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Zebra Facts

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  • Burchell’s zebra is the most common one. There are about 300,000 of them living wild in Africa.
  • There are also Grevy’s zebra living in Africa, although there are not as many of them as Burchell’s zebra. It is taller and heavier than Burchell’s zebra. It has big round furry ears and long legs. The biggest difference between the Grevy’s zebra and Burchell’s is in the stripes. The stripes on Grevy’s zebra are much closer. This makes it harder for lions to see them in the long grass. Lions eat zebras when they can catch them. Zebras eat grass. The herd moves from place to place to find more grass.
  • A little bird, called a fork-tailed drongo, often travels with them. It sits on the zebra’s back and eats the insects which are kicked up by its hooves.
  • Zebras drink at water-holes. Zebras need to have a long drink once a day. They like to stand in the water too.
  • Dust can be useful too. When a zebra has an itchy back, it lies down and has a good roll. Zebras also help each other with itches. They nibble along their backs to get rid of insects.
  • Sometimes they are not so friendly. Young males live together in groups until they start a herd of their own. When their is a young female around, the stallions will bite and kick one another. But they don’t fight to the death. When one has had enough, he lowers his head and trots away.
  • Most of the time zebras get along well together. They also get along well with other animals. They can be seen drinking along side a kudu or a giraffe at a water hole.
  • Unlike horses, zebras cannot be trained and tamed by people. People used to hunt them for their skins. Now we try to look after them.

Zebra Facts

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  • Zebras are part of the same family as horses. So a young one is called a foal, the same name as for baby horses.
  • They look different than a horse though, they are covered in beautiful black and white stripes.
  • The mother zebra, who is called a mare, carries her foal for about a year. About an hour after it is born, a zebra foal can stand on its long thin legs. It stays close to its mother until it is strong enough to run. The mother protects it from lions and other dangers.
  • Even when it is a year old, a zebra foal still likes its mothers milk. But some zebra mares have a foal every year, so the year old foal will have to make way for the baby and go on to eat what the adult zebras eat.
  • Each foal knows its own mother. They need to because they live in groups, called herds. A herd has one male zebra, the stallion. Then there are up to six mares and their foals. When one zebra starts to run, the rest run too.
  • The hair along a zebras neck stands up instead of hanging down like a horse’s mane. The neck stripes go right up into the mane.
  • Every zebra has its own special pattern which others recognize.