Zebra dies at Calgary Zoo conservation centre
Post-mortem showed the animal died from twisted gut, which is common in horse species
A 14-year-old zebra belonging to the Calgary Zoo was found dead in a pasture at its conservation centre south of the city Thursday.
The zoo says a post-mortem carried out shows the animal named Eleonar died from a twisted gut, which is relatively common in horse species.
Eleonar was one of two Hartmann's mountain zebras that came to the zoo from Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla., just before the floods in June. The other is named Lubs.
Lubs and Eleanor were at the zoo’s wildlife conservation centre completing their mandatory quarantine period.
After the flood, they were joined at the centre by two Grévy's zebras named Shelly-Anne and Lori-Anne.
"We’re so sad that Calgarians never had a chance to meet Eleanor, but look forward to the return of zebras to the zoo in the coming months when their enclosure is repaired and the zoo reopens completely," the Calgary Zoo said in a release.
Two penguins at the zoo also died earlier this week from a suspected infection.
The zoo says there was some concern about a third penguin named J.J. who was moving around slowly and not as hungry as the other penguins, but he appears to be responding to the medication.
"We are cautiously optimistic that J.J. and the others will continue to fight off the infection with the great care they are receiving from our animal care team," said zoo officials.