History was made in Mysuru Zoo in Karnataka when one of its zebras gave birth to a foal in captivity, a first for the century-old zoo.
Marking the success of the zoo’s zebra breeding programme, Riddhi, a female brought from Israel in early 2014, gave birth to a foal on Thursday. According to Vijay Kumar, Deputy Director, Mysuru Zoo, the foal and the mother are doing well.
“It’s for the first time that Mysuru Zoo has been able to breed zebras in captivity. Even though we have been successful in breeding giraffes and tigers, we had little luck with zebras. These successes help us in exchange of animals and get the animals we want,” he said.
According to Vijay Kumar, the zoo got four zebras from Ramat Gan National Park, Israel, on April 25, 2014. Of them, Dawn and Dazzle died in December due to acute colic. However, zoo authorities continued their efforts to breed zebras, pairing Riddhi with Sudhir, While Riddhi is three-and-a-half-years old Sudhir is two months older.
Before the four zebras came to the zoo, the conservation centre in 1990 had two zebras from Hamburg in Germany. Though Edward and Erina entertained the visitors, the authorities were not successful in breeding them.
In 2007, the zoo acquired a male zebra Raja from lucknow Zoo, which subsequently died due to an infection in 2010.
The captive breeding center in Mysuru Zoo is known for breeding tigers, giraffes, and other animals. But the birth of a zebra in captivity gave impetus to its efforts in breeding the animals in the zoo. In the past, the zoo keepers here had paired a wild tiger with a captive tigress which led to a new bloodline. In 2007, Mysuru Zoo got a female giraffe Kushi from lucknow Zoo and the giraffe has given birth to four calves in seven years.
Mysore Zoo, officially the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, is one of the oldest and most popular zoos in India, and is home to a wide range of species. Mysore Zoo was created in 1892 of the summer palace of Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar, and was originally called the Palace Zoo. The zoo was set up by GH Krumbeigal, a German landscaper and horticulturist. However the zoo was opened to the public in 1902.
