A small population of mountain zebras remains in the mountains of South-West Africa. The stripes on the rump of this zebra are arranged in a lattice pattern. This is a rather rare species of zebra.

DIMENSIONS
Height at withers: up to 130 cm.
Body length: 2.2 m.
Tail length: 50 cm.
Weight 260-370 kg.

REPRODUCTION
Puberty: from 2 years old.
Mating season: not confined to the season.
Pregnancy: 11.5-12 months.
Number of cubs: usually 1.

LIFESTYLE
Habits: kept in family herds.
Food: mostly grass.
Sounds: neighing.
Lifespan: up to 28 years old.

Related species of mountain zebra
There are two more types of zebras: Grevy's zebra, or desert zebra, and savanna zebra, or Burchell's zebra. A fourth species of zebra, the quagga, was exterminated around 1880.

If it weren't for the striking black and white stripes that decorate their bodies, zebras would be like all other equines. The mountain zebra has adapted well to the hot and dry climate of Africa. She can go three days without water.

Mountain zebra behavior

Mountain zebras move quickly and deftly along steep mountain slopes. They live in the mountainous regions of South and South-West Africa. Zebras live in small herds. They often graze with herds of other antelope species, which seek the company of zebras and, relying on their vision and keen hearing, are promptly warned of danger. A zebra herd usually consists of a stallion, 1-6 females and young animals. An old, experienced female always leads the herd to a watering hole or to a new pasture. The leader of the herd walks to the side or behind the herd, providing protection. Young stallions leave the herd in the second year of life and form bachelor herds. After some time, they start their own families, but it happens that they take on the responsibilities of the leader of their native herd in old and weak stallions. Old stallions expelled from the herd spend the rest of their lives alone, usually becoming victims of predators.

Mountain zebra breeding

A mare comes into heat several times a year. Mating occurs at such a time that the baby is born during the rainy season. In an effort to win the sympathy of the mare, the stallion touches her feet with his nose and “falls” on his knees in front of her, making characteristic sounds. The mare, accepting courtship, moves her ears back and opens her mouth. After about a year, the female gives birth to one foal. Within an hour, the newborn is on its feet and tries to keep up with the herd, since it feels safer among adults. At one week of age, the foal begins to nibble grass, but feeds on its mother's milk for about a year. The foals spend about two years in the herd, then the leader expels the young males from the herd.

Young stallions are kept in bachelor herds, since they can become the head of the herd no earlier than at 5-6 years of age. Young horses remain in the herd.

Mountain zebra and man

White settlers who arrived in Africa always considered zebras to be pests, since zebras were competitors of domestic animals in obtaining food. African farmers ruthlessly hunted zebras. A bonus was paid for each zebra tail. One of the two subspecies of the mountain zebra - the mountain zebra itself - was considered virtually extinct. In 1913, 27 animals found shelter in the National Park near the city of Cradock in South Africa. Gradually this small herd increased to 200 animals. Zebras are admired by visitors to zoos and circuses, but it is very difficult to tame them.

What does a mountain zebra eat?

The zebra is a grass eater and its teeth are well suited for crushing hard grass. Sometimes she gnaws bark from trees, eats leaves, buds and fruits. With sharp incisors, the zebra “cuts” the grass and crushes it with its molars. The zebra devotes most of the day to feeding. She grazes and at the same time looks around cautiously in order to notice the danger in time. The mountain zebra inhabits hot and dry areas. She can go without water for three days, since she is forced to travel considerable distances in search of watering holes that are located far from each other.

That zebras take care of their fur by taking mud baths. The swamp on the body dries out and after a while falls off along with dead hairs and dry skin particles. The mountain zebra grazes 14-19 hours a day. Of all the zebras, only the mountain zebra does not live near water sources.

Mountain, savanna and Grevy's zebras are not closely related to each other, like other representatives of this family (wild and domestic horses).

Savannah zebras and other African herbivores, such as wildebeest, do not compete with each other because they feed on different types of grass.

