Stars in stripes

Ranger Rick, March, 2002 by Elizabeth Schleichert

PEACE ON THE PLAINS

At a shallow river, a herd of plains zebras mingles with an elephant and some wildebeest. (See photo at left.) Some drink and others watch for danger.

Plains zebras are found on the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa. There they spend most of the day eating grass. They hang out in small family groups. But sometimes these small groups come together and form a huge herd with as many as 5,000 zebras. Now that's a lot of stripes!

ZEBRA CHECKOUT

Sniff, sniff. Two young male zebras have just met and are checking each other out (below). Male zebras often smell, touch, and rub each other in a special way when they meet. (It's kind of like two dogs meeting, then circling and sniffing each other.) In this way, the zebras work out who's the "boss." If this doesn't work, they may fight, like the ones on pages 2-3.

KEEP ON ROLLIN'

Aaah! Nothing like a good roll in the dust to feel better (above). Dust baths help zebras get rid of pesky insects, dead skin, and loose hair. Plus, rolling just feels good! Zebras also rub against trees, rocks, and termite mounds. Often the animals will line up by a favorite rubbing spot and wait their turns--no butting in allowed!

WHY STRIPES?

Why do zebras have stripes? Nobody really knows. The stripes may help zebras tell each other apart. That's because no two individual zebras have the exact same pattern of stripes.

Or maybe the stripes confuse predators in some way. When a large herd of zebras is on the run, all those stripes look like one big blur. That may make it harder for a predator to pick out any one zebra to attack.

WHICH KIND IS IT?

There are three main species (kinds) of zebras. The stripes of each species look different.

1. Mountain zebras have short stripes running across their rumps.

2. Grevy's zebras have narrow stripes that curve around their tails.

3. Plains zebras have dark, wide stripes that often alternate with lighter, narrower ones on their rumps.

LISTEN UP!

A stallion (male zebra) calls out to his family with a kwa-ha call (top). Maybe he's spotted an enemy, such as a lion or hyena. As the group's leader, the stallion has to protect his family--several females and their young--from such attackers. And he also has to fight off other stallions trying to steal his females. Often he calls out like this to make sure his family sticks together.

ONE THAT GOT AWAY

The panicked zebra above races away from an attacking lion. The lion had hidden by a water hole. When the zebra came for a drink, the lion sprang from cover. Zebras are built for speed with powerful legs. They can go nearly 40 miles (64 km) per hour. This one did finally escape from the lion.

... AND ONE THAT DIDN'T

As you can see, this zebra got caught. It had just crossed a river and was stumbling up the far bank. It didn't see the lion lurking in some nearby bushes. With a single leap, the lion brought the zebra down. The attacker then suffocated its prey by biting the zebra's throat.

ALL LEGS, ALL WET

The young zebra foal at left is still wet from being born. After only 10 minutes, it's already standing! It hovers close to its mom on wobbly, stilt-like legs.

Mama zebras give birth to just one foal at a time. And, from the start, a mama keeps other zebras away from her baby. This helps the foal learn which zebra is Mom.

WHEE! I CAN RUN!

The foal below has discovered how to use its legs. Within an hour of birth, young zebras can leap and run like this. (Ask your mom how long it took you to learn how to run.)

ALL EARS

The foal at right stands close to its mother. It pricks its ears and looks around, alert to danger. Soon it will shed all that brown baby fuzz.

Within one to four years, the foal will leave its mother's side for good. Then it will begin to face the challenges of life on the African grasslands on its own.

TRAVELING PALS

Zebra and wildebeest herds often travel and graze together. But the zebras graze on long grasses. The wildebeest go for the short grasses. So the two groups can hang out without having fights over food.