Staff at West Midland Safari Park are celebrating the arrival of its first ever baby Grévy’s zebra.

The bundle of stripes was born during the early hours of Thursday morning to first-time-mum Akuna, who had a lengthy pregnancy of over 13 months. Within an hour, the adorable youngster was up on its feet and stayed close to mum whilst carefully exploring its new environment. The foal’s gender is yet to be identified and keepers will be keeping a close eye on mum and baby over the next few weeks. Vicky Barsham, African Ungulates Keeper, said:

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome our first ever baby Grévy’s zebra to the Park. Akuna is already proving to be a very attentive and caring mother. The foal is doing really well - it's very active, enjoying dust baths and running around the safari!

“West Midland Safari Park is very pleased to be taking part in such an important conservation breeding programme. In the wild, the recent ‘Great Grévy Rally’ showed that although there is an increased number of Grévy’s zebra in Kenya, there still remains only 2,800 individuals.”

Although the foal is yet to be named, keepers will be choosing a name beginning with ‘G’, as all babies born at the Park in 2018 will begin with this letter. The foal joins the herd of three Grévy’s zebra at the Park – mum Akuna, female Montana and proud father Quigley – who is also a first-time-dad.

The new addition is a great success to the Park’s European Endangered Species Programme, a breeding initiative of endangered species in association with the European Association of Zoo and Aquaria. Although there have been recent successes in the conservation of Grévy’s zebra, this particular species of zebra is classified as ‘Endangered’ in the wild – the second highest threat level a living species can be.

Later this summer, the Park will be dedicating a week to raising awareness for this magnificent species. Running from 18-24 August, Grévy’s Zebra Week will be fundraising for Grévy’s Zebra Trust, who work with communities in Kenya and Ethiopia to engage them in wildlife protection. You can find out more online at grevyszebratrust.org.