The mountain zebra has a shiny coat with narrow white stripes and a white belly. There is a fold of skin at the throat that is absent in other species.

Scientists still have not figured out why the zebra needs striped coloring. In the past, it was believed that this was a protective device. Nowadays, there are suggestions that the stripes may serve as distinguishing marks among members of the herd and be a distinctive feature by which the cub recognizes its mother. It is believed that this coloration misleads the tsetse fly.

Nowadays, it lives in the wild only in South-West Africa and Southern Angola, in the mountain range stretching along the Namib Desert.

Saving. The mountain zebra itself (one of the subspecies of mountain zebra living today) is on the verge of extinction, with 200 individuals living in Mountain Zebra National Park alone. All mountain zebras are protected.

Video about mountain zebra

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2. The word “zebra” has African roots. It was borrowed from the Aboriginal dialect by the colonists. Together with the elephant, giraffe, lion and hippopotamus, she is one of the symbols of the rich animal world of the sunny African continent, although it is partly harsh and cruel.

3.Zebras are one of the few species of equid mammals, which also include horses and donkeys. Unpaired hooves are an adaptation for running quickly on hard ground.

4.Zebras belong to the genus of horses, but among all representatives of this genus they have the most unusual appearance.

5. The Romans used zebras to pull carts for circus performers.

6.Zebras are inhabitants of African savannas, steppes and mountain plateaus. They often migrate in search of food and water, uniting in herds and families into large herds. Such associations help them protect themselves from predators and safely reach new pastures.

7.Once in ancient times, people wanted to tame these animals. However, this did not bring positive results. It is even believed that the zebra is one of the most timid animals in nature.

8. Nowadays there are only three species of zebras: Burchellian, or ordinary, mountain and Grevy. Two of them are listed in the International Red Book as an endangered species (mountain and Grevy).

9.The reasons for the disappearance of zebras are: sport hunting for zebras, as well as hunting for valuable skins, loss of the most suitable areas for animals due to population growth.

10.With the help of a special project, scientists from South Africa are trying to restore the extinct subspecies of zebra - the quagga.

Grevy's zebra

11. The desert variety of zebra is named after Jules Grévy (one of the French presidents of the 19th century), who received a striped animal as a gift from the authorities of Abyssinia. This is the largest animal from the equine family. Its length is up to 3 meters, weight - more than 400 kg. A distinctive feature is the predominance of white-yellow or white, as well as a dark wide stripe stretching down the center of the back. Grevy's stripes are thinner and closer together, and on the stomach they are completely absent.

12. Grevy's zebra is common in Ethiopia, Kenya, Meru, Uganda, and Somalia.

13. In ancient Rome, Grevy's zebras were called "hippotigris" and were trained to learn how to draw cards in the circus.

14.Zebra is a very clean animal. They take care of each other's skin very carefully and affectionately. By the way, what kind of “skin” do they have, black and white or white and black? Scientists have finally shed some light and given a definite answer - zebras have black and white stripes!

15.Zebras can interbreed with donkeys, horses and ponies. The result is hybrid offspring. Such hybrids are called zebroids or zebrulas.

Mountain zebra

16. Mountain populations of zebras are common in South Africa and Namibia at altitudes of mountainous areas up to 2000 meters. Initially, zebras were distributed throughout almost the entire continent, but today their numbers have greatly decreased.

17. The mountain zebra has the darkest coloration, where black tones predominate. The white stripes are thin. On the legs they can be traced all the way to the hooves. Weight – from 260 to 370 kg, length – 2.2 meters.

18. There is a species of zebra called Asinus Burchelli. They received this name after the conflict between William John Burschel and John Edward Gray. Burshel brought one of the specimens of such a zebra for the British Museum, but the zebra died. To confuse Burchel, Gray gave the zebras a name that means Burchelli's Ass.

