|
 |
 |
Zebra |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Info: Biography, Pictures, Discography of all CDs & DVDs |
|
| For other uses, see Zebra (disambiguation).They are generally social animals and can be seen in large herds with other grazers.Unlike their closest relatives, horses and donkeys, zebras have not been truly domesticated.There are three species of zebra: the Plains Zebra, Grevy's Zebra and the Mountain Zebra.They can be found in a variety of habitats, such as grasslands, savannas, woodlands, thorny scrublands, mountains and coastal hills.Ecology and Behavior
3.The Grevy's zebra is believed to have been the first zebra species to emerge.Zebras might have lived in North America in prehistoric times.Fossils of an ancient equid were discovered in the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument in Hagerman, Idaho.While the animal's overall anatomy seems to be more horselike, its skull and teeth indicate that it was more closely related to the Grevy's Zebra.Thus it is also called the American zebra or Hagerman Zebra.Also, recent studies suggested that the Grevy's zebra is in fact not related to the other zebras species but to asses while the other zebras are more related to horses.Thus it is placed in a different subgenus from the Hippotigris zebras, Dolichohippus.Zebra populations vary a great deal, and the relationships between and the taxonomic status of several of the subspecies are well known.The Plains Zebra (Equus quagga, formerly Equus burchelli) is the most common, and has or had about twelve subspecies distributed across much of southern and eastern Africa.It, or particular subspecies of it, have also been known as the Common Zebra, the Dauw, Burchell's Zebra (actually the subspecies Equus quagga burchelli), Chapman's Zebra, Wahlberg's Zebra, Selous' Zebra, Grant's Zebra, Boehm's Zebra and the Quagga (another extinct subspecies, Equus quagga quagga).The Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra) of southwest Africa tends to have a sleek coat with a white belly and narrower stripes than the Plains Zebra.The Grevy's Zebra is one of the rarest species of zebra around today, and is classified as endangered.Although zebra species may have overlapping ranges, they do not interbreed.This held true even when the Quagga and Burchell's race of Plains Zebra shared the same area.According to Dorcas McClintock in "A Natural History Of Zebras," Grevy's zebra has 46 chromosomes; plains zebras have 44 chromosomes and mountain zebras have 32 chromosomes.In captivity, Plains Zebras have been crossed with mountain zebras.The hybrid foals lacked a dewlap and resembled the Plains Zebra apart from their larger ears and their hindquarters pattern.Attempts to breed a Grevy's zebra stallion to Mountain Zebra mares resulted in a high rate of miscarriage.Zebras are black or dark animals with white stripes and their bellies have a large white blotch for camouflage purposes.Some zebras have brown "shadow stripes" in between the white and black coloring.It is believed that zebras have a dark background for the following three reasons: (1) white equids would not survive well in the African plains or forests; (2) The quagga, an extinct Plains zebra subspecies, had the zebra striping pattern in the front of the animal, but had a dark rump; (3) when the region between the pigmented bands becomes too wide, secondary stripes emerge, as if suppression was weakening.The fact that some zebras have pure white bellies and legs is not very strong evidence for a white background, since many animals of different colors have white or light colored bellies and legs.The stripes are typically vertical on the head, neck, forequarters, and main body, with horizontal stripes at the rear and on the legs of the animal.The "zebra crossing" is named after the zebra's black and white stripes.This is accomplished in several ways.First, the vertical striping helps the zebra hide in grass.While seeming absurd at first glance considering that grass is neither white nor black, it is supposed to be effective against the zebra's main predator, the lion, which is colour blind.Theoretically a zebra standing still in tall grass may not be noticed at all by a lion.Stripes are also believed to play a role in sexual attractions, with slight variations of the pattern allowing the animals to distinguish between individuals.Alternative theories include that the stripes coincide with fat patterning beneath the skin, serving as a thermoregulatory mechanism for the zebra, and that wounds sustained disrupt the striping pattern to clearly indicate the fitness of the animal to potential mates.Gaits
Like horses, zebras walk, trot, canter and gallop.They are generally slower than horses but their great stamina helps them outpace predators, especially lions, who get tired rather quickly.When cornered the zebra will rear up and kick or bite its attacker.Senses
