Friday, June 19, 2026
Parents Left Baby Alone On Beach For Almost An Hour, Authorities Say
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Baby zebra dies following severe leg injury at Milwaukee County Zoo
Steven Martinez
A zebra foal died Monday, June 15, at the Milwaukee County Zoo, the third animal the zoo has humanely euthanized in the past three months.
The foal, Mistari, was born April 22 to mom Thelma, who had been brought to the zoo in April 2025. The zoo's animal care and veterinary teams decided to euthanize Mistari after she suffered a severe open fracture to her rear right leg.
An initial assessment of the injury determined the bone had fractured into many pieces and the blood supply to the lower leg had been disrupted.
The zoo made the decision to humanely euthanize Mistari following consultations with large animal veterinarians and veterinary surgeons who determined the injury was not fixable with surgery due to its complexity and severity, the zoo said in a news release.
"Following the procedure, Thelma was given time to be in the stall with Mistari," the zoo said in the release. "[Thelma] sniffed her, walked in and out of the stall and did a small amount of vocalizing before ultimately leaving the stall.
Mistari is the third animal to die at the zoo since April. Brittany, an elephant and one of the longest-tenured animals at the zoo, died April 10. A little more than a month later, on May 19, the zoo euthanized a Chinese alligator named Yin. Yin had been at the zoo since 1995.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Second bighorn born at Racine Zoo, follows first born last week
Milana Doné
RACINE — Another bighorn sheep has joined the family at the Racine Zoo.
The zoo welcomed two female Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, Helga and Mantis, earlier this year. Mantis delivered a boy May 12, and Helga delivered a girl Wednesday, according to a news release from the zoo.
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Neither baby has been named. Patrons can vote on name options on the Racine Zoo Facebook page.
Options for Mantis’s boy are Sierra, Cosmo and Topaz. Voting is open until May 24 at noon, and the winning name will be announced May 25.
Options for Helga’s girl are Greta, Romayne and Ruby. Voting is open until May 31 at noon, and the winning name will be announced June 1.
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Saturday, May 16, 2026
Three bighorn sheep are latest additions at the Racine Zoo
RACINE — Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep are the latest additions to the Racine Zoo's Mountain exhibit.
Helga and Mantis were born in spring 2023 at Hemker Park and Zoo in Freeport, Minnesota.
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Helga and Mantis are pictured with Mantis’s baby at the Racine Zoo. After being quarantined off-exhibit, the three are now enjoying the Mountain exhibit. Courtesy of Racine Zoo |
They arrived in Racine on Feb. 23 and were held in an off-exhibit quarantine, but are now at their new home in the exhibit, which underwent construction and renovations during the last year, according to a news release from the zoo.
Mantis delivered a baby May 12, and residents can vote on his name via the Racine Zoo Facebook page.According to the release, Bighorn sheep are the largest sheep native to
North America. They are named for the males’ large, spiraled horns, which can weigh up to 30 pounds.
The sheep are native to alpine grasslands of Western North America. In the mid-1800s, there were an estimated 200,000 sheep in the region, the release said. Their numbers declined as a result of hunting, habitat loss and the spread of disease from domesticated animals.
The numbers are now somewhat stabilized, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them as “least concern.”




