Tucson’s Reid Park Zoo is expecting a baby zebra early next year, officials say.
Anna, the former-sole female Grevy’s zebra at the zoo, will have its third offspring with male counterpart Ben, zoo officials said Wednesday in a news release.
Grevy’s zebras are an endangered species, with only about 2,000 left in their home of Kenya and Ethiopia, zoo officials say.
Zoo officials also announced that a new female is being added to its zebra herd.
Zuri is the latest addition to the Grevy’s zebra herd at Tucson’s Reid Park Zoo.
“The Zoo is also welcoming Zuri, a new mature female Grevy’s zebra to its herd,” the release said. “An experienced mother herself, Zuri will be a help for Anna and her new foal once it is born.”
Zuri and Ben also have a breeding recommendation through the Grevy’s Zebra Species Survival Program (SSP), officials say.
“We are thrilled to have Zuri here as a new member of our zebra herd and to help Anna when the new foal is born,” Nancy Kluge, Reid Park Zoo’s president and CEO said in the release. “Zuri has a calm demeanor and will be a great presence in the habitat.”
Meanwhile, Haroo, an offspring of Ben and Anna’s, matured and was recently transferred to another zoo to establish his own herd, the release said.
“We are so happy for Haroo — to see him thrive and enter the next significant stage of his life,” Kluge said.
