🐾 Plains Zebra

Plains Zebra

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Who it is

• Scientific name: Equus quagga
• Family & relatives: A wild member of the horse family Equidae, closely related to horses, donkeys, and other zebras.
• How to spot it: A horse-shaped animal covered in bold black-and-white stripes, with a stiff upright mane and a tufted tail.

Its body & abilities

• Size: About 1.2 to 1.5 m tall at the shoulder and 2 to 2.6 m long.
• Weight: Roughly 175 to 385 kg (385 to 850 lb).
• Body & adaptations: Every zebra's stripe pattern is unique, like a fingerprint, and its strong legs end in a single sturdy hoof.
• Top speed: Can gallop up to about 65 km/h (40 mph) to outrun hunters.
• Strength: A powerful kick from its back legs can drive off a lion or hyena.
• Senses: Sharp eyesight and hearing, with eyes on the sides of its head to watch for danger all around.
• Growing up: A striped foal can stand and run within an hour of birth, nurses for months, and grows up by around three years.

Where it lives

• Habitat: Grasslands, savannas, and open woodlands with plenty of grass and water.
• Where in the world: Eastern and southern Africa, from Kenya and Tanzania down to South Africa.
• Territory: Not strongly territorial; family groups roam wide home ranges following the rains and fresh grass.

What it eats

• Diet: A grazing herbivore that eats mostly grass and needs to drink water often.
• Favorite foods: Mainly grasses, plus some leaves, bark, and buds when grass is scarce.
• How it hunts: It grazes across the plains in groups, moving to fresh grass and staying alert for predators.

How it behaves

• How it moves: Walks, trots, and gallops like a horse and can make sharp turns to escape a chase.
• When it is active: Mostly active by day, grazing morning and evening and resting during the midday heat.
• Family life: Very social, living in small family groups that gather into big herds called a dazzle.
• How it talks: Communicates with barks, brays, snorts, ear positions, and facial expressions.
• Babies: After about a 12-month pregnancy the mother has a single foal, which she guards closely at first.

Its place in nature

• Role in nature: An important grazer and prey animal; lions, hyenas, and wild dogs are its main predators.
• Conservation: Listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN, with numbers falling due to habitat loss and hunting.
• Dangers: Dies mainly from predators, drought, and loss of its grassland home.

Life & legacy

• How long it lives: About 20 years in the wild and up to around 40 years in captivity.
• In our culture: A beloved symbol of the African savanna, famous for its striking black-and-white stripes.
• Where to see it: The Serengeti in Tanzania, Kenya's Maasai Mara, Kruger in South Africa, and reputable zoos worldwide.
• Fun fact: Scientists think a zebra's stripes may help confuse biting flies and keep the herd cool in the sun.