The Bedford Estates, LondonThere has been a very welcome addition to Woburn Safari Park this summer as Amara, the one-year-old female Somali wild ass has joined the Park in hopes she will participate in an ongoing breeding programme to help conserve her species.
After arriving from African Alive Reserve in Suffolk a few weeks ago, the cheeky youngster has wasted no time settling in with existing females four-year old Tawa and six-year-old Nimeesha – who have eagerly welcomed her into their herd.
Amara’s arrival is vitally important, as the Somali wild ass are a critically endangered species. It is believed that there are fewer than 1,000 Somali wild ass remaining in the wild, as wild population numbers are dwindling due to the species being hunted for food or use in traditional medicine, as well as habitat loss due to competition with domestic livestock for grazing and water resources.
Woburn Safari Park is an EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) accredited zoo, and participates in the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), which manages the breeding of endangered species in captivity. It is hoped that Amara will participate in this breeding programme as she grows and help ensure the preservation and survival of the Somali wild ass population.
Sadly, this species was once found widely across North Africa, but now is only found in scattered populations in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. This makes the successful breeding programme at the Park, which saw a male foal born in 2021 to mum Tawa, vital to the survival of the species. For now though, young Amara has been busy exploring her new home in the expansive parkland reserves of the Road Safari.
Tom, Head Reserves Keeper has remarked on how quickly she has settled into her new environment and has often spotted her grazing with the other females, as well as frequently rolling in ditches and playing in the sand!
Visitors can easily spot her in the Giraffe Junction section of the Road Safari, as she is much smaller than the rest of the herd. As well as her new Somali wild ass friends, Amara is now living happily alongside other species such as the blesbok, the scimitar horned oryx and the Rothschild’s giraffe.