Watch a baby zebra take its first steps at Marwell Zoo
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The rare Grevy’s zebra foal, which currently has no name, was born on September 26 sporting fluffy ears and brown stripes that will eventually turn black.
The gender of the zebra has not yet been confirmed.
Marwell Zoo’s conservation biologist, Tanya Langenhorst, said: ‘It’s so lovely to see the foal taking its very first foray out into the field and running around with mum and the other females.
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Hide Ad‘Often people don’t realise how rare this particular species of zebra is.
‘There are fewer Grevy’s zebra left in the wild than black rhino, so we are incredibly lucky to see them here at Marwell.’
At the moment, there are less than 3,000 Grevy’s zebras left in the wild, compounded by an ongoing draught in Kenya.
Marwell Wildlife is fundraising to save the species by providing urgently needed supplementary hay.
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Hide Ad‘The rains have failed repeatedly, forage has disappeared in many areas and rivers are drying up,’ Tanya said.
‘This means very long trips between grazing and water sources.
‘Lactating females and foals are particularly at risk and affected by the prolonged drought as the mothers need to drink daily to provide milk, but the foals are not strong enough for the extra-long walks and can die of either starvation or from the strenuous trips.’
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