Zebra Herd Serengeti Africa

Did you know....

1. Most Zebras are only 4 feet tall from their hooves to the shoulders!

2. Two-thirds of the plains Zebra's day is spent grazing on various roots, stems, grass, leaves and even bark.

3. Zebras are covered in black and white stripes. These stripes get broader at the rear end, with black being more prominent. A Zebra has black skin.

4. No two Zebras are striped alike. The stripes can be as identifying as human finger prints and help each other to recognize members of their herd.

5. Zebras are broken into 3 types and several subspecies.
The three main types of Zebras are:

• Plains Zebra live in the eastern and southern plains of Africa, from the Sudan to South Africa and Angola. This is the most abundant Zebra with large herds on the Serengeti grasslands. They have short legs and wide hoofs. A Plains Zebra can reach a height of 4 1/2 feet tall and weigh up to 660 pounds. This is the type of Zebra most often seen in zoos.
  
  
• Grevy's Zebra live east of the Great Rift Valley and north of the Tana River in the semi-desert of northern Kenya. Grevy's zebras are the largest of the species. They have long legs and can reach a height of almost 5 feet tall and weigh between 700 - 900 pounds. Their many stripes are more closely spaced and narrower than those of the other zebra species, making them striking in appearance. The Grevy's Zebra is an endangered species.
  
  
• Mountain Zebras live east of the Namib Desert, at the edge of the African Plateau. These are the smallest Zebras, with an average height of just 4 feet tall. The Mountain Zebras are an endangered species.

6. Zebras live in family groups which include a stallion and several mares, but they are also known to combine families into a herd of hundreds.

7. Often birds, called fork-tailed Drongos, travel with the herds and sit on the backs of the Zebras. The birds eat the insects kicked up as the herd moves.

8. Zebras will move, or rotate, their large ears around to find out where a sound is coming from.

9. When Zebras have itchy backs they roll around in dirt to relieve the itch and to keep insects away. They also groom each other by nibbling along each others back to get the insects off that may be there.

10. Instead of a mane like a horse, Zebra's manes are short and stand up. The stripes on the body also reach into their mane making it striped as well.

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