A Suffolk zoo is celebrating the birth of a second critically endangered Somali Wild Ass in the space of a month.

Africa Alive! Zoological Reserve, in Kessingland, welcomed the male foal which has been named Naadir - which means rare - to mother Pienga and father Sahib on July 28, 2022.

It follows the birth of another Somali Wild Ass foal which was born at the park just four weeks previously on June 30, 2022, and has since been revealed as a female.

The park added the first foal has been named 'Amara' which means grace.

The Somali Wild Ass are one of the rarest equine species in the world with less than 200 adults left in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (ICUN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Graeme Williamson, head of living collections at Africa Alive!, said: “We are absolutely overjoyed to announce that we have not one, but two Somali Wild Ass foals now at the reserve.

“The new foal already has a strong bond with mum and is developing quite an inquisitive personality.

"Both mares and their foals are currently mixed together in the main paddock, and the foals can be seen chasing each other under the watchful eyes of their mums.

“Sahib is not currently mixed with the mares and foals, but will be after we give the foals enough time to settle in.”

Parents Pienga and Sahib have previously had two foals together, both of which have since been moved to other collections in Europe to further their species through the European Breeding Programme.

Sahib also fathered the female foal born on June 30, 2022 with mare Calula.

The Zoological Society of East Anglia (ZSEA), the conservation education charity behind Africa Alive Zoological Reserve, play an active role in European Breeding Programmes to protect animals like the Somali wild ass from extinction.

Somali Wild Ass are found in small patches of the rocky deserts of north east Africa and their ‘critically endangered’ ICUN status is due to war, hunting and habitat loss.