Zebra is an animal of Africa. Why is a zebra striped?
Zebra is a separate species of the horse genus that lives in Africa. There are three types of zebras: desert, lowland and mountain.
Plain zebras have chosen the savannas of the eastern and southern parts of the continent. Mountain zebras live in the southwestern part of the continent, which contains a huge number of high mountain plateaus. Representatives of the desert species inhabit Kenya and Ethiopia. It is worth noting that there are very few desert zebras left, so these animals are listed in the Red Book.
Different kinds do not interbreed with each other, even when their territories coincide. When artificially crossing representatives different types is happening a large number of miscarriages.
Appearance of a zebra
Zebras are quite large animals. They can weigh 350 kilograms. Females are slightly smaller than males.
Representatives of the species reach a height (at the shoulders) of 1.3 meters. Body length varies from 2 to 2.6 meters. The length of the tail is approximately 50 centimeters.
The color of the fur is an alternation of stripes of black and white. It is believed that, after all, the main thing is a black background, and it is diluted with white stripes. On the neck, head and front of the body the stripes are placed vertically, on the back of the body they are placed at an angle, and the limbs are decorated with horizontal stripes. Each individual has a strictly individual pattern.
The striped color serves as protection against horseflies and. It also disorients predators, but it does not have the same effect. Lions successfully hunt zebras. Zebras do not run as fast as horses, but they have amazing endurance. Therefore, not many predators hunt them. In addition, zebras have special tactics; they escape from their pursuers in zigzags, rushing from side to side. It is quite difficult to catch up with a zebra. If a zebra is cornered, it rears up, kicks and bites. Zebras have an excellent sense of smell, they have superbly developed vision and hearing.
Zebra behavior and nutrition
Zebras are social animals. Depending on the species, the forms of communication differ. Plains and mountain zebras live in family groups; the group is always led by a stallion. Such groups consist of approximately 6 females and foals. Young males unite with each other or lead a solitary lifestyle. Upon reaching adulthood, they also acquire their own harems.
A flat view does not maintain regular social connections. These zebras gather in groups for only a few months, then the group breaks up and a new one is formed. Only females remain inseparable with their babies.
Zebras sleep standing up. They always spend the night in groups, thus protecting themselves from predators. Representatives of the species communicate with each other by barking and neighing. A zebra's mood is shown with the help of its ears: in a calm state the ears are erect, in a state of aggression the ears go back, and when scared - forward. When zebras are angry, they snort loudly. When predators appear, they make loud barking sounds.
Listen to the zebra's voice
The zebra's diet consists of plant foods: leaves, bushes, branches, various herbs and tree bark.
Reproduction and lifespan
Zebra is the object of hunting large predators. Zebras do not have a specific breeding season. The peak birth rate occurs at the beginning of the rainy season, which lasts from December to March. The gestation period is 350-390 days. Females most often give birth to one foal, but in rare cases there may be twins. The weight of a newborn is approximately 30 kilograms. The baby almost immediately gets to his feet and follows his mother.
There are many varieties, one of which is zebra. This interesting striped horse looks more like a fairy-tale or cartoon character than a real inhabitant of the savannah. Where did these on her come from? black and white stripes?
Many scientists for a long time tried to answer this seemingly simple question. Some were inclined to the version that, with the help of color, the zebra camouflages itself from predators that threaten the life of the animal every minute.
For quite some time this version was considered correct. But later everyone unanimously came to the conclusion that the stripes on a zebra scare away the tsetse fly from the animal, the bite of which poses a considerable threat to many. The tsetse fly is a carrier of fever, from which no one is immune.
The striped animal becomes unnoticeable to this terrible insect, so its bites are most often avoided. To understand what kind of animal is zebra, you can visit the zoo and interact with the animal live. It is small in size compared to other inhabitants of the African animal world and has a dense build.
The length of the animal reaches up to 2.5 meters, the length of the tail is 50 cm. Zebra height at the withers about 1.5 meters, weight up to 350 kg. Females, as a rule, are always 10% smaller than males. An important point is the fact that each individual has its own individual pattern.
