Alipore zoo welcomed its newest member late on Sunday as a zebra gave birth to a foal.

"Both mother and newborn are fine," Asis Kumar Samanta, zoo director, said. Rohini, 7, the mother, is extremely protective of her baby, he said. "She is not letting anyone near the baby and is getting nervous at the hint of strangers."

Even the vet and officials have seen the two from a distance. Which is why the foal's gender is still unknown. It will happen only after the mother settles down, a zoo official said.

A separate enclosure has been carved out of space allotted for zebras for Rohini and the baby. The official said the baby would be kept under observation for about a fortnight before visitors can see it.

The zoo authorities were extremely cautious as a foal had died in 2014. Attendants were posted 24X7 outside Rohini's enclosure and the vet regularly checked on her, the official said.

A little after midnight, Rohini became restless and whinnied. Around 1am, the striped bundle of joy made its entry to the world, taking the zebra count in the zoo to six.

Of the six, four are adult, including a male. All of them were brought from Israel.

In 2014, a zebra had given birth to two foals, of which one had died.

The baby has had only mother's milk. And the mother is on a diet of carrots, sweet potatoes and grass, along with calcium and vitamin supplements.

A keeper said the other zebras kept flocking near the gate of the enclosure where Rohini and the baby had been kept throughout the day. "It is like neighbours visiting to meet a newborn," he said.