19. In Roman circuses, the zebra was usually called “tiger-horse” or “horse-tiger”.

20. Representatives of national American culture regard zebras as a symbol of balance and confidence in the journey.

Burchell's zebra

21. Burchell's zebra lives in the savannas of southeastern Africa. This is the most common species, which received its name in honor of W. Burchell (English botanist). The skin pattern of this species of zebra varies depending on its habitat: the northern subspecies have a more pronounced pattern, the southern ones are distinguished by the presence of beige shades on a white background and blurred stripes on the lower part of the body. Weight – up to 340 kg.

22. Zebras can rotate their ears in almost any direction. They use this ability to maintain contact with the rest of the herd.

23. Frequent migrations and crossings of zebras helped them acquire endurance and resilience even in the most difficult conditions. But in addition to endurance, zebras also have other qualities and skills that help them survive in the difficult conditions of wild Africa.

24. Why do zebras need stripes? When zebras gather together, it is difficult for predators to choose one horse from the pack.

25.Different species of zebras have different types of stripes - from narrow to wide. In fact, the further you travel to the south of the African peninsula, the more different the colors of zebras will be.

26. A female’s pregnancy lasts approximately 370 days. The mare is guarded by a stallion during the birth of her calf. Usually there is one foal in a litter (weight up to 30 kg), and twins are very rarely born. The baby gets on his feet approximately 15 minutes after birth and almost immediately takes his first steps. Zebra milk is an unusual pink color. It is intended for newborns. Despite good care, almost half of the foals die in infancy due to attacks by hyenas and lions.

27. Where zebras live, family herds are formed under the leadership of an adult stallion. The main part of the herd is females of various ages and their cubs. The head is the oldest mare. Males that have reached 1–3 years of age form their own herd or live alone.

28. Under favorable circumstances, zebras can live up to 30 years in natural conditions, and in captivity they can even live up to 40 years.

29. When a zebra is being chased, it uses a special tactic - zigzag running. This allows her to become inaccessible to many predators. This animal has poor vision, but it has a well-developed sense of smell, which allows it to sense danger over long distances.

30. Plains zebras live in meadows and are distributed throughout the continent, in places where there are the necessary conditions - grass and water. Mountain zebras live, as their name suggests, in the mountainous areas of the arid African states of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. Grevy's zebras live in areas covered with shrubs and grass in eastern Africa - Kenya and Ethiopia. Antelopes are usually found in the same areas, so both species receive additional protection from predators.

31. During seasonal migrations, these animals, along with wildebeest, often gather in a single herd numbering more than one and a half million individuals.

32.Zebras have black skin underneath their fur, which is why many people claim that zebras have white stripes on a black background, but others dispute this claim.

33.In height, adult zebras can reach from 110 to 150 centimeters, if you do not take into account the head. The weight of zebras can vary greatly depending on the subspecies - from 175 to 380 kilograms. Males are usually 10 percent heavier than females.

34. The sounds a zebra makes are very diverse. They are similar to the barking of a dog, the neighing of a horse, the cries of a donkey, etc. It all depends on the situation.

35.The stripes on a zebra's skin are unique. Their uniqueness can be compared to human fingerprints. How do zebras find each other in a whole herd? And what about the newly born foal to its mother? Precisely because of its striped, unique color.

The seemingly bright, striped coloring of zebras makes them inconspicuous in savannah conditions.

Taxonomy

Order - odd-toed ungulates (Perissodactyla)
Family - equidae (Equidae)
Genus - horses (Equus)
Currently there are 3 types of zebras:
Savannah zebra - Eguus burchelli - Burchell`s zebra,
mountain zebra - Eguus zebra - Selous` zebra,
Grevy's zebra, or desert zebra - Equus grevyi - Grevy`s zebra.
The zoo houses Grevy's zebra.

Zebra status in nature

The status of the savanna zebra is not currently of concern, but the Grevy's zebra and mountain zebra are facing extinction. These two species are protected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Zebras and people

Of course, several centuries ago zebras were much more widespread on the African continent than they are now, and at the end of the Ice Age they were also found in Europe. During the Roman era, zebras came to the Italian peninsula, where they were called hippotigris, which means “tiger horse,” and were used in circus performances. However, zebras are difficult to train; they are difficult to tame, and they desperately defend themselves from enemies with their teeth and hooves. Experiments on their taming and domestication have not become widespread, since in terms of their working qualities, zebras are significantly inferior to horses and donkeys.

