Utah’s Hogle Zoo welcomes new baby zebra

SALT LAKE CITY — After a yearlong wait, cameras at Utah’s Hogle Zoo captured the birth of a 98-pound male zebra on Friday.

Zoo officials said the foal was born at approximately 7:11 p.m. with mom Ziva, a 10-year-old Hartmann’s mountain zebra. Zoogoers can see the pair in the African Savanna exhibit as early as Tuesday.

The newborn zebra, which will be named through a public online auction, was standing on his own within 30 minutes of his birth. That was followed by nursing and walking within the first hour and little gallops known as “zoomies” — “a natural behavior for babies in the wild who must quickly be on the move from predators” — within the first two hours.

Zoo officials said these positive signs of progress were observed by animal keepers without disturbing the natural birthing process because of high-definition cameras donated by the Marriner S. Eccles Foundation and Backstreet Surveillance.

“We monitor the birth remotely because it is so important that we give mom and baby space and time to naturally connect in this start of life,” said Melissa Dacumos, associate director of Utah’s Hogle Zoo Animal Care. “After Ziva and her foal were able to have privacy for the entire first night while being monitored via camera only, our zookeepers began quietly entering their space the next morning. We look forward to guests meeting him as well and learning the importance of preserving vulnerable Hartmann’s mountain zebra in the wild.”

This was Ziva’s fourth successful birth at the zoo. The new foal joins the zoo’s herd of Ziva (mother), Scooby (father), Zibby (female), Poppy (female), Bryce (female) and Corkeey (male).

The public auction for selecting the foal’s name is open through Monday at 4 p.m.