Common name: Plains Zebra
Scientific name: Equus quagga
Conservation Status: Near Threatened
At the zoo: Sahara (female, 17y) and Karoo (male, 4y); you can find them in the SW corner of the zoo.
Habitat:
Zebras are native to Eastern and Southern Africa and are commonly found in grasslands and savannahs. They are rarely farther than 30km from a water source.
Diet:
Their main diet consists of grass, leaves, and twigs.
Median Life Expectancy:
25 years
Biology:
Plains zebra are found throughout southern and eastern Africa with the highest population densities in the Serengeti National Park. They prefer grasslands, open woodlands, and open scrub environments. Herds are non-territorial and often overlap. Zebras are the first to move in during grass succession, chomping down tough growth for the more selective herbivores, like gazelles. They play a very important role in maintaining the diversity of the grazing community. Despite protected areas, there has been a reduction in zebra populations due to poaching and competition with livestock.
No two zebras have the same stripe pattern. Not only is this what they use to identify one another, but they use their stripes as camouflage as well. When they run in a herd, predators get easily confused as the stripes create an optical illusion. Another theory for their dynamic stripes is that they confuse biting insects.
Fun Fact:
Did you know that a Zebra's skin is black with white stripes, not white with black stripes!?
