An endangered zebra foal born on Christmas Day at Tucson’s Reid Park Zoo died this week after crashing into a wooden fence. Despite the presence of veterinary staff, the young Grevy’s zebra named Tikiti Maji succumbed to her injury instantly.
The tragedy unfolded after the young zebra’s mother became startled by a wind gust caused by a storm. Both animals ran, but as the mother came to a stop just short of the barrier, the foal slammed into the fence, fatally injuring her neck.
Adam Ramsey is the zoo’s director of animal control. He says there’s been an outpouring of support.
“We've gotten a lot of really great comments from the community and reaching out and offering support in any way possible. And so we're very appreciative of all the nice comments that people have been sending and all the support we've been getting," he said.
The zoo says the zebra habitat will be evaluated in consultation with other experts.
It’s estimated that there are fewer than 2,000 Grevy’s zebras remaining in the wild.
