Lakota, a baby zebra born at the Denver Zoo, is shy but he’s working on straying from his mother’s side.

Weather permitting this weekend, zoo visitors should be able to spy Lakota, a long-legged colt, as he romps through an outdoor pen with his proud parents, mom Topaz and dad Punda.

Frigid temperatures today and tomorrow will keep the zebras in their heated barn, but weekend weather will likely have Lakota out in the sunshine on Saturday, when temperatures are predicted to be in the 40s said Tiffany Barnhart, a zoo spokeswoman.

Lakota, a Grevy’s zebra, was born Nov. 27.

He’s the third Grevy’s zebra from the zoo’s breeding herd and the sixteenth zebra to be born in the zoo’s history, according to a Denver Zoo media release.

Lakota is the second foal for Topaz.

There are fewer than 2,000 Grevy’s left in the wild due to loss of habitat, competition with livestock and poaching, according to the zoo.

Grevy’s can be distinguished from other zebras by their longer legs and narrow stripes, as well as their white, stripeless underbellies and large rounded ears. Grevy’s zebras in the wild are found in northern Kenya and southeastern Ethiopia.

Fully grown male zebras can weigh up to 1,000 pounds and stand over 5-feet tall at the shoulder. Zebra foals are born after a gestation period of 13 months and new-born zebras have brown stripes instead of black.

Zebra’s stripes are like human fingerprints and no two zebras have identical stripe patterns, the zoo said.

The Denver Zoo is open every day and parking is free.

Winter admission hours, effective November through February, are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with grounds closing at 5 p.m.

For more information on the zoo, including ticket prices, call 303 376-4800 or visit the Denver Zoo web site at www.denverzoo.org.

Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.