A newborn male Grevy's zebra nuzzles with mom Nyota at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. (Jim Schulz / Brookfield Zoo Chicago)

At just two days old, a baby Grevy’s zebra, born over the weekend at Brookfield Zoo, is already giving his mom a run for her money.

The rambunctious foal, an unnamed male, has been testing out his legs, galloping around his habitat.

(Lynette Kleisner / Brookfield Zoo Chicago)

Mom Nyota won’t be alone in chasing after a lively youngster. Another one of the zoo’s female Grevy’s zebras, 14-year-old Mypa, is due to give birth later this summer, according to officials.

“The arrival of this foal and a second zebra birth expected soon, demonstrates the success of the Grevy’s Zebra Species Survival Plan. It is crucial that we continue these efforts to ensure a genetically diverse and sustainable population,” said Joan Daniels, associate vice president of animal care and conservation at Brookfield.

He's got a chocolate-brown coat now, but the new foal's coloring will turn to the traditional black-and-white stripes within the next several months. (Jim Schulz / Brookfield Zoo Chicago)

At this point, the foal still has the distinctive chocolate-brown stripes and wooly coat of a newborn. By the time he’s five months old, he’ll be sporting his own unique pattern of the more familiar black-and-white stripes — each zebra’s pattern is like a human’s fingerprint. 

Though they once roamed a vast area of African grassland, Grevy’s are now listed as endangered, having all but disappeared from Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia. Due to hunting and loss of habitat, the Grevy’s numbers have dropped by more than 50% in the past 30 years, with their range now limited to Kenya and parts of Ethiopia.

Grevy’s are not only the largest of the three zebra species but they’re the largest of the world’s wild equines. Adult Grevy’s can reach a galloping speed of 40 miles per hour, critical for this prey species.

Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 |  [email protected]