A NEW arrival at the Lake District Wildlife Park has already earned his stripes as a firm favourite among visitors.

Zara the Zebra gave birth to a foal during the weekend and the as yet unnamed youngster is the third male foal to be born at the park.

The park, which attracts a lot of visitors from across South Lakeland, already had four Grants Zebra mares, a yearling and a stallion called Dan.

In summer 2013 Park Manager Richard Robinson, traveled to Flamingo Land to collect Zara and two of her stable mates, creating a larger herd of Grants Zebra at the park.

Richard said: “Zara is a seasoned Mum, having already had foals at Flamingo Land so she knows how to take care of her latest foal.

"She is very protective, keeping the other zebras away until she’s properly bonded. "The foal was up very quickly – just like in the wild where they’re often up and running in half an hour.

"You can’t tell when a zebra will give birth, but we knew it was imminent. "Gestation is around a year so we are hoping the others will give birth in the next couple of months, if not, there could certainly be more foals in 2016.

“It takes a lot of careful management to look after a herd of zebra. In the wild they are very much preyed upon, so they’re flighty by nature.

"We’ve extended and improved the zebra paddock which is now a large and open space at the top of the park and is a great vantage point.

"The Safari Jeep is a great viewing platform to see the zebras and admire the view across the park towards Skiddaw.”

While Richard and the Keepers are delighted at the safe arrival of a new baby, they are still eager to see the arrival of their first filly foal.

"We’d love to be able to breed our own females, adding to the breeding herd for the future," Richard said.

"So far it’s been three strips and then they’re out – we can’t keep our young males, but at least they get to travel to new pastures as part of a zoo exchange."