Horse Illustrated Magazine

The Edmonton Valley Zoo is celebrating and it has an 88-pound reason to do so. Two days ago the Canadian zoo welcomed a foal belonging to the Grevy’s species. The female zebra – who doesn’t have a name yet – was born to 7-year-old mare Zari.

“The baby looks really good right now — she’s running around, she’s acting like a normal little baby. She’s very frisky and she’s got really long legs,” Wade Krasnow, team leader of animal care at the Valley Zoo, told Global News.

Krasnow added that the birth was a few years’ in the making, due to the time it took to introduce Zari to 17-year-old Shaka, as well as the 390-day gestation period.

“It’s a very big deal not just for us, it’s a big deal for the species as a whole because there’s only about 1,500 to 2,500 left in the world,” Krasnow said. “And zoos around the world are working together to help save this species.”

Krasnow told Global News that Zari, as a first-time mother, was at first skittish, but calmed down later in her pregnancy. “[S]he’s being an excellent, excellent mother. So we’re very, very happy with that.”

The Edmonton Valley Zoo may again breed Zari and Shaka in a few years.

A few other Grevy’s zebras have been born in the past few years. Check them out:

Endangered Equine Foal Born at Florida Zoo
Grevy’s Zebra Foal Born at U.S. Zoo
Rare Grevy’s Zebra foal born at The Phoenix Zoo
in Arizona