Smithsonian's National Zoo: Meet Our Sweet And Rambunctious Persian Onager Filly

Georgetown DC

04 September, 2021

9:15 AM

Description

Press release from Smithsonian's National Zoo: September 3, 2021 This update was written by Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute ungulate keeper Tara Buk. On the heels of celebrating our Hartmann's mountain zebra Yipes' first birthday, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's ungulate team happily welcomed another new addition. During our morning rounds July 21, we discovered our expectant Persian onager—a 10-year-old female named Sayeh—had given birth overnight to a female foal. By the time we arrived on the scene, she had already got the hang of standing, walking and nursing. Thankfully, the filly appeared to be healthy and strong. For the first few days, she stuck close by Sayeh's side. Our team has trained the onagers to voluntarily urinate on cue, allowing us to easily collect a sample for our endocrine lab to analyze. For doing the behavior asked of them, our onagers receive positive reinforcement in the form of a favorite food: apple biscuits. This training was a non-invasive and stress-free way for us to collect Sayeh's hormones for analysis. Once we determined Sayeh was in estrus, we put her and the filly's father—a 14-year-old stallion named Mandrake—together for breeding. This training also enabled us to confirm Sayeh's pregnancy and keep track of its progress. Typically, gestation lasts 365 to 368 days. Our newest filly is one of 48 Persian onagers born at SCBI since the breeding program began in 1975. This story appears in the September 2021 issue of National Zoo News. Want adorable animals in your inbox? Sign up for Zoo Emails! This press release was produced by Smithsonian's National Zoo. The views expressed here are the author's own.