Africa Wild

Here are some where baby keeps near to mommy

Brilliant pics all!

Zebra basically go under the radar, like impala, and are very resilient...horses, basically, at the apex of their evolution!

They have well-developed senses all round, and an uncomplicated family structure and good alertness and defence against predators. So grazing antelope like wildebeest and tsessebe hang around them.

Their only drawback is a daily reliance upon water...Kruger zebra, that is, so they won't stray far from that, which theoretically has led to a closure of waterholes up North, with lion following the zebra and starting to massacre less water-dependant rare antelope.

They also seem not too fussy about which grass they eat, compared to other ungulates.

Why do you never see a thin zebra?

Who knows, but probably because they make sure of the above?

As horses they also seem to skip most of the diseases/parasites that plague the other ungulates, touch wood...but are certainly not immune!

Richprins wrote:
Why do you never see a thin zebra?

apparently their tummies are full of gas because of their inability to digest their food adequately.

one is supposed to judge the well-being of a zebra by the condition of their mane.

and upright mane = content and well fed
floppy mane = hungry and unhappy.

A very unusual zebra seen in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania!!

Link:

Thanks, leachy!

Interestingly, on another subject, my very first sighting of a kill as a schoolkid was wild dog eating a zebra calf just south of Satara!

cape mountain zebra in the camdeboo national park..


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at duke water hole
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one that got away....


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is this what a predator sees ?????????

Zebras are several species of African equids (horse family) united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds. Unlike their closest relatives, horses and asses, zebras have never been truly domesticated.

There are three species of zebras: the plains zebra, the Grévy's zebra and the mountain zebra. The plains zebra and the mountain zebra belong to the subgenus Hippotigris, but Grevy's zebra is the sole species of subgenus Dolichohippus. The latter resembles an ass, to which it is closely related, while the former two are more horse-like. All three belong to the genus Equus, along with other living equids.

The unique stripes of zebras make these among the animals most familiar to people. They occur in a variety of habitats, such as grasslands, savannas, woodlands, thorny scrublands, mountains, and coastal hills. However, various anthropogenic factors have had a severe impact on zebra populations, in particular hunting for skins and habitat destruction. Grevy's zebra and the mountain zebra are endangered. While plains zebras are much more plentiful, one subspecies, the quagga, went extinct in the late 19th century, though they have now been re-bred from zebra DNA.


To kickstart this topic a picture of a most promising youth