Rare Baby Joins the Denver Zoo Family

Dave Parsons

On November 27, after 13 months of waiting, a new baby Grevy’s Zebra named “Lakota” joined the Denver Zoo family. Born to mom “Topaz” and dad “Punda”, the little male colt who is part of an endangered Zebra species, will now be outside in the southern zebra yard for visitors to view. This little fellow is the second colt for mother Topaz and only the third baby zebra from the breeding herd to be born. He seems to be a bit shy, and stays close by his mom so she’ll be carefully watching over this little cutie for a while.

Dave Parsons

The Grevy’s is a very special zebra species, and of the three different types (the others are the plains zebra and mountain zebras) this group is rare because there are only about two thousand left in the wild areas of northern Kenya and south eastern Ethiopia, their native home. You will know a Grevy’s zebra by the longer legs, large rounded ears, more narrow stripes and no-stripe white underbelly. The babies are born with brown and white stripes, which is a more protective coloring helping the foal to blend in with its background and be less visible to predators. Zebra stripes are like human fingerprints in that no two zebras have identical stripe patterns.

What is the Denver Zoo’s Plan to Help Zebras?

The Denver Zoo is proud of their work to helping save Grevy’s zebra through conservation in the wild and with their zoo breeding program. In addition to educating people in the communities and schools of Kenya, the last place on earth these creatures live in the wild, the Denver Zoo employs a full time conservation biologist to research the plight of these animals. They encourage an understanding and support of the remaining wild herd and offer “undergraduate scholarships for the next generation of wildlife conservation leaders”. Learn more about the Denver Zoo’s global conservation mission.

The Denver Zoo is open every day and parking is free. Winter admission hours, effective November through February, are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with grounds closing at 5 p.m.

For more information on the zoo, including ticket prices, call 303 376-4800 or visit the Denver Zoo web site at www.denverzoo.org.