The accidental product of a study abroad program in Italy, Eclyse is a visually fascinating example of mixed genetic material. Eclyse's mother was a zebra living at a German safari park. When she was sent on loan to Italy, she was allowed to roam free in an enclosure with both horses and zebras. Upon her return to the amusingly named Schloss Holte Stukenbrock in Germany, keepers were surprised to find she was pregnant but even more surprised to see the young foal. Called a "zorse" or a "zebroid" (pretty much lose, lose if you ask us), typically the offspring of a zebra and horse have stripes across the entire body. However, the match up is usually the other way around, with a male zebra and a smaller female horse. Researchers suspect that in this case, the horse's charming Italian accent and cheap chianti were too much for the German zebra to resist.
Zorse or comic book villain?
Fascinating video of how British people say the word "zebra"... and Eclyse the zorse.
- Log in to post comments