not experienced before.”
Like all Grevy’s zebras, the new foal features a stripe pattern as unique as an individual human fingerprint. Native to the semi-arid and open scrub grasslands of southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya, the Grevy’s is the largest of the three zebra species. The populations have decreased by 54 percent over the last 40 years due to habitat loss, unregulated hunting, diseases, and predation, and it is estimated that fewer than 2,000 remain in the wild, zoo officials say.
“This birth not only helps support the Grevy’s zebra’s population in North America, but it will undoubtedly help educate guests about this important animal,” said Dorothy Belanger, Curator of Mammals, L.A. Zoo. “Guests visiting the Zoo will have the unique opportunity to observe this young animal and build a connection with the species. We’re thrilled for this new zebra and how it will help shape the minds of our guests and hopefully inspire them to be a part of the conservation of wildlife and nature.”