Calgary Zoo says long-hooved Zebra not in distress, despite online speculation

By Logan Stein and Lauryn Heintz

A zebra at the Calgary Zoo has become quite popular on social media, but not for the reasons one may think.

A photo posted to Reddit Sunday shows 12-year-old female zebra Leba, standing in an enclosure with significantly overgrown hooves.

The picture began to spread to other sites through various users, with many calling the zoo’s treatment of the animal unacceptable and harmful, among other things.

However, the zoo tells CityNews that Leba just gave birth, and is doing well, and not in distress.

But, she isn’t ready to go under anesthesia to have her hooves trimmed just yet.

“We have a great team of veterinary carers and animal care professionals that care for these animals on a daily basis and part of their responsibilities are monitoring animal health and welfare,” said Interim Associate Director of Animal Care & Welfare at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo, Colleen Baird.

“And although we can’t address these hooves right this moment, we are aware and we appreciate everyone making sure we know about it.”

The care team also wants to wait a while longer before separating the mom and her filly, something that would have to be done to complete the treatment.

“They will get that care when the baby and the mom can be separate,” explained Baird. “Once we feel it’s safe for both mom and filly to have that moment happen, we will get to those hooves.”

Baird reiterated that Leba is not under any stress due to the hooves, explaining that zebras are wild animals and not historically accustomed to human-involved maintenance.

“This isn’t like a horse we have on our farms at home, or that we have in a stable, these are wild animals,” she said.

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