Zebras lived in their native elements in harmony with the environment until the end of the 18th century, when the colonization of Africa began. The local population has long hunted them for meat and skins, but only the terrible safaris of European hunters, during which hundreds of animals died, led to a sharp decline in the number of African ungulates, including zebras. Some subspecies, and even species of zebra, were saved from complete extinction only by creating a network of national parks. Even today, poachers pose a danger to these animals, since the beautiful striped skins are still expensive. In addition, an increase in the number of people leads to an increase in the number of settlements, the area of ​​cultivated land and the number of domestic ungulates, which leads to the depletion of pastures. It was increased competition with livestock that led to a sharp decline in the number of Grevy's zebras at the end of the last century.

The striped coloring of zebras makes them unnoticeable in savannah conditions.

The striped coloring of zebras makes them unnoticeable in savannah conditions.

The striped coloring of zebras makes them unnoticeable in savannah conditions.

The striped coloring of zebras makes them unnoticeable in savannah conditions.

The striped coloring of zebras makes them unnoticeable in savannah conditions.

Distribution and habitats

Zebras are typical inhabitants of open spaces. African savannas occupy more than a third of the continent's surface. These vast expanses of grass, dotted here and there with baobab and acacia trees, provide food for about 40 species of ungulates, including zebras. However, displaced by people and domestic animals, zebras are now found only in eastern and southern Africa.
Savannah zebras have colonized the steppes of East Africa from Kenya to the Cape of Good Hope, where many nature reserves and national parks are located. The extensive protected area allows these animals to migrate widely in search of watering holes and lush pastures.

Grevy's zebra lives in desert steppes and arid shrub savannas of Ethiopia, Somalia, North. Kenya. In the south of its range, Grevy's zebra is found together with the savannah zebra.
The range of the mountain zebra is limited to two mountainous steppe regions in southwest Africa.

Appearance and morphology

The appearance of a striped horse has been known to people in many countries since infancy, since it is a symbol of the letter “Z” or “Z”. There are several different hypotheses trying to explain the striped coloration of zebras. Most often they talk about its protective function: in the African haze, the outlines of animals blur, and this effect is enhanced by striping. It is also possible that when hunting these animals, it is more difficult for lions to choose a victim in the continuous flashing of black and white stripes. Biologists believe that the ancestors of all equines were striped. Zebras retained this coloring, but in other representatives of the genus (wild ass, Przewalski's horse) the stripes on the body disappeared, but remained on the limbs. The quagga, another equine species that went extinct in the late 19th century, had stripes on its legs, head and neck.

The body proportions of zebras are similar to those of horses, but the tail is like a donkey: long hair grows only at its end, forming a tassel.

Zebras have a very wide field of vision: the forward-directed binocular is complemented by a lateral monocular, which allows the animal to see almost the entire surrounding space. The dead zone is only a backward-facing sector between the animal's ears, within which the zebra cannot see approaching danger.

The three species of zebras currently existing on Earth differ in size, ear shape, and pattern on the skin. Grevy's zebra is the largest of them: body length up to 275 cm, weight about 400 kg. This zebra has an elongated head and large, rounded ears. The end of the muzzle is brown. The light coloring of the belly rises quite high on the sides. Distinct and narrow vertical stripes on the sides round off at the rump.

Stocky, relatively short-legged, the savannah zebra has broader black stripes extending onto its belly. The end of the muzzle is black, small ears crown the short and wide head. The body length of this animal is 230 cm, weight is 300 kg.

The mountain zebra is much smaller than others, its body length is 215 cm, weight no more than 250 kg. The mountain zebra has long ears and a dewlap (a fold of skin at the bottom of the neck). Black stripes on the rump form a lattice.
The location of the stripes on the body of each zebra is individual, especially in the shoulder area. The bright vertical stripes on the neck continue into the short, erect mane, making the neck appear very thick.

