ZEBRA

Zebras are African equids best known for their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. There are 3 species of zebras: the plains zebra, the Grévy's zebra and the mountain zebra.

Zebras feed almost entirely on grasses, but may occasionally eat shrubs, herbs, twigs, leaves and bark. Their digestive systems allow them to subsist on diets of lower nutritional quality than that necessary for other herbivores. The common plains zebra is about 1.3 m at the shoulder with a body ranging from 2–2.6 m long with an 0.5 m tail. It can weigh up to 350 kg, males being slightly bigger than females

Female zebras mature earlier than the males, and a mare may have her first foal by the age of three. Males are not able to breed until the age of five or six. Mares may give birth to one foal every twelve months. She nurses the foal for up to a year. Like horses, zebras are able to stand, walk and suckle shortly after they are born. A zebra foal is brown and white instead of black and white at birth.