Zebra Flashes a Toothy Grin in Exchange for a Carrot at the Puerto Vallarta Zoo Jennifer Smith - Mail Online
go to original August 25, 2013

An attention seeking zebra showed how to get himself noticed when he bared his full set of teeth to get a treat from a passing visitor.
 
The savvy animal was sharing an enclosure with a group of giraffes in a zoo in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, when he noticed a visitor handing out carrots.
 
Not one to miss a snack, or a photo opportunity, he quickly strolled over to Davin Gegolick and his family, flashing his rotting teeth to show just how hungry he was.

Mr Gegolick from Alberta, Canada, was visiting Mismaloya Zoo while on holiday with his family in Mexico. He said: "The place was amazing, like no zoo I've ever visited before. It's very popular with tourists."

The giraffes were in the same enclosure as the zebra, who is the only one at the zoo, and although the enclosure walls were barely tall enough to enclose them, they had no intentions of escaping.

"With just a few pesos, we purchased some treats to feed the animals and started to feed them to a giraffe."

Just as he started feeding the giraffes, Mr Gegolick noticed the approaching zebra who wanted a piece of the action.
"He was just hungry. The zebra was one of the friendliest animals in the entire zoo, I couldn't stop laughing at him as his mouth and teeth got closer and closer to my camera."

"It was almost impossible to not spare him a carrot while I snapped the hungry beast. Luckily he didn't try and go for my camera, the carrots were more than enough for him!"

Mr Gegolick, 25, took out his camera as soon as he saw the animal approaching. "To get the best picture, I was forced to get really close to the zebra's mouth. I was probably only a few feet away from him and I was zoomed to 75mm on my camera so I luckily didn't have to get any closer!"

Mr Gegolick stayed at the enclosure for a few minutes before leaving, much to the disappointment of his new friend.
 
"He was a very happy chap, the only movement he made towards us was following us with his mouth open, begging for more carrots. When we walked away, he followed us all the way to the end of his enclosure, to try and get some more treats."

  Learn about Zoologico de Vallarta (Vallarta Zoo)