Lifestyle and social behavior

Despite the external similarity of all types of zebras, they are characterized by two types of social organization. Plains and mountain zebras live in permanent groups, each of which has one stallion and several mares with foals under the age of 2 years. Each family group occupies a specific area, which may partially overlap with the area of ​​the neighboring group. When a stallion ages, he is replaced by another, younger male, and the old one goes into a group of bachelors or remains alone. Social bonds between females are strong enough not to disintegrate when the leader of the harem changes.

Grevy's zebra is characterized by a different type of social organization. Groups of adult individuals are less stable. Most adult males remain solitary, roaming across vast territories, the area of ​​which is up to 10 square meters. km. Within the boundaries of these areas, which are marked by large piles of dung, their owners arrogate to themselves the exclusive right to mate with females who enter there. In both variants of social systems, young males, or males left without a harem, live in bachelor groups, without a specific territory and moving very widely.

Nutrition and feeding behavior

All equids eat coarse fibrous plant foods, and zebras are no exception. Their diet consists mainly of various herbs, including sedges; they will also not refuse tree bark, leaves, buds and rhizomes. Moving through the pasture, zebras cut off the upper part of the grass, mainly cereals, facilitating access to the lower, most nutritious parts of the plants for numerous African artiodactyls. However, when small ungulates enter an area of ​​vegetation where large ones are grazing, they eat away the best parts of the plants, which soon reduces the overall quality of the pasture. Large ungulates cannot drive away smaller ones, but simply move on, leading them along.

Eating low-calorie foods forces animals to spend up to 15 hours a day grazing. During the hot season, zebras prefer to graze in the cool hours before sunrise and after sunset, using the midday time to rest. On the contrary, during the rainy season they usually feed during the day.

Water plays a key role in determining daily, seasonal, and even territorial activity. Zebras need water at least once a day, and lactating mares even more often. It is especially difficult to find water during dry periods. When rivers dry up and small bodies of water turn into mud, zebras use their strong hooves to dig holes up to 50 cm deep and up to 1 meter in diameter. Water seeping through the sand accumulates in the hole, and animals can drink it. When these “wells” dry up, mass migrations of large ungulates, primarily zebras, begin in search of pastures with fresh grass. Animals sometimes move hundreds of kilometers, gathering into huge herds and again dispersing to fresh pastures.

Reproduction and development

Young zebras reach sexual maturity by 2 years, however, at this age only females come into heat and begin to reproduce. Males are allowed to reproduce with older individuals of the same sex no earlier than 4–5 years. By this age, young stallions become able to keep females near them and resist rivals. Reproduction is confined to the wet season, when the young animals have a higher chance of surviving on pastures with abundant food. Since the duration of pregnancy is 12 months, and females are ready to accept the courtship of males within 7 - 10 days after birth, every female can have a baby every year. However, this often happens only once every two years.

When the time comes for the only cub to be born, the female either tries to retire, taking advantage of a small fold of the relief, as happens with Grévy’s zebra, or the happy event is observed by a family group (savannah and mountain zebras). Childbirth lasts about half an hour. Soon after the foal is born, the mare rises, the umbilical cord breaks, the mother turns to the calf, sniffs it carefully and collects the amniotic fluid with her lips. The baby almost immediately makes attempts to get to his feet, but he succeeds only after 15–20 minutes. At this time, the first sucking occurs, after which the cub lies down and rests. After 2–3 hours he is already able to follow his mother.
At first, the female drives other zebras away from the baby, but after a week he gets to know all the members of the group. Around this time, the mother is ready to mate. The baby has difficult days as he strives to be close to his mother all the time, whose mobility increases. If a mare becomes pregnant, milk feeding stops after 6–7 months. If not, the mother can nurse the foal for more than a year.

Lifespan

Zebras live up to 25-30 years, rarely longer. In nature, they have a shorter lifespan.

