Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The city zoo has become the first zoo in Madhya Pradesh to house African zebras which were brought to the zoo on Wednesday afternoon. MiC member Nandkishore Pahadia said that the zoo received the animals with distinctive black-and-white striped coats animals from Jamnagar, Gujarat.
‘Zebras reached Indore by 4 pm on Wednesday. They were brought in exchange of white tigers. A pair of zebras was brought,” Pahadia said. As soon as people came to know about zebras in the zoo, a huge crowd of spectators rushed to the city zoo to see the 'foreign' animal. People clicked selfies and photos of the zebras.
Also, wildlife enthusiasts went to the zoo to click professional pictures of animals. The zoo management had sent a proposal under the animal exchange programme to various zoos in the country. In the proposal, the zoo had given a list of animals it has. These include tigers, lions, deer, chitals and jackals. Their number has increased in the zoo so they can easily be given to other zoos.
Earlier too, the zoo administration had planned to bring a zebra three years ago. A proposal for getting the African zebra was sent to Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Zoo of Mumbai and the zoo administration had also got the green signal from the Central Zoo Authority under the animal exchange programme for the transfer. However, the exchange could not materialise at that time due to Covid.
Animals have been brought to the zoo many times under animal exchange programmes. Five tigers and six lions were given to Jamnagar Zoo. In return, more than 245 exotic birds and animals of more than 80 species were brought from there. These include snakes, macaws, iguanas, turtles, pocket monkeys, finches, canines, lory and other birds. There are more than 1,300 wild animals in the city zoo spread over 52 acres.
These include nine lions, 11 tigers and four leopards. Of these, 10 cubs were born in the last 11 months. Besides, the number of deer and jackals is also more than 50. A snake house and a bird house have also been built here, which are attracting a lot of visitors these days. There are more than 40 species of birds in the birdhouse. These include many birds including Green Wig Macau, Blue Ed Gold Macau, Cape Dove, Lory, Flying Squirrel, Glider and others.
What is Zebra and its behaviour?
Zebra are a species of African equids (horse family) united by their distinctive black-and-white striped coats.
They have one toe on each foot and cannot see the colour orange. Unique bold stripes The pattern of stripes differs from zebra to zebra, making each animal as unique as snowflakes. They bunch together to confuse colour-blind predators. Lions mistake the bunched stripe pattern for grass.
Run zig-zag
They run in a zig-zag pattern when being chased, making it more difficult for their predators to capture them.
Top speed
25 MPH to 40 MPH
Height
4.10 ft to 5.25 ft
Weight
779 pounds to 992 pounds
Age
20 years in the wild and 40 years in a zoo
