Zebra have black and white stripes for camouflage. But how does black and white help against the green or brown background of the African savannah? When a striped animal stands motionless on a flat landscape of grass and shrubs, it blends into the background.
Amazing, huh? Every zebra has an individual pattern of stripes , as unique as our own fingerprints. They live together in herds.
When hunted, zebra will run. All those black and white stripes create a moving blur. This makes it very difficult for predators to single out their target. Most predators, especially lions, predetermine a target and aim to separate it from the herd.
However, zebra have far greater stamina. But they can run at full speed for over a mile. Their predators must pounce within the first kilometre; none of the cats can sprint for longer than that. So zebra will zigzag and zigzag until the predator runs out of energy.
Zebra are born to run. They can walk and run within one hour of being born. Zebras are herbivores and feed mostly by grazing on grasses, although they also might browse a bit on the leaves and stems of bushes. They graze for many hours each day, using their strong front teeth to clip off the tips of the grass. Their back teeth then crush and grind the food.
Spending so much time chewing wears the teeth down, so those teeth keep growing all their lives. As the dry season arrives and the grasses die back, zebra herds travel to find more food and water holes for drinking. Most zebras are considered nomadic, without specific territories. The exception is the Grevy's zebra. Stallions of this species mark out territories with urine and dung. The mares, their foals, and immature males wander through as they wish. If food becomes scarce, though, the stallions leave their territories for a while and travel with the larger herds.
During certain times of the year, these groups gather together to form loosely associated herds of up to several hundred, but the family groups still stay together within these larger groups. Zebras communicate with one another with facial expressions and sounds. They make loud braying or barking sounds and soft snorts and whuffs.
The position of their ears, how wide open their eyes are, and whether their mouths are open or their teeth are bared all mean something. Ears flat back, for example, means trouble, or you better follow orders! Zebras also reinforce their bonds by grooming each other. You might see two zebras standing head to back, apparently biting each other, but they are really only nibbling on each other with their teeth to pull out loose hair and get a good scratch.
Like domestic horses, zebras put a good deal of energy into raising their offspring. Zebra foals have soft, fuzzy fur, and their stripes are usually brown and white at first. This is important, since the mare needs to move with the herd to find food and water. She cannot leave the foal behind, so it must be up and running quickly in order to stay with the family. Foals must be able to recognize their mother from birth in order to survive. Mares usually do not adopt other foals, so there would be no chance of getting food from anyone but Mom.
As they touch down and push off, then their front legs continue the stride, reaching forwards and pulling them on. Learn more about the different zebra species. Zebras can run almost right away from birth. Within an hour of being born, baby zebras can start to walk. Within 24 hours, baby zebras learn how to run. This is important for getting away from predators. Zebras are migratory creatures. They may move around with the seasons to find better sources of food and water.
Plains zebras have been recorded traveling miles kilometers , quite the distance! Lions, leopards , cheetahs, hyenas , wild dogs, and even Nile crocodiles if they get too close in the water. Lions may use surprise to hunt a zebra and have to catch zebras within the first six seconds of their assault.
Other predators, like wild dogs and cheetahs, may focus priority on young zebras. If these ones are hunting as a herd, they may try to take on an adult zebra. However, an adult has a powerful kick to defend itself, and may also bite.
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