STAFF at Marwell Zoo have welcomed the birth of a second endangered zebra in as many weeks.

The unnamed Hartmann’s mountain zebra, which was born on Sunday to first-time mother Dorotka, is the first of the vulnerable species to be born at the zoo since August 1997, and the first since a foal was tragically lost in 2014.

It follows the birth of an endangered Grevy zebra earlier this month.

Tanya Langenhorst, conservation biologist at the zoo, said: “Our latest arrival is a welcome addition as it has been a long stretch at Marwell without Hartmann’s zebra foals. Dorotka came to us from Zoo Usti in the Czech Republic and is genetically very important.

“This foal is her first and it’s great to see them both doing so well.”

Marwell manages the European Ex situ Programme (EEP) for the Hartmann’s mountain zebra, which are mainly found in Namibia, but also Angola and South Africa.

The wild Hartmann’s mountain zebra population suffered a dramatic loss in the early 1980s due to extreme droughts.

While the species has recovered to more than 30,000 individuals since then, an event similar to the one in the 1980s is increasingly likely under climate change.

This could wipe out more than 30 per cent of the wild population, making the zoo populations an important back up for the conservation of the species.

In 2016, Marwell hosted a Zany Zebra trail to support the endangered species of zebra.