New Orleans’ Audubon Zoo welcomes vulnerable zebra species

For the first time, Audubon Zoo in New Orleans welcomed three Hartmann’s mountain zebras last week. This species is rarely seen in human care as there are just 80 of these zebras across 20 facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Hartmann’s mountain zebra are found only in the arid mountains and plateaus of coastal Namibia, parts of southern Angola, and northern South Africa. Their pointed hooves help them climb rocky terrain. They also use their hooves to dig in riverbeds for water if they cannot find any at the surface. Hartmann’s mountain zebra are listed as a species vulnerable to extinction due to habitat loss from livestock farming, climate-induced drought, and competition for water.

These are the smallest subspecies of zebra standing between four and five feet tall and weighing 450-820 pounds. They have black or deep brown and white stripes typical of their species, but unlike other zebras, Hartmann's mountain zebras have vertical stripes on their neck and torso and horizontal stripes on their backside. Zebra stripes are as unique as human fingerprints and are used as camouflage and can serve as insect repellant. They typically live in small herds made up of one male and several females and their offspring.

Audubon’s zebra trio consists of a pair of two-year-old sisters, Athena and Selene, and six-year-old male, JB which stands for James Bond.

The zebra join Audubon’s two young male giraffe, Fennessey and Maverick in a multi-species, dynamic savannah exhibit. The two species would share habitat range in the wild, so pairing them at the Zoo makes sense for how they would live in the wild according to Andrew Haertzen, the zoo's Associate Curator of Africa.

The addition of the Hartmann’s mountain zebra at Audubon Zoo was recommended as part of the Aquarium & Zoo Association’s Species Survival Plan, which manages species population with the interest and cooperation of AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums.