BOSTON (WHDH) - A 15-year-old Poitou donkey has died at Franklin Park Zoo, just three weeks after giving birth to a foal.
Vollavon, who had been at the Boston zoo since 2016, was under intensive care for serious health conditions including a gastric ulceration and laminitis — a painful inflammation of tissues in the hoof, according to a statement from Franklin Park Zoo.
She was euthanized after veterinary staff determined she had a poor prognosis for her quality of life, the zoo said.
Vollavon’s foal was born on Aug. 8 with help from staff members after a slowly-progressing labor, according to the zoo.
The youngster will be raised by zoo staff and is currently receiving meals of milk, grain, and hay, officials said. Betty, a Morgan horse, is keeping the foal company in the stable and corral they share, the zoo said.
“It is always heartbreaking to lose an animal that we care about deeply, but even more so to lose a member of a species, or in this case breed, that Zoo New England has been working diligently to conserve,” said John Linehan, president and CEO of Zoo New England.
Poitou donkeys, a breed developed in the Poitou region of France, were once common, but now are in danger of extinction, the zoo said. There are now only around 2,500 purebred Poitou donkeys in the world.
“But even with the devastating loss of Vollavon, there is a glimmer of hope with the arrival of her young foal. We look forward to introducing him to guests at a later date,” Linehan said.
Visitors can also take a look at the foal’s “charismatic” father, nearly 5-year-old Inspector Maigret, at the Children’s Zoo.
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