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Africa's striped horses Zebras can be recognized easily by their black and white striped body. There are three species of zebra, all found in Africa. The Plains or Burchell's zebra is found in open or wooded grasslands in Zimbabwe. Plains zebras stand about 1.3m at the shoulder and weigh 200 - 380 kg.

Zebras have a neat, upright mane. The Plains zebra has stripes that reach under the belly. They broaden at the flanks and bend backwards towards the rump, forming a Y-shaped "saddle".

Plains zebras live in family herds with several females (mares) and their offspring. The herd is led by an adult male (stallion). The stallion protects his harem and babies against enemies and wards of other stallions. When cornered the leader puts up stiff resistance, kicking and biting fiercely. A family stays together and if the stallion is killed, is adopted by another male.

Young males leave the herd between one and three years of age and join the bachelor herd. At five or six years many of them attempt to kidnap young females and if successful, a new one-male herd is formed.

Zebras are generally grazers, feeding mainly on grass. They prefer tall grasses which most other species seem to avoid.

One of the distinctive sounds of the African savannah is the call of the Plains zebra -- a cross between a donkey's bray and a horse's whinny: a hoarse "ha-kwa, ha-kwa, ha-kwa". Zebras often mingle with other herbivores in mixed herds. This is partly for mutual defence: the larger the herd, the less likely any individual animal will be picked off by a lion. An alarm call by a zebra alerts the whole herd to danger. Also, because zebras remove long, coarse grasses, they help other grazing animals such as wildebeeste or buffalo to find shorter, more succulent grazing.

A zebra mare might give birth any time of year. Her newborn foal has brown stripes and is short-bodied and high-legged. Just a few minutes after being born, it wobbles to its feet and within an hour can run by its mother's side. The foal starts to nibble at grasses when only a week old, but continues to drink its mother's milk for almost a year. It will grow fast, doubling its birth weight in just a few weeks.

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Zebra Prints

Zebra Dung