Baby Zebra looking for a name via Twitter

A little zebra has become the latest addition to the at Fota Wildlife Park following the recent arrival of meerkat pups and now the park are looking for a name for the Zebra via Twitter. The Zebra was born on 17th of June in the African savannah at the park. The Parks Head Warden Willie Duffy  is delighted with the arrival “it is fantastic to have another baby at the park just in time for the school holidays, which means all the kids have the opportunity to see it and the other babies such as Setanta the giraffe and the meerkat pups”.

The staff park have yet to determine the sex of the zebra as they do not want to break the bond between mother and child as of yet but they are hoping to find out over the next few days. In the meantime they want the public to come up with a name for the little zebra via a competition on their Twitter Page Twitter.com/fotawildlife. Speaking about the competition the head of marketing for the park Stephen Ryan looks forward to the suggestions “this is the first time we have done a competition solely through Twitter so we are excited about it and also hoping that the competition helps us in our aim to trend”. The competition is part of a special Tweetfest weekend at the park and the winner which will be judged by the park via Twitter suggestions will win a conservation membership.  The zebras in residence at Fota Wildlife are named the Grant Zebra a close relation of the horse.  The Grant Zebra is a social and nomadic animal that grazes on the grasslands and savannas of East Africa.

Zebra mothers will keep a newborn foal separate from the herd for a period of time long enough for the calf to imprint its mother’s stripes (which are unique to her), smell, and call.  Grant’s zebras are the most abundant and widespread of any zebra species or sub-species. The birth of the zebra brings the number of Grant Zebras up to 7 at the park. The baby Zebra will be in the savannah along with the other members of the giraffe, zebra, emu & scimitar horned Oryx families at the park this weekend.