GRANT'S ZEBRA
GRANT’S ZEBRA Scientific Name: Equus burchelli boehmi Class: Mammalia Order: Perissodactyla Physical Adaptations: Equine (horse-like) body designed for efficient running and covering long distances. Teeth specialized for cropping and grinding grasses. Distinctive stripes provide protection from predators by disruptive patterns and coloration. Shiny coats can dissipate over 70% of incoming heat.
Behavioral Adaptations: Social animals living in family groups of 5 to 20 individuals. Assemble by the hundreds during the dry season in search of water and forage. A very adaptable grazer able to eat both short and long grasses.
Habitat/Biome: Open, grassy plains and well-grassed woodlands.
Distribution: Ethiopia and Somalia southward to northern South Africa
Status: Stable Special Notes: IUCN Category: LC (least concern) CITES Listing: Not listed Potential Threats Include: Habitat loss outside of parks and game reserves and competition with livestock.
Primary Diet: Wild: grasses, leaves, scrub, rhizomes, corms GRAZING HERBIVORE Fun Facts: Also known as the common or plains zebra Zebras, like horses, have a single toe (hoof) on each foot. Zebras are actually black animals with white stripes. Each zebra has a unique stripe pattern, just as humans have unique fingerprints. Zebras are highly dependent on water and do not leave water holes for very long The Romans called zebras “horse-tigers” and exhibited them as cart-pullers in their circuses.
Additional Notes: Height: 50 to 55 inches Weight: 485 to 550 lbs. Gestation: 12 months, litter size 1 Life Span: 20-30 years Information Sources (10/2010): Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Animal Facts World Conservation Red List African Wildlife Foundation Website
Behavioral Adaptations: Social animals living in family groups of 5 to 20 individuals. Assemble by the hundreds during the dry season in search of water and forage. A very adaptable grazer able to eat both short and long grasses.
Habitat/Biome: Open, grassy plains and well-grassed woodlands.
Distribution: Ethiopia and Somalia southward to northern South Africa
Status: Stable Special Notes: IUCN Category: LC (least concern) CITES Listing: Not listed Potential Threats Include: Habitat loss outside of parks and game reserves and competition with livestock.
Primary Diet: Wild: grasses, leaves, scrub, rhizomes, corms GRAZING HERBIVORE Fun Facts: Also known as the common or plains zebra Zebras, like horses, have a single toe (hoof) on each foot. Zebras are actually black animals with white stripes. Each zebra has a unique stripe pattern, just as humans have unique fingerprints. Zebras are highly dependent on water and do not leave water holes for very long The Romans called zebras “horse-tigers” and exhibited them as cart-pullers in their circuses.
Additional Notes: Height: 50 to 55 inches Weight: 485 to 550 lbs. Gestation: 12 months, litter size 1 Life Span: 20-30 years Information Sources (10/2010): Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Animal Facts World Conservation Red List African Wildlife Foundation Website
