3 Zebra Species You Probably Don’t Know

Scientific Name: Equus Grevyi

The grévy’s zebra aka imperial zebra is actually the largest member among the equid family which includes asses, horses, and zebras. What makes this zebra species different from the other two is that they are the tallest. It stands from 1.45 to 1.6 meters tall, with a head-body length of around 2.5 to 2.75 meters. Another distinctive feature is the tall mane that stays erected, the only feature that this species has. A grévy’s zebra has a large and long head with large rounded mule-like ears, and a slender snout. Along with that, they also have the thickest stripes of all zebras so the gap between each stripe is narrow. Their black and white striping pattern is broader on the neck while the belly and tail base lack stripes.

This zebra species inhabits parts of Ethiopia and Kenya, living in semi-arid savanna where they feed on browse, grasses, and legumes. Grévy’s zebras can survive up to a week without water but they will drink daily when water presents. While other members of the family live in a harem, this one doesn’t. It rather maintains their long-lasting social bonds where the mothers and the foals travel together, and the stallions are solitary. These adult stallions are territorial, and they remain in their claimed territory year-round if there is enough water. The mares will wander from one territory to another in search of the ones with high-quality food and water sources. Stallions are usually okay with other stallions in their territories, and they actually seek the company of each other. However, things are the opposite with the presence of an estrous mare.

Threats

Grévy’s zebras are now endangered due to competition with livestock, habitat loss, and hunting. Living in the savannas, it is not uncommon for them to fall prey to lions. There are other predators like African hunting dogs, cheetahs, leopards, and spotted hyenas that also hunt the young.

Scientific Name: Equus Zebra

Mountain zebras have an average height of around 1.1 to 1.5 meters and a head-body length of 2.1 to 2.6 meters. A mountain zebra has a white body with black to deep brown stripes that are narrow on the head and torso. Even the legs are striped to the hooves, and this is the trait that exists in this specific zebra species. The head of the animal is short and striped, and it has long ears and a dark muzzle. It has a short mane that is striped continuously with the neck. The mountain zebra has dorsal stripes that form a distinctive gridiron pattern. This pattern continues onto the tail and extends to the whisk near the tip. You can easily tell mountain zebras apart from other zebra species by the distinctive dewlap that hangs from its throat.

Native to Southwestern Africa, mountain zebras inhabit not only mountain slopes and mountain terrains but also open grasslands and woodlands. Their usual habitats are dry, hot, and rocky hills or mountains where vegetation is sufficient, especially places with a diversity of grass species. They spend most of their daytime grazing and resting, and they rest by either lying down or standing up. As for the lifestyle, mountain zebras live in a small family group. The group consists of a single stallion with 1 to 5 mares and their recent offspring. When a stallion attempts to take over a herd, serious fighting like biting and kicking may occur. Bachelor males in live separate groups, and mature bachelors establish a harem by capturing young mares.

Threats

This zebra species is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to habitat degradation, habitat loss, and hunting. The agricultural development disrupts the movements of these zebra species through fencing or by preventing access to surface water. Their common predators in the wild are African wild dogs, cheetahs, hunting dogs, leopards, lions, and spotted hyenas. People also hunt them for their skin and because they compete with livestock for grazing.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies of the mountain zebra: the Cape Mountain Zebra and Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra. Both subspecies are good climbers thanks to their hard and pointy hooves. Let’s quickly learn a little bit about each of them below.

Cape Mountain Zebra

Scientific Name: Equus Zebra Zebra

The Cape mountain zebra is the smallest zebra species, having a shoulder height of only around 1.1 to 1.2 meters. A Cape mountain zebra has a black and white striping pattern, with each stripe narrower than other species. As a mountain zebra, this one also has a dewlap on its throat as well. This zebra species is the most geographically restricted, being native to the Eastern and Western Cape provinces of South Africa. Across their small range, they feed on green leafy plants such as the South African red grass and weeping lovegrass. There are two types of herds: breeding herd and bachelor herd, each has between 5 and 8 individuals. Competition with domestic livestock, habitat loss, hunting, and persecution are the reasons why they are considered Vulnerable.

Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra

Scientific Name: Equus Zebra Hartmannae

Slightly bigger, Hartmann mountain zebras are around 1.5 meters tall at shoulders. The Hartmann’s mountain zebra has narrow stripes but bigger than the Cape subspecies, but the dewlap is also there. Those stripes are all over the body, all the way down to their hooves while the belly is white. However, the coat of this subspecies is not always white. Some can be reddish due to their habit of rolling around in dirt and mud, making them look rather dusty. This behavior is known asa  dust bath when the zebras roll around vigorously in dust and mud that clings to their fur. This helps keep their skin cool and protects them from insects.

As for this one, its range is in far southwestern Angola and western Namibia, inhabiting dry rocky areas and semi-wooded grasslands. Since they are grazers, this mountain zebra species spends most of their time feeding. They are also adapted to rugged and broken mountain escarpments where permanent sources and a sufficient variety of grasses are available. These zebras live in arid conditions and steep mountainous country where their ability to climb is extremely useful. They live in small groups comprised of 3 to 12 individuals including one stallion and many mares, or just bachelors.

