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Grevy's Zebra
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Equus grevyi
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Perissodactyla
FAMILY: Equidae
GENUS: Equus
SPECIES: Grevyi
LIFESPAN: 20 to 25 years in the wild; 25 to 30 years in captivity
COLOR/PATTERN: Dark brown stripes on the body are narrow, positioned close together, and do not cover the belly which is white. Mane is tall and erect, unlike a horse’s. The ears are large and donkey like with thick fur inside with white tips. It has a long head, with a broad forehead tapering to a narrow brown muzzle. They have slender, horizontal stripes down to the hoof.
HABITAT: Semi-arid scrub and grasslands
RANGE: Ethiopia and northern Kenya
HEIGHT: 4.5 to 5 feet at shoulder
WEIGHT: 900 pounds (average)
REPRODUCTION: One foal every two to three years
GESTATION: 380 to 390 days
DIET: Mostly grasses, also shrubs and trees
ACTIVE: Diurnal
STATUS: Listed by the USFWS as threatened; protected by CITES.
NOTES:
- Grevy’s zebras are the largest of all zebras.
- Grevy’s zebras are unusual because they do not form long lasting bonds like the plains zebras. Their group composition may change on an hourly basis.
- Within an hour after it is born, a foal can run with the rest of the herd and can recognize its mother with smell and sight.
- Stripes may cause confusion by making it hard for a predator to single out an individual.
- Each zebra has a unique stripe pattern, like a person’s fingerprint.
- The major threats to the Grevy’s zebra are introduced livestock that compete for grazing land and hunting for zebra skins.
- Zebras are beneficial to other wild grazers because they clear off the tops of coarse grasses that are difficult for other herbivores to digest.
- Males mark territories with dung piles that can be up to 16 inches high and several square feet wide.
- The male zebra has pointed canine teeth, a feature that is usually found only in flesh-eating animals.
- They can run up to speeds of 35mph.
- A Grevy’s zebra makes a braying sound like a mule.
Last Update:Wednesday, May 11, 2005 at 13:52:00
