You have probably seen video of great herds of zebras wandering across the plains of Africa. With all those stripes it is hard to tell one zebra from the next. Or is it? In fact, zebras can be classified into three species and several subspecies.

1. Plains Zebra (Equus burchelli)
1. Chapman's (or Damara) Zebra
2. Crawshay's Zebra
3. Grant's Zebra
4. Upper Zambezi Zebra
5. Burchell's zebra (extinct)
6. Quagga (extinct)


2. Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra)
1. Cape Mountain Zebra
2. Hartmann's Mountain Zebra


3. Grevy's Zebra (Equus greyvi)

In body form all equids are quite similar. They are specialized for running and for grazing on grasses, which rapidly wear down the teeth. We can tell the species apart on the basis of characteristics of the skull, teeth and the foot bones. There are also variations in size, color, color patterning, hoof size and shape, mane length, presence or absence of a forelock, tail hair length and distribution, number and size of chestnuts and vocalizations. The three species and subspecies are generally recognized according to variations in the arrangement of the stripes.

1. Plains Zebra (Equus burchelli)

Burchell's (plains) zebras travel in large herds and inhabit the central and eastern plains. The species is named after the British naturalist William John Burchell (1782-1863). They are the most abundant and widespread of wild equids. These zebras live throughout the grasslands of East and southern Africa. The plains zebra is quite stout in comparison with the Grevy's zebra. Shoulder height varies from 120 to 140 centimeters (47-55 in.), and a mature male may weigh 300 kilograms (660 lbs.). Each zebra has individual stripe patterns, but all Plain's zebras have stripes that veer off to the rear of the animal midway through its back and bend on the flanks to become horizontal across the rump. Stripes extend down the rather short legs to broad hooves. The stripes on the sides continue into the short, erect mane and meet under the belly. The stripes can remain solid black, or they can alternate with black and brown (shadow stripes) or even become fuzzy. The different subspecies of Plain's zebras have different amounts of belly and leg striping. Stripes become less distinct on subspecies in the more southerly parts of its range. The plains zebra has differentiated into several subspecies, two of which are now extinct.

The pattern of stripes on all zebras is unique to each individual, with the variation greatest in the shoulder region. This has helped researchers identify and follow individuals over the course of long-term studies and may aid foals and adult zebras of a given harem in identifying each other in the large grazing herds.

Some of the plains zebra subspecies are described here:

a) The Grant's zebra (Equus burchelli boehmi)

The most common of the plains zebra subspecies, the Grant's zebra is the best studied of the plains zebras. Much of what we know of the behavior and biology of the species comes from work done with this subspecies in the wild and in zoos. With broad black stripes on a white background this subspecies is the zebra most frequently seen in zoos and circuses around the world. In the wild its distribution extends from southern Sudan through East Africa south to the Zambesi River. There may be some 300,000 left in the wild; on the Serengeti-Mara Plains alone there are an estimated 150,000 plains zebras. During the rainy season in Serengeti, aggregate herds of up to 10,000 individuals may form, part of one of the last great wildlife spectacles in the world.

b) The Chapman's (Damara) zebra (Equus burchelli antiquorum)

This is a subspecies of plains zebra occurring from Angola and Namibia across northern South Africa to Transvaal. It is characterized by a pattern of broad, dark stripes alternating with thin, light shadow-stripes. The stripes fade into the brownish color of the body on the hindquarters and are absent altogether on the legs.

c) Burchell's zebra (Equus burchelli burchelli)

Unfortunately this subspecies is now extinct. It lacked stripes on the hindquarters. Its basic body color was reddish-yellow. Burchell's zebra existed from southern Botswana into the Orange Free State of South Africa. As European settlement spread northward from the Cape to colonial Southern Rhodesia, this subspecies was hunted to extinction. The wild herds had disappeared by 1910, and the last known individual died in the Berlin Zoo in 1918.

d) Quagga (Equus burchelli quagga)

The southernmost subspecies of South Africa is also extinct. It occurred in large numbers south of the Orange River at the beginning of the nineteenth century, but Boer settlers decimated the population for meat and hides. The quagga disappeared from the wild by 1878, and the last zoo specimen died in 1883. All that remains today are nineteen pelts, a few skulls, three photographs and a few paintings. The quagga was yellowish-brown with stripes that were confined to the head, neck and forebody. DNA from one of the pelts has been retrieved and analyzed, establishing that the quagga was, indeed, a variant of the plains zebra and not a separate species as previously believed. There is currently an experimental breeding program in progress in South Africa to try to reconstruct the quagga from the Chapman's subspecies.

II. Mountain Zebras (Equus zebra)

The mountain zebra is the smallest species, averaging about 4 ft (1.2 m) high at the shoulders, and has a strong, muscular, and symmetrical body. It is silver-white, striped with black markings that extend to every part of the body except the stomach and the inner part of the thighs. The markings on the head are brown, and the muzzle is a rich tan. The legs are short and wiry. Mountain zebras travel in small herds and inhabit the mountain ranges of South Africa. This species was formerly plentiful but has been decimated by intensive hunting.

