Zebra

• Status: Safe
• Savannahs and grasslands of Eastern and Southern Africa

Numbers

Weight

620 lb (280 kg)range 385-850 lb; males can outweigh females by 10 percent

Length

90 in (2.3 m)body 85-97 in, tail excluded; tail measures about 20 in

Height

50 in (1.3 m)at the shoulder, range 43-57 in

Lifespan

20 yearsup to 20 years in the wild

Longest migration

700 mi (1,100 km)in search of rain and pastures, often alongside other herbivores

Maximum altitude

14,000 ft (4.3 km)on Mount Kenya

Maximum distance from water

18 mi (29 km)rarely move farther away

Ten fun facts

1. 01

   No two zebras have the exact same stripe pattern: every individual is recognizable just like by a human fingerprint.

2. 02

   Zebra embryos display a dark background color, and their white stripes only appear at a later stage of development.

3. 03

   The quagga, a now extinct subspecies of zebra, was the very first extinct creature whose DNA was studied.

4. 04

   During seasonal migrations, plains zebras can travel up to seven hundred miles in search of rain and green pastures.

5. 05

   Zebras live in family groups called harems, as well as bachelor groups of two to fifteen young males.

6. 06

   Researchers have documented at least six distinct vocal calls, including a characteristic contact call that sounds like ah-ha.

7. 07

   The diet of the plains zebra consists of ninety-two percent grasses, with shrubs making up only two percent.

8. 08

   Nearly half of all zebra foals die before reaching adulthood, mostly due to predators, disease, or food shortages.

9. 09

   Plains zebras are found from sea level all the way up to fourteen thousand feet on Mount Kenya.

10. 10

    Zebras often form mixed herds with wildebeests during migrations, combining better zebra vision with better wildebeest hearing.

The quiz answers

Five questions about this animal. Pick an answer and find out if it is the right one.

Try it yourself

Data from Wikidata (Q245305) and Wikipedia (Plains zebra).