Nadine a business owner, who filmed this sighting recalls, “We (had) stopped at a zebra herd with our 3-year-old daughter and noticed a female lying down, clearly in the early stages of giving birth on the S106, in Kruger! Excited to witness a live birth, we watched closely.”
Join our channel to get access to EXTENDED and UNEDITED videos:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyfZleh4w7buTzi0WfY8WqA/join
Send in your wildlife video here, and earn money: https://latestsightings.com/film-earn
What should have been a tender moment soon took a dark turn, when a zebra stallion arrived and began attacking the prostrate mother-to-be.
In the videos submitted, the stallion aggressively harasses the mare, determined to prevent her from going through with the birth.
The perturbed mother stands with her unborn foetus half out.
Unable to delay the inevitable birth, the mare once again lies down, hoping to deliver her foal. And, yet again, she attracts the unwanted and violent attention of the stallion.
As the male presses home its attack, Nature takes its course and the foal is born. However, the beleaguered female is unable to assist it, even appearing unaware of the birth.
Momentarily, the male stops his assault. But, as he turns he sees the newborn foal and moves over to investigate.
What is already a horrific scenario then gets even worse. The stallion redirects his aggression at the barely moving infant.
Unbelievably, the stallion kneels on and appears to bite the foal. Shockingly, we realise that the foal is alive as it raises its head momentarily.
All this with the mother lying either exhausted from the fowl birth or oblivious just centimeters away.
When she does realise, the attack on her foal has gone unabated for over a minute. It is impossible to tell whether it is still alive.
This doesn’t stop the mother from rising in the hopes of protecting her offspring. With afterbirth still emerging, she bravely attempts to fend off the relentless stallion.
As the video progresses, the mother does all she can to keep the stallion from the unmoving foal. But the stallion counters her every effort to kick, push, and maneuver with equal ferocity.
For the viewer, it is perhaps a mercy when the video ends. According to Smith, “The desperate mother fought back, trying to protect her baby, but despite her efforts, she couldn’t save the poor foal.”
Shocking as it is, the behaviour in the video is quite well-documented in zebras, and there are also records of it happening in domestic horses.
The working theory is that aggression by stallions towards pregnant females and their newborn offspring relates to ensuring genetic succession.
In the scenario presented in the video, it is likely that the stallion has recently taken over the mare’s herd. His priority is to further his genetic lineage by mating with his newly acquired females.
So, when a female is with a foal, it means his priority is delayed as she won’t come into oestrus while she is nursing.
Therefore, by killing the foal, he ensures that she will be a viable mate sooner, thereby enhancing his chances of genetic succession.
Zebras live in fairly complex social groups, with males servicing a harem of up to six mares. Male dominance rotates frequently as individuals age and are ousted by younger, stronger challengers.
The video illustrates once again the apparent cruelty necessary to ensure the survival of the fittest.
To license the footage:
Contact@LatestSightings.com
Snapchat: LatestSightings
Twitter & Instagram: @LatestKruger
For live wildlife sightings in the Kruger National Park: http://www.latestsightings.com/
And like our Facebook page for great sightings and photos: https://www.facebook.com/latestsightingskruger
Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/LatestSightings
source
We have left this video almost completely unedited. No parts taken out.
It’s a powerful and raw sighting, not for the faint-hearted.
Edit: We believed the stallion did this for the greater good of the herd to pass on stronger genes. But there are a few other opinions and reasons in the thread below, have a read.
It's not about only taking videos uploaded for public but also had thr responsibility to save atleast the baby zebra….
African's
That’s why feminism is a thing, i guess to defend themselves from dbags.
Yall filming must have guns lol i would of corrected this
The CIRCLE OF LIFE!!!!
black people be like
His intent was to kill a rivals foal so that the mother could mate quicker again.
Who said animals are better than humans? lol
Brutal.
Why didn't the person taking the photo stop the Stalion from hurting both mother and foil did it die ? So sad Marion
Thats life in prison or death penalty in human society.
Wow now that's a real cannibal zebra
I’m surprised no one has made a spawn camping joke yet
Hard to watch and very mean. 😢 Poor baby and mom. 😢
Qué animal tan salvaje no me gusta CARACAS VENEZUELA 😢
I’m assuming this male just took over the herd. He wants the female fertile again, not nursing. He only has so much time to get his genetic material out there. Also, as protector of the females in his harem, he does not want to risk his life saving some other stallion’s offspring.
Male animals doing this shit just reminds me how similar to them we are, I know a lot of men who’d do this in a heart beat then say the women who are rightfully upset are the issue
😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😢😢😢😢
Stallion probably wants to kill the offspring of another stallion so she will mate with him.
Ive heard that sometimes the male sees the foal as a danger to the mare.
Is he a step dad?🤔
Labor pain is not bad. Stop milking it lol
No fatherless kids in the wild when a new male takes over, the kids are just killed.. lol.
We humans make out like we have it so bad, bet no mother has been beaten up while given birth.
Pain that zebra must’ve gone through is incredible smh.
This was entirely too much for my heart. I had to stop watching it it was to horrific.
This stallion must have been a lion in his previous incarnation… Predatory… brutal… biting…
(but I'm not criticizing nature, because usually every behavior has some biological meaning)
Pobrecito bebé lo matarían de las pisadas y tú el que graba no si quiera haces algo de gusta ver cómo lo maltratan abusivo 😡
We know how violent nature is. Some people will say why did the camera man or the people behind the video didn't help the foal.
It's because that is how nature works, we humans shall not intervene with the nature why? It is because nature has a flow that must be abided by for the ecosystem to thrive. You interfere with that flow, you interfere with the ecosystem's ability to function.
Sometimes I think they kill them because they are not their child, they kill the babies of the previous dominant male so that they can have their own offspring.
Does anyone know exactly how the male zebra knows it's not his offspring?
So beautiful ❤
Fake pride, so for a zebra and Lions too, killing a newborn is fine, just for pride and ownership, mating…the reason it's called wild and survival of the fittest…but inhuman. Difference between animals and humans…
B$$$h I done told you bout playing with me didn’t I? Now I gotta show ya!
Can someone explain why the male zebra is killing baby zebra?
It’s tragic but human abortions are far worse than this and yet people think it’s okay because it the woman’s choice. It’s insane how people think. Don’t believe me? Look it up. There’s plenty of sad, ex-abortion doctors who tell horrific stories of their line of work on youtube.
God help us
The poor foal has almost no chance of survival after that. . . . Nature can be very cruel which is something we cannot change. 😔
The fact that mom still defended the baby even though I'm pretty sure it died halfway through after just being born! Poor momma! 😢 I wonder why the other Zebra was attacking them? Was he a rival male hoping to breed with her after he killed her foal?
He must've known she was messing around Auth other male zebras
And yet us humans just use abortion as birth control
What do you call such a partner? Barbarian,killer or heartless???