Keepers at Marwell Zoo, near Winchester, are celebrating after the birth of a Somali Wild Ass foal the ninth since the zoo first started breeding the animals in 1996.

In their natural environment, the desert plains of war-torn Somalia, these animals are critically endangered, with just a few hundred left in the wild because of loss of habitat, poaching, drought and competition for meagre food resources.

Thanks to zoos like Marwell and their endangered animal breeding programme, there are now thought to be about 70 Somali Wild Ass in other zoos around the world raising hopes for their future.