HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – The Hattiesburg Zoo’s female zebra, Safara, gave birth to her second foal on August 19, 2025. This is Safara’s second foal born at the zoo, which is now home to five zebras.

“We are very excited to welcome the newest member of our zebra herd, a little girl,” said Kristen Moore, director of Wildlife for the Hattiesburg Zoo. “Both mom and baby are doing very well. The new little one is already full of energy and can be seen exploring the African veldt never far from mom.”

The foals are born after a gestation period of 11 to 13 months. Foals are born with a brown and white pattern that darkens as they age to form the distinctive black and white stripes of adult zebras. The zoo’s African veldt houses zebras, zebus, bongos and ostriches.

To celebrate this new black and white beauty, the Hattiesburg Zoo will be serving a special Birthday Cake Shake made with vanilla soft serve, milk, birthday cake flavored syrup, ice, chocolate ‘zebra’ stripes and whipped topping for $8. Those wanting a little extra zebra kick can choose to add a shot of Irish Crème or Kahlua for $2.

This special shake will be available at Ladha’s Cantina located in Africa adjacent to the giraffe yard Friday through Sunday of this week.