Interesting Facts about Zebras

Zebras, who are natives of Africa, belong to the family (Equidae), of horses, and donkeys. There are three different species of zebras - Plains Zebra, Grevy's Zebra and Mountain Zebra, only Plains Zebra and Mountain Zebra have subspecies. The most commonly seen is the Plains Zebra (Scientific name - Equus burchellii). Grevy's Zebra is named after the French President Jules Grévy, as he was the first person to receive a specimen of the animal in 1882, from the emperor of Abyssmania (Ethiopia). Let us read through the interesting facts about zebras.

Three Species of Zebra

While Plains Zebras are plenty in number, Grevy's Zebra and Mountain Zebra are considered as endangered species. Plain Zebras are found in the grasslands of southern and east Africa, Mountain Zebras can be seen in southwest Africa and Grevy's Zebra dwells in Ethiopia and Kenya. They are differentiated by their size, pattern of stripes, etc.

Among the three species, Mountain Zebra is the smallest in size and the Grevy's Zebra is the largest. Plains Zebras have shorter legs than the other two species. As far as the pattern of stripes is concerned, Plains Zebra is the only species, which has stripes covering the entire back and the belly. In other two species, belly is white in color. Some Plains Zebras have shades of gray (shadow stripes) between the black stripes. The stripes in Mountain Zebras are wide ones, especially on the back. Grevy's Zebra has closely set, narrower stripes.

Physical Features of Zebra

The body structure of zebras is similar to horses and donkeys. They have strong, rounded, muscular bodies with long legs and one toe on each foot. They have large snouts and ears that are long, tapering and upright. The eyes of zebras are set high on their forehead, blessing them with a wide range of vision. They have strong incisor teeth and high-crowned molar teeth, which help them to chew and grind grass. Zebra's mane starts from the upper portion of the forehead and extends to the shoulder. It is erect, striped, and bordered with black color.

The most striking feature of zebras, which differentiates them from horses and donkeys is the stripes. Pattern of stripes differ in the three species and their subspecies. The interesting fact is that it also differs in each individual zebra, making it almost a personal identification mark, like a birth mark! The backbone of zebras is straight and the tail is long. The tail has black horizontal stripes and a single black vertical stripe, which runs through the center. The tail ends in a bunch of black and white hairs.

Normally, the height of a zebra varies from 4 to 5 feet and length between 7 to 9 feet. An adult zebra normally weighs between 300 to 430 kilograms, and sometimes it may even go up to 450 kilograms (Grevy's species).

Logic Behind the Stripes of Zebra

Zoologists believe that the black and white stripes in zebras serve the purpose of camouflage. The color blind predators get confused between the stripes and the grass blades. Another reason is the personal identification, as the pattern of stripes in one zebra cannot exactly match the pattern of another one.

It is also argued that the stripes help the zebras in cooling down during hot season. As black color tends to absorb radiation, the air near the black stripes get hotter, thereby forcing down the cooler air in the surroundings to the white stripes. This process eventually cools the animal and also forms a shimmer around it. This shimmer causes a blurred vision in the predator. Another contention is that these stripes save the zebras from the blood-sucking tsetse fly, which cannot easily recognize animals with stripes.

Senses and Gait of Zebras

The visual sense of zebras is very good, they have both day and night vision. It is believed that zebras have color vision. Their ears and nose are also very keen. They can hear very distant sounds and are even very sensitive to smoke. The gait of zebras is almost similar to horses, except the speed factor. Even though zebras are seen walking and grazing for most of the time, they can also run, gallop and trot. When chased by a predator, they run fast from one side to other, in a zig-zag manner. This technique is adopted to confuse the predator - usually a lion or a hyena. Once cornered, they bite their predators or kick with their back hooves. They can run up to a maximum speed of 64 kilometers per hour.

Habitat of Zebras

The zebras live in a wide range of habitats like mountains, hills, woodlands, grasslands, Savannahs, etc. Plain Zebras prefer grasslands with trees (Savannah), and are usually seen near some water source. Mountain Zebras, as the name suggests, live up in the mountains, where the atmosphere is cool. They are experts in climbing and like to take dust bath. Grevy's Zebras are mostly found in desert-like habitats with small shrubs.

Food Habits of Zebras

Zebras are herbivorous mammals and mainly feed on grass. Sometimes their diet includes leaves and the bark of trees. They need a huge quantity of food in order to meet their daily nutritional requirement. Hence, most of the day, zebras are occupied with the task of chewing their food.

Reproduction in Zebras

The reproductive age for female zebras is 3 years, whereas males can breed only when they reach the age of 5 or 6. The gestation period is 12 months, after which, the female gives birth to a single foal. The newborn of zebra (called foal) has brown and white stripes, instead of the black and white ones. The foal can stand up soon after birth and can run within an hour. It feeds on the mother's milk for almost 12 months. The whole family unit, including the stallion and the mother, take care of the foal. In case of Grevy's zebras, the foal is taken care of by the mother only. The life-span of captive zebras is around 30 years, whereas the wild ones live up to 12 years.

Social Life of Zebras

Except the Grevy's zebras, others are usually found in very big groups (herds), made of smaller units (harems). Each small unit consists of one stallion, several mares and the young ones. Zebras belonging to a group can identify each other. The adult male is considered as the head of the group, but, females have the discretion to select the direction of movement.

The bonding between the members can be inferred from their social behavior. They often nibble at each other, rub their heads and shoulders and also sniff. Occasional fights are characterized by biting the legs and kicking. They communicate with barks, brays, sniffs and snorts. Barks and brays are signals to get alert. While sniff is a welcome gesture, snorts are made when they are tense. Zebras sleep in standing position during daytime, provided, the other members of the group are awake to warn them of enemies.

In short, zebras are intelligent social animals. Though they cannot be tamed like horses and donkeys, they are kept captive in zoos. Already some species of this animal are extinct (like Quagga - a subspecies of Plains Zebra) and some are endangered; one of the reasons being the hunting habit of human beings. So, the best thing we can do is to try to save this beautifully striped animal from extinction.