A NEW baby zebra has been delivered at Marwell Zoo in Hampshire.

Footage has been released of her first wobbly steps, watched on by first time mum Nafessa.

The foal, who is yet to be named, arrived at 6.30pm on June 3 – joining the herd at the attraction’s new £3.6m Wild Explorers enclosure which opened last summer.

She is a Grevy's zebra, an endangered spieces also known as the imperial zebra.

It comes as another herd of zebras prepare to stampede across the city as part of Marwell’s Daily Echo-backed Zany Zebras trail.

Hundreds of schoolchildren, artists and businesses throughout Hampshire have been busy decorating the colourful equids in the run up to the trail which will launch on July 16 raising awareness of the endangered species and supporting the zoo’s conservation work.

Today it is estimated that there are fewer than 2,500 Grevy’s zebra in the wild – 12,500 less than there were in the late 1970s. It is thought the drastic population decline is down to climate change, habitat loss and competition with increasing numbers of livestock in the dry rangelands of Ethiopia and northern Kenya – the only places that they live.

Ian Goodwin, collection manager for hoofstock at Marwell said: “Nafessa is looking after her foal very well.

“She’s attentive, protective and the youngster is feeding well. It’s great to watch the foal finding its feet, running around and exploring its new surroundings.

“Wild Explorers is our newest exhibit and highlights the conservation work we carry out in Africa, so it’s fantastic to have a new animal born here, especially as it’s such an endangered species.”