'It has been a long wait': Marwell Zoo 'extremely excited' to announce birth of endangered Grevy’s zebra foal

Born on Monday (August 12), the foal has been finding its feet at the zoo - and the team are over the moon at the new arrival. Keepers say, second-time mum, Khumba is doing an exceptional job caring for her new arrival, who represents a vital addition to the fragile Grevy’s zebra population.

Marwell has been instrumental in helping to shape Kenya’s national conservation strategy for Grevy’s zebra and manages both the International Studbook and the European Ex situ Programme (EEP) for the species.

Tanya Langenhorst, senior conservation biologist, said: “As EEP coordinator, I am very excited about the birth of this Grevy’s foal Monday morning. It has been a long wait since this species is pregnant for a minimum of 13 months. The EEP has been through several tough years with many older animals dying and only few foals being born.

“The European population currently only has 208 individuals. I am trying to grow it back to 250 so every foal counts and this one born at Marwell is only the fifth to be born this year."  

Grevy’s zebra are found primarily in Northern Kenya with isolated groups in Ethiopia but it is believed that there are fewer than 3,000 remaining. Numbers have declined over the years due to a number of factors including habitat loss, extended periods of drought and poaching but it is thought the population is now stabilising. Phil Robbins, hoofstock team leader said: "The foal was born on Monday morning and has been running around in the paddock, staying close to Khumba who is a very good mother. She is being extremely protective and attentive towards the foal."  

Foals usually stand within an hour of being born and take their first wobbly steps shortly afterwards.  They have the largest ears of any zebra species which can rotate independently, allowing them to detect predators from different directions. The new foal is a younger sibling to female Windsor, who was born in July 2022 following the celebrations for the late Queen’s Jubilee.

Tanya added: “The Grevy’s zebra in the wild, in Kenya, are doing reasonably well with many reports of births. We are cautiously optimistic that the wild population has survived the terrible drought that lasted over two years, when Marwell and its partners in Kenya worked hard to keep them alive with supplementary hay feeding.”

Marwell Zoo is the only UK zoo that is home to the endangered zebras. For more information about Marwell and how to get tickets, click here.