Zebras have excellent eyesight.Like most ungulates the zebra has its eyes on the sides of its head, giving it a wide field of view.Zebras also have night vision although it's not as advanced as that of most of their predators but their hearing compensates.Zebras have great hearing, and tend to have larger, rounder ears than horses.Like horses and other ungulates, zebra can turn their ears in almost any direction.In addition to eyesight and hearing, zebra have an acute sense of smell and taste.Like most members of the horse family, zebras are highly sociable.Mountain zebras and Plains zebras live in groups consisting of one stallion with up to six mares and their foals.Mares have a dominance hierarchy.The stallions first mates with the alpha female zebra and then down.When attacked by packs of hyenas or wild dogs, a Plains zebra group will huddle together with the foals in the middle while the stallion tries to ward them off.Unlike the other zebra species, Grevy's zebras do not have permanent social bonds.However like the other two zebra species, Bachelor male zebra will organize in groups.Like horses, zebras sleep standing up and only sleep when neighbors are around to warn them of predators.Communication
Zebras communicate with each other with high pitched barks and whinnying.When a zebra is in a calm, tense or friendly mood, its ears stand erect.When surveying an area for predators, zebras will stand in an alert posture; with ears erect, head held high, and staring.When tense they will also snort.When a predator is spotted or sensed, a zebra will bark loudly.Zebra strengthen their social bonds with grooming.Mothers and foals groom the most often followed by siblings.Food and foraging
Zebras are very adaptable grazers.They feed mainly on grasses but will also eat shrubs, herbs, twigs, leaves and bark.Their well adapted digestive system allows them to subsist on diets of lower nutritional quality than that necessary for herbivores.Reproduction
Like most animal species, female zebras mature earlier than the males and a mare may have her first foal by the age of three.She nurses the foal for up to a year.Like horses, zebras are able to stand, walk and suckle shortly after they're born.Plains and Mountain zebra foals are protected by their mother as well as the head stallion and the other mares in their group.Grevy's zebra groups often disable after a few months.Lord Rothschild with his famed zebra carriage (Equus burchelli), which he frequently drove through London.Attempts have been made to train zebras for riding since they have better resistance than horses to African diseases.However most of these attempts failed, due to the zebra's more unpredictable nature and tendency to panic under stress.In England, the zoological collector Lord Rothschild frequently used zebras to draw a carriage.Captain Horace Hayes, in "Points of the Horse" (circa 1899) compared the usefulness of different zebra species.Hayes saddled and bridled a Mountain zebra in less than one hour, but was unable to give it a "mouth" during the two days it was in his possession.He noted that the zebra's neck was so stiff and strong that he was unable to bend it in any direction.Although he taught it to do what he wanted in a circus ring, when he took it outdoors he was unable to control it.He found the Burchell's zebra easy to break in and considered it ideal for domestication, as it was also immune to the bite of the tsetse fly.Conservation
Modern man have had great impact on the zebra population since the 19th century.Zebras were, and still are, hunted mainly for their skins.The Cape mountain zebra was hunted to near extinction with less than 100 individuals by the 1930s.Both Mountain zebra subspecies are currently protected in national parks but are still endangered.The Grevy's zebra is also endangered.Because of the population's small size, environmental hazards, such as drought, are capable of easily affecting the entire species.Plains zebras are much more numerous and have a healthy population.One subspecies, the quagga, is now extinct.Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes: Further Reflections in Natural History.How do a zebra's stripes act as camouflage?.How the zebra got its stripes: biting flies as selective agents in the evolution of zebra colouration.The Behavior Guide to African Mammals, Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates.Natural History Of Zebras" September 1976."Points of the Horse" (circa 1899)
Churcher, C.Re: Is a zebra white with black stripes or black with white stripes?This page was last modified 19:15, 30 December 2007.All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.See Copyrights for details.Zebras take dust or mud baths to get clean.They shake the dirt off to get rid of loose hair and flaky
