Reid Park Zoo is dedicated to whole life care, which means it is committed to giving the animals in its care exactly what they need through all stages of their lives.
One example of caring for an animal with more complicated medical needs is treating Zuri, the adult female Grevy’s zebra, for her laminitis.
“Zuri has a genetic predisposition to having foot problems — anyone who has horses knows what that’s like,” says Dr. Alexis Roth, the Zoo’s Chief Veterinarian.
Laminitis is a chronic inflammatory condition that impacts the laminae, which is the name of the tissue that connects a zebra’s hooves to their bone. It is a condition that requires a lot of hands-on management — which is no easy task for a species as independent and assertive as the Grevy’s zebra.
Zuri’s care team is working to change the angle she stands on and improve pressure and blood flow to her laminae. This is done by trimming and radiographing her feet and taking the images seen there, providing wooden or aluminum horseshoes. This is all done under general anesthesia.
“We do expect in the long run that this will likely shorten the quantity of Zuri’s life but our main goal of course is to make sure her quality of life is what we expect and what we all want to see,” Dr Roth adds.
Zuri is a happy and confident animal. She is very responsive to her care team, which makes managing the condition and making sure Zuri gets the medication she needs a little easier.
Right now she’s doing very very well with her current course of care.
Grevy’s zebra are endangered with only an estimated 2,000 – 3,000 individuals remaining in the wild. Reid Park Zoo cares for a herd of four Greby’s zebra, including Zuri,and works with the Species Survival Plan to help sustain healthy populations of zebra.