ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Zoo welcomed a new baby zebra in July.
A male Grevy’s zebra foal was born on July 19. Colton weighed 83 pounds at birth. His parents are Tiombe, 15, and 9-year-old father Dewy.
Visitors can see the baby and his mother at the Red Rocks area of the zoo.
“We are so happy to welcome our ninth Grevy’s zebra foal in 10 years,” said Martha Fischer, Curator of Mammals/Ungulates and Elephants at the Saint Louis Zoo. “In the last 40 years, the Zoo has celebrated 29 births to contribute to the Species Survival Plan for this endangered species.”
The St. Louis Zoo’s Grevy’s zebras are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, which is a program responsible for maintaining a genetically healthy population of Grevy’s zebras in North American zoos.
The zoo’s WildCare Institute Center for Conservation in the Horn of Africa supports conservation of the endangered Grevy’s zebra and other unique species in that region.
According to the zoo, in the last 30 years, the number of wild Grevy’s zebras has dropped sharply, from 15,000 to 2,800. This species’ survival is threatened by overhunting, habitat loss, food competition with livestock and most recently, drought.
