Zoo breeding director
Horse & Hound|October 08, 2020
Mark Holden, head of the large hoofstock team at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, on the birth of a rare wild foal
Kate Johnson
Zoo breeding director

I manage the day-to-day operations for large hoofstock.

We’re right on Dunstable Downs, it’s a fantastic site with naturalistic enclosures.

We have some very charismatic animals; rhinos, giraffes, hippos, Grévy’s zebras, and Przewalski’s horses – it’s pronounced Shav-alski. Native to Mongolia, they are named after Nikolai Przewalski, a Russian of Polish origin, and that’s the Polish pronunciation.

Our Przewalski foal (pictured) was born on 13th April. She’s fantastic; the first offspring for this pairing of parents, Nikki and Charlotte. Our last three foals were male, so we were due a filly. Mum is quite feisty so we gave her a wide berth for a week or so and kept an eye, by binocular.

They’re pale cream when first born, then after a few weeks they get darker patches round their eyes. Now she’s just around six months, she’s getting adult colouration – sandy tan on the body, white underbelly, chest and muzzle, legs dark to the hock, dark brown mane and tail.

This story is from the October 08, 2020 edition of Horse & Hound.

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This story is from the October 08, 2020 edition of Horse & Hound.

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