Zebras at the Moscow Zoo

Zebras have been kept in the zoo almost since its founding. Over the years, various subspecies of savannah zebra lived and successfully bred at the zoo. Particularly famous is the savannah zebra (subspecies - Chapman's zebra) named Venus, which entered the zoo in 1970 at the age of 3 years along with its peer male Mars. Before 1981 (when Mars died), she gave birth to six cubs and died in 2000, having lived an unusually long life for a zebra - 33 years.

Zebras tolerate Moscow winters well. They don’t like slush, but they don’t mind frosts - they even walk at -30 degrees.

Since 1993, Grevy's zebras have been on display. They are kept in the “African Ungulates” pavilion on the New Territory of the zoo. Next to the pavilion is a large clearing where zebras walk along with a South African giraffe and ostrich. In winter, zebras are moved under a roof and separated from other animals, since in a small room, animals can injure each other when excited. Currently, the zoo has two females and one male Grevy's zebra. They had foals and females, but failed to create a large group of zebras. In nature, mature daughters leave the parental group, and their father encourages them to do so. Apparently, in this way nature prevents inbreeding. In one, even a large zoo enclosure, there is nowhere to hide, and the male began to show such strong aggression towards his daughters that they had to be separated. Later, the young animals were sent to another zoo, where they already had their own offspring.

The zebra is the famous African horse. It is known for its striped color, but few people know that zebras have not one type, but 3 types: desert, mountain and lowland.

Where does the zebra live?

As is clear from the names, species are distinguished by their habitat: lowland species live in savannas, mountain species live on high plateaus, and desert species live in the desert (more specifically, in Kenya and Ethiopia).

The last species of zebra is the smallest in number, so it is listed in the Red Book.

The animals were originally distributed throughout Africa, but their populations declined greatly in the 20th century and are now more commonly found on the southern side of the continent.

Another feature of these animal species is that they do not interbreed well.

If you try to cross, for example, a desert zebra with a plains zebra, the female will have a miscarriage.

Even living in coinciding territories does not lead to mixing of types.

What does it look like

A characteristic feature of a zebra is its striped black and white coat color.

These ungulates are very large and can reach a weight of 350 kilograms. This weight corresponds to a height of up to 130 centimeters and a length of up to 260 centimeters. The tail of zebras reaches half a meter in length.

The main color of horses is considered to be a black background with white stripes. Moreover, each animal has a unique pattern inherent in a particular individual, this can be seen in the photo where zebras are standing next to each other.

Scientists believe that the stripes help the zebra regulate its body temperature, because it is known that black heats up stronger and faster than white.

The alternation of colors creates a temperature difference on the animal’s body, and microcirculation of heat flows occurs.

Like any animal, the zebra's color has a purely practical meaning: it protects horses from flies and horseflies and confuses predators, with the exception of lions. They happily hunt zebras.

To escape, ungulates run away not just in a straight line, but in zigzags.

Unlike their relatives, zebras are not as fast, but they compensate for the lack of speed with greater endurance.

The animal fights for its life to the end; if you drive it into a corner, the zebra will kick and bite. And in the early detection of danger, the zebra is helped by good hearing, excellent vision and a keen sense of smell.

Behavior and diet

Zebras are pack animals. Gathering in a herd is the norm for them.

But this manifests itself differently in different species. Zebras on the plains and in the mountains prefer to have harems. On average, one stallion has six females with cubs.

And before creating a harem, males can be solitary or gather in groups. But as adults, they still gather their harem.

Desert zebras are fundamentally different from them. They gather in herds only for a few months, after which the group breaks up, and after some time a new herd gathers.

Only females with their foals are not subject to this behavior.

Zebras always spend the night together and standing. This helps protect against predators. Horses communicate through neighing and barking.

Finding out about the mood of an animal is quite simple: you need to look at the position of the zebra’s ears. If the ears stand straight up - she is calm, if they drop forward - it means she is scared, if they lean back - she is showing aggression.

Zebras express their angry mood by snorting and warn of danger by barking.

Zebra is a herbivore animal. Its diet includes branches, bushes, various grasses, leaves and tree bark.

