A pair of zebras have found a permanent home in New Brunswick after a wild year that saw them smuggled across the Canadian border, seized by officials in Saskatchewan and eventually transported across the country to Moncton. Koffee, a young male, and LeeLoo, a young female, were part of a group of five zebras illegally brought into Canada in June of 2023. All five were initially moved into a zoo in Saskatoon.
But with two males in the herd, it wasn't an ideal situation. In the wild, herds of plains zebras have "one single male with a harem of females" and having two males is "not a social grouping that is natural or possible" as they are territorial and will likely fight, said Jill Marvin, director of Magnetic Hill Zoo. Marvin said zoos often work together, and she immediately saw an opportunity.
Zoo director Jill Marvin says Koffee and LeeLoo will be ambassadors for their species for visitors. (Rhythm Rathi/CBC) Magnetic Hill Zoo already had a suitable habitat, she said, but their last zebra had died of heart failure in January. "I think they're strikingly beautiful," she said of the new arrivals.
Jeff Mitchell, operations manager at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo, visited Moncton to see Koffee and LeeLoo in June. (Liam O'Connor) Across the country in Saskatoon, Jeff Mitchell at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo, has been following the progress of Koffee and LeeLoo closely after taking care of them the past year. He even visited Moncton on his vacation last mo.
