Foal Envy

Born October 9th at Zoo Basel in Switzerland, this Plain's Zebra foal was the zoo's first in four years! Perhaps because of the novelty, the other zebras in the exhibit were extremely interested in the new foal and arguably jealous, as they made some attempts to steal the baby from its mother. However, the protective mother zebra stood her ground and the herd has settled into a comfortable and supportive dynamic.

 

 

Comments

[frannipanni]

What an amazingly beautiful animal.

[Raincitygirl]

How in the wide world does a zebra steal a foal away from another zebra?

I'm just trying to visualise how the heck that would happen, and coming up empty.

[Liz]

Grevy's are spectacular animals!!!

[Elizabeth]

Those aren't Grevy's zebras. :( Very cute though!

[Andrew B]

Those of you who suspected this was a Plain's Zebra were correct. Our translation of the press release, in which they compared this foal to a Grevy's, was poor. Thanks for the tips.

[Elizabeth]

I thought that in the zebra society there was no "adoption" so that if a zebra got separated from its mother then it would be all alone. That's why the mother is so protective in the early stages-- so that the baby can recognize its stripe pattern. But I guess at a zoo, things might work a bit differently!

[eternalcanadian]

that is really interesting this is the first baby zebra in four years. does that mean previous mating attempts failed or there wasn't enough males? no wonder this baby is a novelty, and probably got all the femals in a "i want my own baby now" mood.