Tikiti Maji, the Grevy's zebra foal born on Christmas Day at Reid Park Zoo, has died.
The foal was with her mother, Anna, in their zoo habitat when a gust of wind startled Anna, causing her to move abruptly to another part of the habitat, according to a news release from Reid Park Zoo. Anna stopped at a wood-paneled fence. The foal, which was running alongside Anna, did not stop, and ran into the fence.
The foal died instantly due to an injury to her neck.
The zoo lost a male foal in July 2020 in a similar event, the news release said. Because of that, the zoo made significant modifications to the zebra habitat this time around to make the barriers of the space more visible to the foal, the news release said.
The zoo also provided increased access for both mother and the foal to the larger main zebra habitat, and instituted a quiet zone surrounding the zebras' behind-the-scene areas, the news release said.
Further evaluation of the habitat, including consultation with other experts will be conducted, the news release said.
The zoo's animal care team will be giving extra care to Anna, following her loss.
Grevy’s zebra are endangered with fewer than 2,000 of the species remaining in the wild, the news release said. Reid Park Zoo participates in Grevy’s Zebra Species Survival Plan, a partnership organized by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to promote genetic diversity in the zoo populations and to protect against depletion of the wild population and its habitat, the news release said.
