Since June, when the zebras arrived, the zoo has worked closely with Western College of Veterinary Medicine: manage
There’s no black-and-white answer to how five zebras ended up at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm and Park Zoo, but they’ve settled in and are ready to meet the public now.
In an email, the City of Saskatoon said that the zebras “are in foster care here after they were seized by conservation officers as part of an investigation under the Captive Wildlife Regulations.”
But the city won’t say anything about what’s going on with that investigation.
In a news release from the City of Saskatoon last month, zoo manager Jeff Mitchell said that provincial officials had gotten in touch with the zoo about a group of zebras that needed a place to stay.
Mitchell didn’t say where the zebras came from or how they were when they got to the zoo.
But he reassured them that they are now in good hands because the Saskatoon zoo is accredited by Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA), a nonprofit organization that helps charities and gives accreditation.
“We actually went through our [CAZA] accreditation this year,” Mitchell said.”They were here for three days and looked at every part of our facility, from how we keep records to our policies and procedures to how we care for animals.”
Mitchell said that the animals’ health and well-being are the zoo’s top priority. Since the zebras arrived, the zoo has been working closely with the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon.
“The field services and equine services have pretty much stopped what they were doing and come every day to help us,” he said.
“They have people whose whole lives are spent caring for horses and equines…. Zebras are horses, so they know how to do that, and so do we.”
A nutritionist from Phoenix, Arizona, is also working with the zoo to help change the zebras’ diets. There, a special formula for the zebras was made, and about 1,400 kilograms of feed were made for the zoo.
“They get hay and this high-fiber Co-op feed that we made especially for the zebras when they came in.”
Alexa Mofazzali, who owns horses and went to the zoo, said that it looks like the zebras are getting used to their new home.
Mofazzali went to the zoo last week to see the new zebras. “I’m a horse girl, so I wanted to see them and see how they are and where they are. They look really happy and healthy,” she said.
“It looks like a great place for them to live,” she said.
“On the way here, we were talking about how, from what I understand, most of the animals here are here because they need help or assistance, so it seems like they’ve been put in a really nice, quiet, and peaceful place for them.”
The zebras got to live in one of the three places where caribou live, but Mitchell doesn’t know how long they will be there.
