A Foal Joins the Zebra Herd at The Wild Place Project

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: June 13, 2020 9:58 pm

Photo Credit: The Wild Place Project

Wild Place Project in Bristol has grown their zebra herd with the birth of a female zebra foal which keepers have named Vera. She is the first zebra to be born at Wild Place since they opened in 2013.

Vera was born to mum Florence who is 10 and dad Peter who is 5 just after midnight on June 7th.

As Wild Place put in place their final precautions ahead of opening again soon animal manager at Wild Place Project Will Walker said, “Every birth is special but this one is particularly special during this difficult time. She is a lovely foal and we are looking forward to our imminent reopening when people can come and see her.”

Photo Credit: The Wild Place Project

The foal is distinguished from her parents, both by being smaller along with her fur being brown and fuzzier.

Her parents are doing a great job as Will explained, “Vera began suckling very soon after she was born and was walking around within a matter of minutes. Florence is being a good mum so all the signs are very encouraging.”

Vera doesn’t just live with her parents though. At Wild Place they share their Benoue National Park enclosure with giraffe, red river hogs and eland.

Photo Credit: The Wild Place Project

While they are safe at Wild Place the same can’t be said for their wild cousins. The plains zebra is listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Their numbers have been declining as a result of hunting and loss of habitat.”

Her birth will hopefully help to raise awareness of the future of this near threatened species as their population in the wild continues to fall,” finished Will.

Learn more about zebras here – Zebra | The Animal Facts

Learn more about Wild Place Project here – The Wild Place Project Website