A 2-year-old female Burchell’s zebra found home in Feldman Ecopark. It arrived from Lviv zoo “Limpopo” and currently gets used to the new place. According to the workers of the Social and Humanitarian Multi-Complex, after the obligatory quarantine, the animal will live in the open spacious enclosure in the territory of the Horse Complex near its closest ungulate congeners – horses, ponies and donkeys. Just like them, the native of African savannahs eats hay and oats, likes beet and carrot.
“This zebra is absolutely tame, playful and loves children. That is why our young naturalists will take care of it. They have already selected the name – Marty – like the character of the movie Madagascar,” the head of Feldman Ecopark’s humanitarian programmes Iryna Yavorska told. “Marty is the only zebra in Feldman Ecopark so far, but we are planning to find a couple for it in other zoos in the nearest future. Moreover, we hope to create the real striped herd.”
It should be noted that the Burchell’s zebra (it is named after the British naturalist of the 19th century William Burchell) is one of the most widespread and numerous ungulate mammals in Africa. However, due to hunting and, most significantly, the agricultural land development, this species is still under the threat. These zebras live mainly in the national parks and reserves of the Dark Continent, as well as in many zoos worldwide. It should be reminded that the animal collection of Feldman Ecopark includes nearly 200 ungulate animals of 30 species. It should be noted that the Feldman Ecopark’s animal collection has more than 2,000 animals, including many representatives of fauna from the IUCN Red List. The charitable campaign “The Art of Mercy” is carried out for the improvement of the conditions of their maintenance and for the development of animal protection programmes of the World Open Foundation for Animal Rehabilitation and Reintroduction.
