Baby zebra born at The Living Desert
Officials at The Living Desert are excited about the birth of the zoo’s newest baby animal.
The zoo’s 4-year-old zebra named ‘Tisa’ gave birth to an 82.5-pound female on April 20, according to President & CEO Allen Monroe. The Grevy’s Zebra foal has yet to be named.
Tisa was also born at The Living Desert and this is the first time she’s given birth. Monroe said this is the second foal for the dad ‘Conrad’, who came to The Living Desert in 2012 from the San Diego Zoo. He also fathered Zuberi last summer.
The new filly (female) brings the total number of zebra’s at The Living Desert to five, according to zoo’s release.
“We are thrilled to have a new baby Grevy zebra born at The Living Desert,” said Monroe. “We are proud to be an active participant in the Grevy’s Zebra Species Survival Plan® and being that they are endangered, it’s even more exciting to see their population expanding.”
Officials said by working with other zoos across the country, the Species Survival Plan® promotes genetic diversity within the captive population and acts as a safeguard to wild populations.
Baby zebras are born with legs that are at full height, and each zebra has its own unique pattern of distinctive stripes, just as humans have their own unique pattern of fingerprints.
Recent hypothesis conclude that the black and white striping deters biting insects such as the Tsetse Fly, in addition to predator confusion, camouflage at sundown and to identify individual zebras, zookeepers said in the release.
If you want to see the newest member of The Living Desert’s family, the zoo is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, you can call 760-346-5694.
