Video, Photos: Baby zebra born on Kilimanjaro Safaris in Disney World
Those riding on Kilimanjaro Safaris on Monday were lucky enough to see something extra. A baby male zebra was born and some guests on the Animal Kingdom attraction were able to witness the birth.
The Hartmann’s mountain zebra foal is a healthy baby boy, has long legs and was standing and nuzzling with mom, Heidi, within minutes of birth. It’s estimated he weighs about 65 pounds.
Bonding is especially important, as a young zebra will imprint on its mother’s scent and memorize the unique markings on its mother’s hind legs to tell her apart from others in the herd.
In the coming weeks, the pair will rejoin sister Asha and the rest of the herd on the savanna.
This is the first zebra birth at Walt Disney World this year. The resort is home to three distinct types of zebra: Hartmann’s mountain zebra, Grevy’s zebra and plains zebra.
Though zebra may all be defined by their stripes, there are distinct stripe patterns that define each type. Hartmann’s mountain and Grevy’s zebras have stripes that stop right at the edge of their bellies, while stripes on common zebras wrap around the whole body. You can tell a Grevy’s zebra from a Hartmann’s mountain zebra by looking at their ears. They are larger on the Grevy’s zebra.
