Birth of a Grevy's Zebra

A female Grevy's zebra was born at the beginning of May. This is the first foal for Josephine, a 12-year-old female, and the 15-year-old stallion Kosa.

Grevy's zebra females’ gestation last 13 months, at the end of which they give birth to a single foal. When lactating, females’ water needs increase considerably, and they must therefore have easy and regular access to water resources to maintain milk production and thus ensure the survival of their foal. The young are generally completely weaned around 10 months of age, although they begin to eat solid food only a few weeks after birth.

There are three different species of zebra: the Plains Zebra, the Mountain Zebra, and the Grevy's Zebra. The latter is distinguished by its taller size, the narrower and dense stripes on its coat that extend down to its hooves, its white belly, its large, rounded ears and its brown muzzle. The species owes its name to Jules Grévy, who was President of the French Republic between 1879 and 1887 and to whom Menelik II, who was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in 1889, had offered a specimen in 1882.

Today, fewer than 3,000 Grevy's zebra remain in the wild in Kenya and southwestern Ethiopia. The overall population, which numbered just over 15,000 individuals in the late 1970s, has declined by more than 80%, primarily due to hunting. Although protected today, the species continues to face numerous threats: habitat degradation leading to increased competition for resources with livestock, diminishing water sources and water access problems due to the development of irrigation systems and climate change (longer and more frequent droughts), infrastructure development (road, rail, and oil pipeline), disease (anthrax), poaching, etc.

The Grevy's zebra is one of the most endangered mammals in Africa. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and part of a breeding program (EEP) in European zoos.