Rare Daytime Zebra Birth Video

06Apr

Videos, Wildlife Updates

zebra

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Guests at our Eastern Cape safari reserve had the incredible privilege of witnessing the birth of a zebra foal with their ranger Brendan who managed to capture the poignant and miraculous moment on video for us all to marvel over.

Zebra mares usually give birth at night to minimise the threat of predators, which makes this day-time birth and sighting all the more rare and unusual – almost certainly a once in a life-time experience for Brendan and his guests.

Zebra Foal Interesting Facts

Here are some facts about zebra foals that we hope you will find interesting:

1. A newborn foal can stand up and walk within 15 minutes of it’s birth and run after roughly an hour.
2. A zebra foal weighs approximately 66-77lbs.
3. A zebra foal may begin to graze within a week of it’s birth but will continue to nurse for an average of 10-16 months.
4. Zebra foals are born with brown and white stripes rather than black and white. They get their adult coloration at around four months old.
5. The newborn's mother will try and keep all other zebras away for 2-3 days until her foal recognizes her by sight, voice and smell.
6. Fifty percent of zebra foals die during their infancy, mainly due to predation by lions and spotted hyenas. 
7. Female zebra foals become independent from their mothers sooner than their male counterparts that usually leave the herd between one and three years old to join a bachelor herd.

Kariega Game Reserve is teeming with zebra. Did you see any foals or newborns on your Kariega safari? Tell us about it on Facebook or post your photo’s to Instagram. We love hearing from you.