African Food and Art

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Chic Zebra facts, 30 to be exact

Learn all you wanted to know about chic African Zebras with 30 scientific facts.

Do you love chic animals, especially Zebras?  We all could easily explain why Zebras hold such a special place in our hearts, who doesn’t love the contrasting chic colors living harmoniously on one of Africa’s most popular animals. 

Chic Zebra facts, 30 to be exact

Zebra foals are born with brown and white stripes.
Zebra foals are born with brown and white stripes.

The shadow of the zebra has no stripes - African Proverb

1.   Scientific name of the Zebra is Equus quagga.

2.   All the Zebras in the world live in Eastern and Southern Africa.

3.   There are three species of zebra, Burchell's or the plains zebra, Grevy's zebra and the mountain zebra.

4.   All Zebras live in Africa and each species of zebra has its own living home area.

5.   Plains zebras live in the treeless grasslands and woodlands of eastern and southern Africa. Tanzania and Kenya has at least eight to ten types of plains zebras numbering around 750,000.

6.   Grevy zebras live in in the grasslands of Ethiopia and northern Kenya and there are only about 2,500 remaining today.

7.   The mountain zebra is found in South Africa, Namibia and Angola. There are 600-700 cape mountain zebras and around 800-1300 Hartmann's mountain zebras in the wild.

8.   While most zebras are Least Endangered, Grevy's Zebra is classified as Endangered.

Different zebra species have different types of stripes, from narrow to wide.
Different zebra species have a different type  of stripes, from narrow to wide.

9.   Different zebra species have different types of stripes, from narrow to wide.

10.       Zebras are herbivores and primarily eat a variety of grasses. They are also known to eat shrubs, herbs, twigs, leaves, and bark.

11.       Newborn Zebras are called foals.

12.       Zebra foals are born with brown and white stripes.

13.       Foals can walk just 20 minutes after they are born.

14.       The zebra's biggest threats are habitat loss due to ranching and farming and competition for water with livestock. They are also hunted for their skins.

15.       Zebras are 4 to 5 feet tall at the shoulder.

16.       Zebras have excellent hearing and eyesight.

17.       Underneath its hair, a zebra's skin is black.

Each zebra has its own unique pattern of distinctive stripes.
Each zebra has its own unique pattern of distinctive stripes.

18.       Each zebra has its own unique pattern of distinctive stripes.

19.       Zebras can run at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.

20.       The lead male of the herd called a stallion stays at the back of the group to defend against predators.

21.       Zebras stick together in herds.

22.       Within a herd, zebras tend to stay together in smaller family groups.

23.       Families are generally made up of a male, several females, and their young.

24.       When zebras are grouped together, their stripes make it hard for a lion or leopard to pick out one zebra.

25.       Zebras often travel in mixed herds with other grazers and browsers, such as wildebeest.

26.       Zebras communicate with facial expressions and sounds.

Zebras often travel in mixed herds with other grazers and browsers, such as wildebeest.
Zebras often travel in mixed herds with other grazers and browsers, such as wildebeest.

27.       Zebras make loud braying or barking sounds and soft snorting sounds.

28.       Zebras position of their ears, how wide open their eyes are, and whether they show their teeth all send a signal.

29.       As a zebra grazes, it uses its sharper front teeth to bite the grass, and then uses its duller back teeth to crush and grind.

30.       A zebra's teeth keep growing for its entire life, because constant grazing and chewing wears them down.

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