Out in the wild where animals are left to their own devices, unexpected things can happen every day. But we’re sure you won’t have encountered a story quite as unusual as this one for a while!
A town in Kenya became home to a stray zebra that had ventured out of the Tsavo East National Park. She had made herself right at home in the community, and the super sociable zebra had even made friends with some female cattle.
Eventually, a community warden spotted this stripy surprise and called the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Mobile Veterinary Unit. It was their job to move the zebra back to a protected area.
This friendly zebra had become pretty habituated to community life, so the team decided to move her to an area where she would feel like she belonged.
They quickly sedated her and then drove her to Kenze Anti-Poaching Team’s base in Chyulu National Park, a safe environment where the team could keep a close eye on her as she became accustomed to her new surroundings.
But the team needn’t have worried — this zebra was an adaptable little thing. According to the Trust, upon waking from her nap, she simply “got to her feet and ambled off into the bush.”
That wasn’t the last the team was going to see of her. In the following few months, she often hung out at the watering hole so the Trust always knew where to go to find her.
One day, the zebra brought along a surprise with her. She was with a foal.
But there was something different about her foal, and it’s pretty hard to miss. Instead of being brown and white with stripes, as zebra foals usually are, he was almost completely brown!
At first, the Trust thought that maybe the foal had been rolling around in some mud, but when they managed to get a closer look, it couldn’t be more obvious what had happened.
The foal had some resemblances to another animal — a donkey!
The team could only guess that this sociable zebra had got a bit too close with one of the donkeys from the local neighborhood.
As a zebra’s period of pregnancy is around twelve months, it all added up. This little social butterfly had given birth to a zonkey, and look how gorgeous he is!
Thankfully, the Trust says that the zonkey will live a normal life, though he won’t be able to breed once he reaches adulthood.
So what’s in the future for this unlikely duo? Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said:
“We’re happy to report that mum and baby are thriving. Their new home is in an area that isn’t plagued by heavy predation and thanks to the lush conditions, water and grass plentiful it is a good place to call home.”
The Trust also mentioned that the pair will remain in their safe hands until a herd of wild zebras will come and take them on. With this foal’s striking appearance and his mama’s impressive social skills, we reckon it won’t be long until this duo is integrated into their own group.
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