skin.What's left protects them from sun, wind, and insects.Even if stripes are painted on a wall, a zebra will tend to
go stand next to it!Wild Animal Park: Grevy's zebras and Hartmann's mountain zebras Equus zebra hartmannae in Field Exhibits.Feed a giraffe, help a zebra
Every weekend from 12 to 1 p.The money raised goes to the Northern Rangelands Trust and the Grevy's Zebra Trust, both of which help zebras in the wild!Listen to a zebra!Habitat: most zebras live in grasslands and savannas.The Grevy's zebra lives in subdesert and arid grasslands.Zebras are equids, members of the horse family.Zebras are generally thought to have white
coats with black (sometimes brown) stripes.However (there had to be a catch, right?So it kind of depends on how you look at it!So, why the
stripes?They serve as a kind of protection from predators!Different zebra species
have different types of stripes, from narrow to wide.African plains you travel, the farther apart
the stripes on the zebras get!Their back teeth then crush and grind the food.Spending so much time chewing wears the zebra's teeth down, so
their teeth keep growing all their lives.Most zebras are considered nomadic,
without specific territories.The exception is the Grevy's zebra Equus grevyi.If food becomes scarce, though, the stallions will leave
their territories for awhile and travel with the larger herds.Zebras at the San
Diego Zoo and the Wild Animal Park are fed hay, alfalfa, and carrots.Zebras communicate with
one another with facial expressions and sounds.Ears flat back, for example, means trouble, or you
better follow orders!Zebra foals are dark brown and white at birth.They can walk just
20 minutes after they are born, and can run after an hour!The black and white stripes also act as camouflage called disruptive coloration that breaks up the outline of the body.Zebras have horselike bodies, but their manes are made of short, erect hair, their tails are tufted at the tip and their coats are striped.Three species of zebra still occur in Africa, two of which are found in East Africa.The most numerous and widespread species in the east is Burchell's, also known as the common or plains zebra.The other is the Grevy's zebra, named for Jules Grevy, a president of France in the 1880s who received one from Abyssinia as a gift, and now found mostly in northern Kenya.The third species, Equus zebra, is the mountain zebra, found in southern and southwestern Africa.The Burchell's zebra is built like a stocky pony.Its coat pattern can vary greatly in number and width of stripes.At dawn or in the evening, when their predators are most active, zebras look indistinct and may confuse predators by distorting distance.Burchell's zebras inhabit savannas, from treeless grasslands to open woodlands; they sometimes occur in tens of thousands in migratory herds on the Serengeti plains.Grevy's zebras are now mainly restricted to parts of northern Kenya.All the stallions in the area will fight for a filly in this condition, as she will permanently stay with whichever stallion succeeds in mating with her.The newest female in a harem assumes lowest social status, and is often received with hostility by the other females.When a foal is born the mother keeps all other zebras (even the members of her family) away from it for 2 or 3 days, until it learns to recognize her by sight, voice and smell.The zebra, though water dependent, is a very adaptable grazer, able to eat both short young shoots and long flowering grasses.Wildebeests and gazelle follow once the zebras have trampled and clipped the vegetation shorter.Predators and Threats
Zebras are important prey for lions and hyenas, and to a lesser extent for hunting dogs, leopards and cheetahs.Burchell's zebra is most in danger of habitat loss and competition for water with livestock.At first glance zebras in a herd might all look alike, but their stripe patterns are as distinctive as fingerprints are in man.Scientists can identify individual zebras by comparing patterns, stripe widths, color and scars.Adopt a Mountain Gorilla, Zebra, Elephant, Lion, or Giraffe.TCP MD5 authentication for OpenBSD was added.Old commands "show ipv6 summary" and "show ipv6 mbgp summary" are removed.Replaced entire module as new OSPF6d code written by Yasuhiro Ohara.Many bugs and problems are fixed.Community delete bug is fixed.Option parameter length bug is fixed.NSM event schedule bug is fixed.Update Opaque LSA patch.Changes in ospf6d
Update to the latest Ohara's code.Copyright (C) 2003 IP Infusion Inc.There are two subspecies of mountain zebra.Equus zebra is endangered and
Equus zebra hartmannae is threatened.Mountain zebras have black and white stripes all over their bodies except their
stomachs, which are white.Their slender, pointed
ears reach up to eight inches in length.Mountain zebras have manes of short
