African zebras

Zebra, Zonkey, Zorse: Zzz… On Safari 17

/ Curt Mekemson / 16 Comments
A zebra mare and her foal make their way across the savannah in Hwange National Park.

We were on a mission to find zebras. They were the only major animal on our must-see list that we hadn’t seen in Chobe National Park. Finally, deep in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, we found them, a whole herd. As is obvious from their physical appearance, they are closely related to horses and donkeys. In fact, zebras can mate with them. When a zebra and a donkey get together, their offspring is a zonkey. Not surprisingly, the offspring of a horse and a zebra is called a zorse. This is definitely party conversation material! Like mules, zonkeys and zorses are sterile, however. You won’t find them in large numbers.

As for the marvelous black and white stripes, scientists aren’t exactly sure of their purpose. One might be to confuse predators. It’s really hard to pick out vulnerable individuals in a herd, especially when they are running like heck to get away. They may also serve as a form of identification for other zebras, a name tag if you will, since the stripes are different on each zebra. Controlling body heat might be another factor.

Peggy and I really liked this photo. Note the beautiful symmetry on the face and how the stripes extend up from the zebra’s neck into its mane. If you shave off all of the hair, a zebra’s skin is black.
A side view.
And a full body shot. While the stripes on each zebra may be different, it’s subtle. Other than the differences between size and sex, I certainly couldn’t tell the difference. I’d be right there with the lion in trying to pick one out! BTW, this is a different zebra from the one I featured above.
The herd, for the most part, was focused on something off to the right, possibly a predator. One was eating, however, which is the zebra’s primary occupation. As herbivores, their main food is grass, supplemented by leaves, roots and bark. Droppings in the foreground suggest this is a major elephant route. (It was hard to take photos anywhere near water in the dry season without the droppings. More than once, I cropped them out!)
The herd moved in among the trees and provided another photo op. Zebras are social animals and live together in herds. When annual environmental conditions force them to migrate, the herds join together into huge herds, sometimes numbering in the thousands, and often travel with other herbivores like antelope. Within herds, zebras hang out in smaller groups consisting of a dominant stallion, several mares and foals.
The stallions can be quite aggressive in establishing and maintaining their dominance. Note the look on the zebra in the back. This was not a love-bite!
A wrestling match with more bites ensued.
The winner! The dominant zebra, having proven its point, walks away while the other remains on the ground. These fighting skills are also used in defending zebras against predators such as lions, leopards, jackals and cheetahs. The zebras form a semi-circle facing the predator and attack if necessary using both their sharp teeth and powerful kicks.
A zebra appears to be having a discussion with two kudos, antelope that may migrate with them.
I’ll conclude today with this young ‘teenage’ zebra that was following mom in the first photo. On Monday we will be focusing on a number of other interesting creatures we met on our safari including the hyrax below.
It’s hard to believe that this cute little fellow’s closest relatives are elephants and manatees. Peggy and I met up with him on Table Mountain near Cape Town, South Africa.