Cycle of life

Zebras can be born in any season of the year, but peak births occur at the beginning of the rainy season (African winter).

Gestation in the species lasts from 350 to 390 days and one foal is born; cases where twins can be born are rare.

After birth, the cub weighs an average of 30 kilograms and immediately stands on its feet and walks.

However, only half of the babies survive to one year. First of all, this is due to the attack of predators, because the foal is an easy prey. The cubs are fed milk until they are 16 months old.

At one and a half years, zebras reach sexual maturity. And the female gives birth for the first time only at 3 years old, after which another 3 years pass before the next birth.

Zebras can give birth until they are 18 years old, with an average lifespan of 25-30 years.

Those herbivores that live in the zoo can live up to 40 years.

Zebra photo

Ecology

Basics:

Zebras are one of the few species of odd-toed ungulate mammals, which also includes horses and donkeys. The unpaired hooves may be an adaptation for running quickly on hard ground. Zebras belong to the genus of horses, but among all representatives of this genus they have the most unusual appearance.

But why do zebras have stripes? When zebras gather together, it is difficult for predators to choose one horse from the pack. Different species of zebra have different types of stripes, ranging from narrow to wide. In fact, the further you travel to the south of the African peninsula, the more different the colors of zebras will be.

Recent research has suggested that zebras' stripes also help them attract fewer blood-sucking insects.

In height, adult zebras can reach from 110 to 150 centimeters, excluding the head. The weight of zebras can vary greatly depending on the subspecies - from 175 to 380 kilograms. Males are usually 10 percent heavier than females.

Grevy's zebra - the largest type of horse. In the wild, zebras live on average 20-30 years, and in zoos - up to 40 years.

Zebras primarily feed on coarse grass, but may also eat leaves, which make up approximately 30 percent of their diet. Zebras are social animals that live in small packs.

Zebras run slower than horses, their maximum speed is 55 kilometers per hour, but they are quite resilient, which helps them successfully flee from predators. When chased, zebras can run from side to side, which prevents the predator from catching them. If there is serious danger, the zebra rears up and can kick or bite the offender with force.

If food is abundant in a place, such as the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, zebras prefer to lead a sedentary lifestyle. In arid areas, small groups of zebras may form larger groups and migrate together in search of food. Large herds of zebras can cover distances of 800 kilometers per year during migrations.

Zebras are very dependent on water, so they prefer not to move far from bodies of water, to which they must come to drink at least once a day. It is the duty of the oldest mare to lead the whole herd as they move from place to place, and to see that the family does not stray too far from the water.

Habitats:

In the wild, zebras live only in Africa.

Plains zebras They live in meadows and are distributed throughout the continent, in places where there are the necessary conditions - grass and water. Mountain zebras They live, as the name suggests, in mountainous areas in the arid African states of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. Grevy's zebras live in areas covered with shrubs and grass in eastern Africa - Kenya and Ethiopia. Antelopes are usually found in the same areas, so both species receive additional protection from predators.

Security status: Least Concern, but some subspecies are threatened

The plains zebra population is of least concern, although the animals' numbers have declined greatly over the past 100 years.

The reasons for the disappearance of zebras are the following: sport hunting for zebras, as well as hunting for valuable skins, loss of the most suitable areas for animals due to population growth.

Wildlife animals suffer greatly due to livestock eating grass in pastures. Zebras cannot compete with the growing number of livestock, and their territories are also occupied by farmers who grow crops.

There have been unsuccessful attempts to domesticate the zebra several times over the past couple of centuries.

With the help of a special project, scientists from South Africa are trying to restore an extinct subspecies of zebra - quagga.

In ancient Rome, Grevy's zebras were called "hippotigris" and trained them to learn how to pull cards in the circus.

Zebras in a herd look very similar, but the location and shape of the stripes differ in the same way that a person's fingerprints differ. Scientists can identify individuals by comparing their pattern, stripe width, color and scars.

Zebras have black skin underneath their fur, which is why many claim that zebras have white stripes on a black background, although others dispute this claim.