Zebras

So nice to see the herd together.

@TZFan : It was, Jake was just behind him. I could finally see why zebras are in groups because when they do move it does kind of mess with your eyes!

Very true. I like that we have a herd now and not just 3, with one sometimes separated. 5 just feels more like a herd, not that the 3 wasnt one. It would have been cool if the zoo had the space for a herd of 10.

The enclose they are in is pretty big, they don't even use half of it most the times when I go

The enclosure may be big but their barn may not be. Arcticwolf could probably speak to its size but remember the zebras do spend a lot more time inside during the winter. They need space to exercise on days they cant go out due to the cold or ice. So the reason there arent more zebras could be due to their housing. If they could have more I would think they would. More females means they could stagger births and have foals all of the time. There must be a reason they only have two adult females. I get the one male... they will fight. And you can only have as many foals as you do mares.

The zebras have a huge barn. The problem is that they also share it with sable antelope and almost all of the savanna birds. If all of the space was used for zebras the zoo could have a massive herd.

There is another even bigger savanna barn next to the zebra one that houses the rhinos, kudu and whatever other birds are left over. The two barns are also used to house large animals that exhibits are under construction.

Interesting to hear that the barns are big. I just never really thought of them sharing it with the Sable antelopes and birds.

If you go to Google maps, you can see the two savanna barns on the satellite image. Both barns are L-shaped and have outside pens on multiple sides. The zebras and sable antelope share the short section of the building on the left, while the longer section contains pens for birds. The building on the right is home to rhino, kudu and some birds, with the rhino pens being in the top section. Many other surplus animals, like the male warthogs, have lived in these buildings over the years. Comparing the barns to the pavilions and other Zoo buildings should give people an idea of their size.

Good to know adams7, thanks

@arcticwolf - how much of the space is actually for zebras? enough to have more or are they pretty much at capacity