It's like every person has their own fingerprints. There are three zebra species- those who live in the desert, on the plain and in the mountains. These are odd-toed, smooth-haired animals.
Features and habitat of the zebra
The entire territory of the South-East is the permanent habitat of the zebra. Plain zebras have chosen the shrouds of the Eastern and Southern parts. Mountain zebras preferred the territory of South-West Africa.
The photo shows a plains zebra
Desert zebras live in Kenya and Ethiopia. Feeding conditions may change due to weather. In dry times, the zebra migrates to wetter territory. Sometimes they can travel a distance of 1000 km. Zebras live in those places where there is a sufficient amount of plant food.
Animal with zebra legs exists. These are the ones with whom they sometimes cooperate and graze together, in common herds. Thus, it is much easier for them to notice the danger approaching them and flee.
Character and lifestyle of the zebra
The zebra is a very curious animal that often suffers because of this character trait. She has a fairly well-developed sense of smell, so she manages to hear danger in advance. But the zebra has some problems with vision; the predator may be seen at the wrong time.
They live in herds. There are 5-6 mares per male in such families. The head of the family always fiercely guards all his mares and cubs. If one of the herd is in danger, the male boldly enters into a skirmish with the predator until he succumbs to the incredible pressure of the male zebra and retreats. The herd usually numbers from 50 to 60 individuals, but sometimes this number reaches hundreds.
From kind and calm animals, they can turn into angry and wild ones. Zebras can mercilessly beat and bite their enemy. It is almost impossible to tame them. But not a single daredevil managed to ride it. Zebra in the photo involuntarily lead a person into delight. Some incredible beauty and grace is hidden in this wonderful animal.
Zebra food
All plant food- this is what they love wild animals zebra. Leaves, shrubs, branches, various herbs and tree bark are what representatives of this genus prefer.
Zebra savannah animal very gluttonous. They eat just a huge amount of vegetation. They need to wash down this dry drink big amount water, for this you will need about 8-10 liters per day.
Reproduction and lifespan
There is no specific breeding season for these animals. A small stallion can be born at any time of the year. Most often this occurs on wet season rains, when there are no problems with nutrition.
Pregnancy lasts 345-390 days. Mostly one baby is born from her. It weighs on average about 30 kg. Within an hour after birth, the foal can walk and jump freely on its own.
Breastfeeding lasts for the baby more than a year, despite the fact that after a week he tries to nibble the grass on his own. In 50% of cases, newborn zebras die from attacks by predatory animals in the form of hyenas, crocodiles, and lions.
Females produce offspring once every three years. At one and a half years old, animals have finally matured sexually and are ready for independent life. But the female is ready for the birth of a baby only after three years.
Reproductive abilities are preserved in zebras up to 18 years of age. Zebras live in the wild for 25 to 30 years. In captivity, their life expectancy increases slightly, and they live up to 40 years.
First of all, let's note that zebras belong to the same genus as the domestic horse, Equus, and that today we know of three species of zebras, all of them striped.
The mountain zebra has wide stripes, the desert zebra has a white belly and narrow black stripes, and the Burchell's zebra has wide stripes starting on the back and extending to the hind legs. It is known that previously another species of zebra lived on the planet - quaggas, in which stripes were located only on the front part of the body (head, chest, neck), and the rest was brown. But due to uncontrolled hunting, quaggas disappeared from the face of the Earth more than a hundred years ago.
As for modern zebras, it cannot be said that they have a clearly defined black and white coloring: very often less visible “shadow” stripes are located between the main stripes.
By the way, in the mother’s womb, all zebra cubs have an even black color, and only before birth they become covered with light stripes. Scientists have been arguing about why this happens for two hundred years, but they just can’t come to any conclusion. general decision.
