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February 15, 2006

African Field Notes: The Zebra

I was surprised when the zebras started making noise. I'm used to quiet horses, but zebras make a sort of donkey-like noise, and they buck and such as well.

When a zebra is attacked it will kick hard with its hind legs and bite with its teeth. It can kill a leopard with a well placed kick, but it is usually the predator who wins the attack. A wounded zebra likely won’t live long, and all its companions have abandoned it to its fate because its distressed condition is likely to attract predators.

Each zebra has its unique stripe pattern—like human fingerprints.

The females within a family observe a strict hierarchical system. A dominant mare always leads the group, while others follow her in single file, each with their foals directly behind them. Although the stallion is the dominant member of the family, he operates outside the system and has no special place in the line.


Why do zebras have stripes?

There are several theories:

• Camouflage in tall grasses, especially at dawn & dusk. Lions, a major predator, are colorblind.
  
• Confusing predators while in groups because the stripes run together, making it hard to pick out a single target.
• While running, the different stripes may give the illusion of distance or speed of the animal, giving it an advantage in evasion
  
• The disruptive coloration is an effective means of confusing the nasty blood-sucking tsetse fly, a vector for all sorts of unpleasant diseases and parasites.
  
• Zebras have shiny coats that dissipate over 70 percent of incoming heat, and some scientists believe the stripes help the animals withstand intense solar radiation
  

Latin Subgenus: Hippotigris
A Group Is Called: A Zeal (More At: Critter Collectives)

Check out our Safari South Africa podcast - an audio program and a video that features this animal!

Also on Perlgurl.Org:
Creepy Creature Camouflage

Posted by sorsha at February 15, 2006 9:38 PM