Zoo breeding director

Mark Holden, head of the large hoofstock team at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, on the birth of a rare wild foal

- Kate Johnson

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.