Relatives
Did you know that zebras are the horse of the Savanna? This is because there is no other horse in the savanna and also because they are a very close relative to the horses.
Stripes and Body Color
Some people get confused of what is a zebras skin color is and what the stripes color is. The workers from Perth Zoo have identified this. Zebras have black skin with white fur. The white fur is shaped to form stripes on the body of the zebra. Zebras are a close relative to the horse. They are smaller than a horse but the size a pony. Zebras have their own stripe pattern on their bodies.
Habitat
Zebras live in the Savanna in Africa. They live in open grasslands and open woodlands. These animals are usually found in East Africa or South Africa. The most suitable places for a harem are areas that has water supply year-round.
Migrating
Zebras live in close family groups that are called a harem. Usually a male zebra looks out for predators and make sure that the harem is not harmed by anything. The male zebra controls the family groups. When zebras migrate, they stay close to each other. The group contains more than 10,000 zebras or more when migrating! When migrating, zebras keep a slow pace so that the young zebras or weak zebras can stay with the group and never get left behind.
Mating Season
Zebras mate in the months of August, September, and October. They have their baby foals in the rainy season. After the mother zebra gives birth to the foal, she will not let any other zebras by the foal (not even the members of the family) for about 2 or 3 days because the foals needs to recognize it’s mother by her voice, smell, and what she looks like. The foals have a close relationship with the mother, but male foals are also relatively close to the father. Once the male foal is 1-4 years old, they will leave their family and join the all-male bachelor group until the zebra is strong enough to lead a family of his own. Usually a mother can only have 1 foal.
Behavior
When a zebra or zebras are attacked, they have many different ways to defend and protect themselves. A zebra’s main predator is the lion. One way is to basically confuse the predator. Zebras do this by bunching up the herd. All the predator will see is a maze of black and white stripes. Another way the zebras protect themselves is to just plainly run away. Although most of them get away, not all of them get away as fast as the other part of the herd does. This is one way the zebras survive in the Savanna. When running from predators, the zebras always run side by side.
The zebra’s ears show it mood! All zebras have really good eyesight and hearing.
What They Eat
Did you know that zebras are herbivores? Zebras usually eat leaves and grass. In the dry season, they eat dry grass but only if they are close to a water hole. The water hole is usually or close to 20 miles away.
Fun Facts
Have you ever heard of a “Zebra Crossing”? It’s actually a pedestrian crossing. They named it a zebra crossing because of the black and white stripes of a zebra.
There are numerous different theories that try to explain a zebra’s unique stripes with most relating to camouflage.
Zebras stand while they sleep!
