Zippo the zebra, rejected by parents, heading to Ontario

Zippo the zebra was born at the Cherry Brook Zoo in May but the Saint John zoo is already being forced to say goodbye to the young animal after its parents rejected him.

When Zippo was born on May 7, it was a first for the Saint John zoo's breeding zebras.

But then nature turned against the young zebra.

Lynda Collrin, the director of zoo development, said Zippo was quickly rejected by his mother and attacked by his father.

"Him being a male caused a lot of complications for the little guy. So the father had apparently kicked him, he had cuts on his legs, up on his back hocks, he had some cuts on his head," Collrin said.

"So yeah, a pretty rough start."

Zebras require companionship so the zoo staff felt that keeping the young animal by itself just wasn't right.

So Zippo will be sent to Tiger Paw Exotics in Arthur, Ont., which has a young female zebra that was also rejected by its parents.

Collrin said the zoo was hoping to have the zebra but it was the right decision and she said it's been supported by Cherry Brook`s visitors.

"It would be great to have a baby here all summer long for people to come and see. But we have to put what's best for the animal first. And I think that people," Collrin said.

"When you tell the kids that he's gonna go and he's got a girlfriend, they're OK with that."

Zippo leaves in a week

Zippo will be in Saint John for one more week before he leaves for his new home in Ontario.

Vicki Young has seen Zippo several times now and she said she is sad to see him go.

She said she hopes the zoo keeps visitors updated on how Zippo is doing in the future.

"I know that some of the kids that I bring in here would love to know how he's making out when he moves," he said.

Saying goodbye to Zippo will be difficult for some of the zoo's staff, who have taken care of the young zebra since he was born.

Shane Button, a zookeeper, said he was the first thing that he saw when he was born and has been bottle-feeding him ever since.

"I got pretty attached to him," he said.

"[He] gets pretty attached to you, he starts nibbling at your elbows if you don't give the bottle to him quick enough."