National Zoo in Canberra welcomes newborn zebra foal

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The National Zoo in Canberra has welcomed a newborn zebra foal. The as-yet unnamed foal is part of an international insurance population for the species.

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00:00 Cute, stripy and new to the capital, this two day old zebra foal is up, walking about

00:09 and showing off to visitors.

00:11 And like most babies, life is made up of sleeping, eating and annoying its family.

00:17 Definitely a bit cheeky.

00:18 Normally the foals try and stay really close to mum and mum is really protective but this

00:21 foal is more than happy to go and annoy its big brothers and dad, which is yeah, funny

00:26 to watch.

00:27 After a 12 month pregnancy, its mother is still very protective over her new baby.

00:32 The foal weighed in at 40 kilograms but zookeepers say it's too early to determine its gender.

00:39 Part of the zoo's breeding program, this little zebra is already a clear cut champion in black

00:44 and white.

00:45 We've been a part of the breeding program for at least 10 years, potentially longer

00:49 and yeah, having those 27 foals has been fantastic for the breeding program in Australia.

00:54 And those foals have been able to go off to other zoos all around the country.

00:58 As soon as that little foal hit the ground, it's going to be an ambassador for its species

01:03 here in captivity and for those out in the wild as well.

01:07 The foal will be a draw card for visitors and could provide protection for its entire

01:11 species too.

01:12 If we can bring those animals numbers up in captivity, we then have that insurance population.

01:18 If something happens in the wild, the eventual goal is to be able to release those animals

01:23 back into their natural habitats.

01:25 It's the 27th zebra born as part of the zoo's captive breeding program.

01:29 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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