Zebras
Scientific Name: Equus zebra (mountain zebra)
Equus grevyi (Grevyi's zebra)
Equus burchellii (common zebra)
Habitat
Zebras live in two places. The first is in zoos around the world. The other place, which is where only wild zebras roam free, is the sunny plains of Africa. They live in large herds along with giraffes, elephants, rhinos, hippos, and predators like lions, cheetahs, and leopards. The places they live in are covered in long, wild, golden grass that the zebras are constantly grazing on. Also, there are a few acacia trees dotted here and there. Usually there are a couple large watering holes shared by all animals, since the African plains are relatively dry. The African plains have two periods, or seasons, in a year too. They have a short period where lots of rain falls, and they have a long period called the Dry Period where no precipitation falls whatsoever. Also, the temperature can be very hot during the day, reaching highs of about 80-90 degrees everyday. However, night is a different story. The nights get really cold and chilly.
Diet
Zebras don't have a very amazing diet. They're herbivores, which means that they only eats plants and leaves and grass. Zebras, in particular, eat one very special thing all day long: grass!!! Isn't that amazing? A single adult zebra can eat about twice it's body weight in grass in one day. That's a lot of grass!! However, sometimes zebras also eat fallen leaves from the acacia trees that the giraffes or elephants knock down. Yummy!!!
Description
Zebras are one of the most unique animals on Earth. They all are black and white, complete with a set of stripes just as unique as a person's fingerprint; no two zebras' stripes look alike. They look just like horses, except for a few things. For one, instead of a pretty flowing mane they having something more like a Mohawk, which is also striped black and white. Another thing is their ears are bigger so that they can hear better for those lurking predators. Aren't zebras just original?
Breeds
Zebra come in three different types, or breeds. The first is the plains zebra, the most common zebra. They look like any standard zebra. The second is the mountain zebra. That's right, you guessed it. These zebras live in the mountains. The last is the Gravy's zebra. These zebras live in the rockier terrain, and they have a certain look that makes this zebra different than the others. They have a big red stripe across their muzzle, or where the hair turns black. Funky, right?
Fun Facts
- Zebras got the nickname "horse-tigers" from the ancient Romans. They thought that the strange animals had the body of a horse, but the stripes of a tiger.
- Zebras can run up to 60 miles per hour for about five minutes if they are really trying to escape from an attacking predator.
- When the tall giraffes become alert because of a sneaky predator, the zebras take their cue to quickly warn the herd and move to a different part of the plains.
- There used to be twelve different types of zebra. However, about nine have gone extinct already since so may zebras are being poached for their exotic furs. That leaves the three zebras listed in the Breeds section above alive today.