A striped baby running around Zoo Miami

A newborn Grevy’s zebra took its first gallop through Zoo Miami this week.

Six days after his birth, the zebra foal made his debut, said zoo spokesman Ron Magill. He explored and ran around bit.

The zebra weighed 102 pounds at birth — considered average by zebra standards —and spent about 13 months in the womb.

“He’s extremely rambunctious,” Magill said. “He’s full of spit and fire, so to speak.”

The species has been listed as endangered since 1986, according to the red list of threatened species.

It was the first birth for the foal’s mother, Freida, a 4-year-old Grevy’s zebra who came to Zoo Miami from Zoo New England. It is not the first foal for Andy, his father, a 17-year-old “seasoned breeder” who came from White Oak Conservation Center in North Florida.

The new foal is the 17th Grevy’s zebra to be born at Zoo Miami, and is now one of five at the zoo. He has not been named yet, and Magill said the zoo is considering letting the public decide through an online contest.

“This baby is a hope for the future,” Magill said. “It can show how beautiful this species of zebra is.”

Grevy’s zebras are the largest species of zebras, generally found in herds in northern Kenya and Ethiopia. Their large head and ears are distinctive, Magill said, and the species also has thin stripes that do not extend to the belly.

This story was originally published July 28, 2016 at 10:58 AM with the headline "A striped baby running around Zoo Miami."