hair that stick straight up from their necks.Mountain zebras weight between 530 and 820
pounds.They are four to five feet tall at the shoulder.Equus zebra
is generally larger than Equus zebra hartmannae.Members of the genus Equus (horses, donkeys and zebras) can live 25 to 45 years.Mountain zebras occur in southwestern Africa.Equus zebra inhabits South
Africa and Equus zebra hartmannae inhabits Namibia and Angola.The primary habitats of mountain zebras are the slopes and plateaus of
mountainous regions.Mountain zebras inhabit elevations of up to 6,500 feet.Mountain zebras feed on a variety of grasses.Mountain zebras are most active in the early morning and late afternoon.They
spend up to half of the daylight hours feeding.Mountain zebras live in herds
consisting of one adult male (stallion), one to five adult females (mares) and
their young.The stallion is the dominant member of the herd.Sometimes herds
come together to form temporary groups of up to 30 members.Foals (young mountain zebras) weight 55 pounds at birth.Mares normally give
birth to their first foal when they are between three and six years of.Normally
they then give birth to one foal every one to three years until they are 24.The spread of agriculture is one of the main threats to the mountain zebra.Mountain zebras are
also hunted for their skins.Mountain Zebra National Park was established in
South Africa for the preservation of Equus zebra.Once a month
get new photos
and expert tips.No animal has a more distinctive coat than the zebra.Why do zebras have stripes at all?Because of their uniqueness, stripes may also help zebras recognize one another.Zebras are social animals that spend time in herds.They graze together, primarily on grass, and even groom one another.Plains (Burchell's) zebras are the most common species.Zebras must be constantly wary of lions and hyenas.If an animal is attacked, its family will come to its defense, circling the wounded zebra and attempting to drive off predators.Photo of the Day: Making Waves
See an unusual photo of a zebra taken with an innovative shutterless camera in Tanzania.Born to Roam
East Africa's plains zebras are always on the move.Tag along in this multimedia feature.Share Your Life Dream
One woman fulfilled her dream of helping injured horses.Innovation in Education
Are you a math or science whiz?Make us your online news source.The Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi), sometimes known as the Imperial zebra, is the largest species of zebra.It is found in the wild in Kenya and Ethiopia.Compared to other zebras, it is tall, has large ears, and its stripes are narrower.Taxonomy
The Grevy's zebra differs from all other zebras in its primitive characteristics and different behaviour.In fact, "zebra" does not describe any specific taxon and is used only to refer to black and white striped members of the family Equidae.All members of the family are of the genus Equus, but the genus is commonly subdivided into four subgenera; Equus, Asinus, Hippotigris and Dolichohippus.The plains zebra and mountain zebra belong to Hippotigris, but the Grevy's zebra is the sole species of Dolichohippus.In many respects, it is more akin to the asses (Asinus), while the other zebras are more closely related to the horses (Equus).In certain regions of Kenya, the plains zebras and Grevy's zebras coexist.Grevy's zebra is the largest of all wild equines.The belly and the area around the base of the tail lack stripes.With all of the stripes closer together and thinner than most of the other zebras, it is easier to make a good escape and to hide from predators.The ears are very large, rounded, and conical.The mane is tall and erect; juveniles having a mane extending the length of the back.Diet and Feeding
Grevy's zebra feed mostly on grasses but they will also eat fruit, shrubs and bark.Also, Grevy's zebras require less water than others zebras.Grevy's zebra is similar to the asses in many ways.Like all zebras and asses, males fight amongst themselves over territory and females.To adapt to an arid lifestyle, Grevy's zebra foals take longer intervals between suckling bouts and do not drink water until they are 3 months old.Status
The Grevy's zebra is considered endangered, partly due to hunting for its skin, which fetches a high price on the world market.Grevy's zebra still living in the wild.They are however common in captivity.American Society of Mammalogists.Walker's Mammals of the World, Fourth edition.Equid Specialist Group (1996).Grevy's Zebra: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation
ARKive: images and movies of the Grevy's zebra.This page was last modified 19:24, 29 December 2007.All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
![Underwood PT : [2003] Agenobarbus Day (live)](/covers/20/20939/alb_85317_th.jpg "Underwood PT : [2003] Agenobarbus Day (live)")