The most diagnostic feature of both mountain zebra subspecies is a square flap of skin or dewlap on the throat, best developed on males. Mountain zebras never form the large herds characteristic of plains zebras, but do exhibit a harem-type social system. During the winter they move up to twenty kilometers (12 mi.) from a water source. Where they are hunted, they water at night; where they are unmolested, they water at any time.

a) Hartmann's zebra (Equus zebra hartmanni)

This subspecies occupies the rugged, broken terrain at the edge of the African Plateau east of the Namib Desert. Its habitat ranges from open woodland with a grassy understory in southern Angola and Namibia to the succulent steppe of the Karroo in South Africa. In the 1950s, mountain zebras numbered between 50,000 and 75,000 and were regarded as vermin by an expanding livestock industry. Especially in drought years zebras competed with cattle for forage and water, and stampeding zebras occasionally tore down fences. By 1960 only 10,000 were left; and in 1973 Hartmann's zebra was considered and endangered species, with approximately 7,000 head remaining.

Hartmann's zebras have broad black stripes on an off-white body. The stripes extend down the legs to narrow hooves, but do not meet on the belly. These animals stand from 118 to 132 centimeters (46-52 in.) high. This subspecies seeks shade and rests during the hottest parts of the day and has been demonstrated to orient its body with respect to the sun to decrease potential heat load. The vocalizations of the Hartmann's zebra are similar to the neigh of a horse.

b) Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra)

This is the smallest of the zebras, with a shoulder height of about 120 centimeters (47 in.), and the most restricted geographically. Its broad black stripes are closely spaced on a pure white body. Overall it is stockier than the Hartmann's zebra, has longer ears, and has a larger dewlap. The Cape mountain zebra formerly inhabited all the mountain ranges of the southern Cape Province of South Africa. By 1922, however, only 400 were believed to survive. To counteract the continued decline, Mountain Zebra National Park was established in 1937 on acacia veld near Cradock, South Africa, but its small population of Cape mountain zebra became extinct in 1950. That same year reintroductions from nearby remnant populations began. Eleven animals were donated from a nearby farm in 1950, and in 1964 another small herd was added. By the late 1960s, the total Cape mountain population was only 140 but grew to 200 by 1979, with 75 percent of the animals in Mountain Zebra National Park. In 1984, the population was back to 400 head. Since then a few zebras have been reintroduced to the Cape Point Nature Reserve.

3. Grevy's Zebras (Equus grevyi)

The Grevy's zebra is the largest of the wild equids and is usually considered the most primitive morphologically. It is named after the French president Jules Grévy. Adults attain shoulder heights of 140 to 150 centimeters (55-57 in.) and may weigh 400 kilograms (880 lbs.) or more. Its very narrow and closely spaced stripes make the Grevy the most strikingly beautiful of the zebras. The stripes extend all the way to the broad hooves, leaving only the belly white. A narrow zone of white on either side sets off a broad, black dorsal stripe. Grevys are long legged with a slender build and long head. The black-tipped mane is long and erect and their ears are very large and rounded. Grevy's zebras bray in a manner similar to a donkey. Formerly plentiful and of wide range, this species is now confined to the semi-desert of northern Kenya east of the Great Rift Valley and north of the Tana River. Their range extends into neighboring parts of Ethiopia and Somalia. During the rainy season mature stallions establish territories onto which mares come to foal and probably to breed. Gestation is thirteen months, longer than any other equid. Once the foals are born, the mares stay within two kilometers (1.2 mi.) of water and are almost always with the territorial stallion. Foals do not drink water until they are three months olds and -- unlike any other equid -- are left in "kindergartens" frequently guarded by the territorial male while their mothers go to water. Grevy foals begin to forage much earlier than do feral horse foals: a six-week-old Grevy's zebra will graze as often as a five-month old horse. This accelerated development of feeding capability allows the young Grevy foal to become independent of its mother at a relatively early age.

I. Habitat

The digestive system of all equids is designed to extract energy and nutrients from coarse, low-quality forage by permitting passage of large quantities of plant matter through a long hindgut. The intestines of asses and Grevy's zebras are eleven to twelve times the body length; the intestines of mountain zebras and plains zebras are seventeen times the body length. The equid digestive system preadapts these animals to life in habitats dominated by grasses and shrubs. There are strong indications, however, that equids were not always restricted to such marginal habitats as they occupy today. During the Pleistocene (1.6 million to 10,000 years ago) some now-extinct North American species inhabited forested regions. Primarily grazers, most of these animals continue to exhibit considerable flexibility in diet and browse forbs, shrubs and small trees. The seasonal and geographic variations in forage quantity and quality and in water availability typical of arid and semiarid environments cause most wild equid populations to be migratory.

II. Behavior

Zebras live in small family groups consisting of a stallion and several mares with their foals. Zebras are social animals - communicating through changes in the positions of the ears and tail as well as sound. The social group consists of a male and a few females, which stay in the same harem all their adult lives, staying in a home range. However, harems often group to form herds, joined with large numbers of bachelor males, and in places where the dry season is harsh, such as the Serengeti, the harems gather to migrate. Frequently zebras form mixed herds with other animals who gain protection from predators by the zebras' keen sense of hearing.

III. Reproduction

Males fight over the possession of harems, and mating can take place at any time of year (peaking after rain). The gestation period is 370 days, after which a single foal is born that is able to walk and suckle within an hour of birth. If in good condition, the female may come into heat immediately after the birth. Otherwise the birth interval is two years. The mother keeps the foal away from the herd for several days. The foal starts grazing after a few weeks but is not weaned for 8-13 months. Sexual maturity is reached at 3, although males cannot usually defend a harem until they are 6 or more.

For more information about Zebras look at some of these sites:

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-zebra.html

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0309/feature2/

http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/fil/pages/listshrimpaal.html

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