The Zebra
- 1. G P B Y C A T H E R I N E S.- P.
- 2. As … !
- 3. Description The zebra is an equid – a member of the horse family. There are three different species of zebra: Plains Zebra, Grevy’s Zebra and Mountain Zebra. The most common is the Plains Zebra, or Burchell’s Zebra. It is striped with black and white and his stripes are a form of camouflage. His hair is short. A male or a female is approximately 2.3 meters in long and 1.4 meters in height. Its weight is about 290 kg.
- 4. Food The zebra is a very adaptable grazer. It can eat grasses, herbs, leaves, etc. It can eat both short and long grasses, but it prefers the long flowering ones. It’s why the zebra is often the first grazer to start eating grass in pastures.
- 5. Habitat The zebra is an African animal that lives in plains and grasslands. Every rainy season, this animal migrates to the Serengeti plains. The majority of the zebras are found in southern Africa.
- 6. Predators The predators of the zebra are lions, hyenas, hunting dogs, leopards, cheetahs and men for its skin. But the zebra is a courageous animal and when a family is attacked, the members face the predator, watch it and when it’s necessary, they confront it.
- 7. Reproduction After 360 to 396 days of gestation, the female zebra gives birth to a little baby. After 15 minutes of life, the young zebra is able to walk and after one hour, it’s able to run around its mother. It will stays with her mother until one year of life.
- 8. Social Structure Zebra lives in family group (one stallion, the mares and the young) and it stays with the members of its family. It communicates with sounds (braying or barking) and facial expressions. In the group, the male will chase the stallions from other family groups.
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