Most popular versions
The pattern, like camouflage, can help the zebra blend into the surrounding landscape - the tall grass of the savannah - and at dusk or dawn, in low light conditions, save the animal's life. At some lighting angles, the stripes can blind predators and make it difficult to hunt zebras. 
Many scientists tend to consider a regular pattern as a way of communication within a species: an individual pattern of stripes can be used as a way to recognize a male by a female, a cub by a mother. In this way, zebras can assess the fitness of individuals: the more chaotic the pattern, the weaker the individual’s ability to bear children and preserve the species.
Another version is that zebras need stripes for thermoregulation. Black and white colors reflect the sun differently and heat up with at different speeds, and when they alternate, air convection occurs and the animal’s body does not overheat.
Another common theory is that zebras' stripes help protect them from tsetse flies. These insects avoid striped surfaces and “landing” on zebras. It is this theory that has some basis today.
Scientists' experiments
An experiment conducted not long ago by Hungarian scientists is indicative in this regard. They were able to prove that not only tsetse flies, but also horseflies avoid striped surfaces. AND main reason, according to scientists, is that white and black areas reflect polarized light differently. 
It is no coincidence that the narrowest stripes are found in the zebra's head and legs - precisely in those areas that are most important for the animal when navigating the terrain and when moving. During the study, the advantages of the black and white color of zebras were proven experimentally.
But critics of the theory note: for horse flies, not only the color matters, but also the smell of the animal and the carbon dioxide it exhales. Therefore, black and white colors are not a 100% guarantee that a horsefly will not land on a zebra.
And at the University of California, they studied the relationship between the habitat of zebras and the characteristics of their coloring - the intensity, length and width of the stripes. We compared the colors of zebras from different regions and three dozen factors that describe the conditions surrounding animals, including data on the distribution of tsetse flies, predatory animals and other factors.
It turned out that the habitat and diet of animals do affect coloration, but the main factor is climate, or more precisely, air temperature. The higher average annual temperature, the brighter and wider the black bars. The cooler the region where it lives, the paler the contrast between the stripes, and the more white fragments there are on the zebra’s body. 
This to some extent echoes the theory: in hot regions, the zebra spends more time in the scorching sun, and its colors are more contrasting there than in areas with a more benign climate. By the way, it is the sun, and not predators or tsetse flies, that is considered the main enemy of zebras from an evolutionary point of view.
By African savannah A herd of striped horses is galloping, these are zebras. This report will introduce you to these animals and tell you a lot of interesting things about them.
Description of the animal
It's very easy to imagine a zebra. This is a black and white striped horse. Its color is very similar to naval vest. It grows up to 1.3 meters in height, its body length is up to 2.5 meters, and this horse weighs 350 kg.
Interestingly, no two zebras are alike in all of Africa. Each color is unique, like fingerprints.
Where and how does a zebra live
Zebras live in herds of 6-10 individuals. There is only one male in each group, all the rest are females with foals.
Striped horses do not have permanent place residence. In search of new pastures and water they constantly moving from place to place. At the head of the herd is the oldest female, followed by other zebras, the procession is closed by the male, who protects the herd from dangers.
These African animals feed on grass, young growth of bushes, and leaves of the lower branches of trees.
The zebra grazes calmly in the company of other animals - buffalos, gazelles, giraffes and even ostriches.
IN wildlife The striped horse lives up to 30 years, in captivity - up to 45.
Reproduction
At the age of two years, a young female can already give birth to offspring. Zebras usually mate during the rainy season. The female's pregnancy lasts a year, most often one baby is born, very rarely - two.
Within half an hour, a newborn baby stands on his feet, and in just an hour he can run after his mother. The foal feeds on its mother's milk for up to a year, although already at the age of two months it calmly nibbles grass.
Natural enemies
Who attacks the zebra? Her main enemy is... The zebra is also attacked by other African predators - cheetahs, at a watering hole it is threatened by an alligator, and babies are often killed by hyenas.
