Zebras wrestle and play joyfully, unbothered by watchers

6 years ago
21

This video captures playful zebras in a once thriving drive-through zoo called Six Flags Wild Safari in New Jersey. Animals of all sorts could be observed here. These playful zebras seemed to be having the time of their lives frolicking in the meadow while seemingly unaware of observers in their own cages (which we call cars). Even the other animals were keen to watching these lovable animals. But notice how they get close to the herd of other zebras and suddenly get a kick! At one point the giraffe seems to meander over to see what is going on. The zebras seemed to be wrestling and goofing off in general. I remember this being a real treat to see animals up close. Zebras can live up to 25 years in the wild and can run up to 40mph. They are social animals but don't be fooled by their elegance or how peaceful they seem. They can be aggressive! The stallions fight for females with piercing bites and powerful kicks. This fierceness and social bond helps protect them from predators.
They stopped allowing cars back in 2012 and now have controlled guided tours on an off road truck under what is called Six Flags Great Adventure & Safari. Now in 2018, the zoo boasts 1,200 animals from 6 continents including elephants, rhinos, tigers, giraffes and lions. I would guess that the new Safari Off Road Adventure is a safer method of observation. Animals can be unpredictable and adding unpredictable humans into the mix could be a recipe for disaster. This footage is from a Sony 8mm video camera recorded in August 1994. Antiquated by today's standards so it is probably not what people are used to seeing these days with HD resolution and such. But it is still good enough to see the playfulness of these animals.

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