Scientific Name: Equus Quagga

Here you are looking at the most common zebra species that is geographically widespread. Plain zebras are smaller than the Grévy’s zebra but larger than mountain zebras, standing at a height of 1.2 to 1.4 meters. A plain zebra has a stocky body with short legs while the ears are upright with rounded tips. One of their most unique features is the broader stripes that are way larger than other zebra species. The stripes are vertical on the forepart of the body a horizontal on the hindquarters. On top of the stripes, they also have stiff erected hairs for manes as well.

Plain zebras are nomadic and non-territorial, and they are highly social animals. A single stallion forms a harem with several mares and their recent offspring that last for months up to years. Family groups protect and care for all their members, and they will slow down for sick or injured individuals. And if there is a stray member, they will also backtrack to bring it back to the herd. Bachelor groups of all males that can be up to 15 members also exist. During migrations, multiple harms and bachelor groups will come together to form larger herds with hundreds of animals.

The distribution of the plain zebras is across Eastern and Southern Africa where they roam savanna woodlands and treeless grasslands. Another cool thing about them is that they are adapted for grazing on both long tough grass stems and newly emerging short grass. Thanks to their flexible upper lips, pushing plant material between their incisors to cut is easy for them. They spend most of their time feeding, and they also drink water, dust bathe, rest, and rub.

Threats

Plain zebras avoid dense rainforests, deserts, and permanent wetlands where predators can attack them. They usually fall prey to African wild dogs, cheetahs, lions, Nile crocodiles, and spotted hyenas. Human activities also threaten their population, and hunting for hide and meat is still occurring. More than that, habitat loss due to farming and loss of open grasslands also drive their status to Near Threatened.

Subspecies

Being so common is one thing, having a lot of subspecies is another thing. To this day, there are 5 subspecies of plain zebra around the world. Some of them are very widely distributed so let’s see what they are.

Burchell’s Zebra

Scientific Name: Equus Quagga Burchellii

Burchell’s zebra also goes by other names such as bontequagga, Damaraland zebra, and Zululand zebra. A Burchell’s zebra stands from 1.1 to 1.4 meters at the shoulder, and both sexes have similar sizes. While many zebra species have a white belly, this one does not. It has stripes on its head, neck, and flanks all the way to the upper segments of the limbs. Not all stripes are black and white, some may appear faint brown or leave a brown shadow strip in the white region. You can tell it apart from other subspecies by the white body, a distinct dorsal line, and a bristly tail.

The range of this zebra is across Southeastern Africa, being extra dense in the Serengeti-Mara plains of Kenya and Tanzania. They roam the open savannas, and their favorite habitats are open grasslands, open scrub environments, and open woodlands. As migrating animals, they also inhabit heavy woodland areas, hilly country, mountainous regions, and tall grasslands. They are grazers but they also browse on herbs, leaves, and twigs occasionally. What’s extremely unique is that it is the only zebra subspecies that may be legally farmed for human consumption. And at the same time, it is also the only subspecies whose population is doing well in the wild.

Chapman’s Zebra

Scientific Name: Equus Quagga Chapmani

Chapman’s zebras have a similar height to Burchell’s zebras, standing 1.2 to 1.3 tall. It has a mane that sticks upright, and it is different from other zebras because their stripes continue past their knees. More than that, they also have brown stripes between in addition to the black and white stripes. As for this one, it is from Southern Africa, inhabiting a variety of habitats. They live in hilly areas, light woodlands, mountain slopes, and savannas where they feed on barks, buds, grasses, and leaves. Their numbers are declining every year, and Chapman’s zebras are already extinct in Burundi and Lesotho. Climate change, drought, farming, human settlements, hunting, and poaching are the main reasons that affect their population. With many conservation efforts to maintain their number, hopefully, their population will increase in the future.

Crawshay’s Zebra

Scientific Name: Equus Quagga Crawshayi

A Crawshay’s zebra has narrow stripes on its striking white background, extending complete and unbroken down to the hooves. In fact, it has the most narrow stripes among other plain zebra species out there. One of their distinctive features is that they have 5 or more stripes joining the belly stripes. Meanwhile, other subspecies have fewer than 5 stripes. Another thing is that you can tell a Crawshay’s zebra apart from other subspecies when it opens its mouth. The lower incisors of this zebra lack an infundibulum which is a dental cup. It is endemic to the Luangwa River in Zambia, and they do not exist anywhere else in other parts of Africa.

Grant’s Zebra

Scientific Name: Equus Quagga Boehmi

This is the smallest plain zebra subspecies, it has a stocky body and it stands around 1.2 to 1.4 meters tall. A Grant’s zebra has vertical stripes in the front, horizontal stripes on its back legs, and diagonal stripes on its hind flanks and rumps. Grant’s zebra has a distribution in Zambia and many other parts across countries in Africa. Their habitats are grasslands and savanna woodlands, and the mountain variety ones live in rocky mountainous areas. They feed on coarse grasses on the African plains. What’s so interesting about this zebra subspecies is that it has a good population in the wild. They are resistant to diseases that often kill cattle but they still are killed by people for their coats.

Maneless Zebra

Scientific Name: Equus Quagga Borensis

Maneless zebras have slight shadow stripes on the lower rump and upper back legs. Despite the name, maneless zebras are not actually maneless, they just have the shortest mane among other zebras. The tricky part is that females and foals of this species have short manes; however, it is absent in males. Its range spread over the northern parts of eastern Africa, living throughout northwest Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda. Across their ranges, maneless zebras feed on course vegetation in arid grassland habitats such as shrublands and savannas. Their population is very low at the moment; hence, the Threatened Status on the IUCN Red List.

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