Nature, in order to protect the zebra, awarded it with excellent eyesight and hearing. Moreover, the zebra very timid and cautious. When the herd is grazing or resting at a watering hole, one or two striped horses are on duty, carefully looking around and listening. At the slightest alarm, they give a signal and the entire herd runs away. Zebra jumps at a speed of 65 km/h, it meanders no worse, abruptly changing direction and not allowing the predator to grab it.
To protect foals, adult zebras rear, bite and kick.
Who knows what:
- African zebra can bark;
- pink zebra milk;
- never mounts a striped horse;
- The zebra cannot be domesticated, although it can live in captivity in zoos.
The reason why zebras acquired their characteristic colors during evolution has tormented zoologists for centuries. A new study has reconsidered the nature of black and white stripes.
On children's question: “Why is a zebra striped?” biologists have been trying to answer almost since the time of Charles Darwin. There are several evolutionary explanations for why zebras have alternating black and white stripes. For example, they are credited protective function: The striped coloring supposedly confuses lions when attacking. Perhaps such coloring saved the ancestors of modern zebras from predators, but now big cats They no longer experience serious difficulties when they want a striped horse for dinner. Another hypothesis is that the striped coloration is a form of mimicry, it makes the animal less noticeable against the surrounding background. The version is very controversial, considering that with such a coloring a zebra can only hide in a birch grove. Find a birch tree African continent, probably with the same probability as meeting a zebra in forest near Moscow. The following explanation suggests a social role for tabby coloration. Each zebra has its own unique pattern, like fingerprints, and the animals could remember and recognize each other by their individual patterns: for example, a baby could remember the stripes on its mother.
Width of black hind leg stripes and clarity of body stripes, for 16 zebra populations, based on Random Forest calculations. More intense and wider stripes are characteristic of animals living closer to the equator, while for zebras,
The fourth hypothesis is related to blood-sucking insects, which, as recently discovered, prefer plain surfaces to striped ones. If the striped ancestors of zebras suffered less from the notorious tsetse fly, then in the future they could gain an evolutionary advantage over monochromatic individuals. Finally, a final explanation links striping to thermoregulation. There is an assumption that black and white coloring can cool the animal better than a single color. The fact is that black and white areas of the body heat up differently: white areas are weaker, black areas are stronger. The resulting temperature difference causes microcirculation of air currents near the animal, which helps the zebra live under the hot sun of the savannah. So what was discovered this time in the zebra, which has already been studied along and across each of its stripes?
A team from the University of California, Los Angeles (USA) conducted a computer study of the relationship between the color patterns of zebras and the conditions of their habitat. On the one hand, 29 were selected various factors, describing the surrounding conditions. On the other hand, the program included the coloring of zebras from different regions. Color, intensity, length and width of the stripes - the zebra was completely represented as an array of numbers. Further calculations showed what external conditions correlate with the nature of the color. Let's say that zebras that eat one type of grass have, on average, wider stripes on their backs than another group of zebras that feed on a different type of grass. In this case, we can say that the zebra’s diet is related to its color, that there is a correlation between one and the other.
Having subjected to mathematical analysis such parameters as the distribution zones of the tsetse fly, the number of predators and a number of others, the researchers found that none of them correlated well with the color pattern of zebras, except for one - the ambient temperature. That is, the climate in which zebras live has the greatest influence on their coloration. The higher average temperature, the brighter and wider the black stripes. Conversely, in colder areas, zebras' coloring is duller, and not even all parts of the body are striped. But it's not just zebras that live on the African savannah. Why don't we see antelopes with zebra patterns? The authors of the work explain this by the fact that zebras break down eaten vegetation with less efficiency than other local ungulates. Relative imperfection digestive system makes them eat more, which means they spend more time in the sun. That's why they need additional cooling.
Perhaps the stripes actually contribute to better thermoregulation of the animal due to air microcirculation. Since zebras spend most of their time in open areas, for them the heat exchange factor with environment more important than all the others. And from an evolutionary point of view, the main enemy of zebras is not hungry lions or dangerous tsetse flies, but the scorching sun.
