Page 31 - World of Animals - Issue #30

Follow your nose
Zebras have to inhale through their
noses as there is no airway through
Erect mane the mouth. They even produce
e s
o
l
bark-like sounds from their nostrils
k
i
u
h
m t
e
r n
i
d
n
s f
o
r
Unlike a horse’s, a zebra’s b a r k - to alert others to danger. o s t r i l s

mane stands stiffly
upward. A predator
aiming a bite may miss Why so striped?
if they target the coarse
There are several strong theories for
hair rather than the neck. T h e r e a r e s e v e r a l s t r o n g t h e o r i e s f o r
why the zebra is striped. The stripes
w h y t h e z e b r a i s s t r i p e d . T h e s t r i p e s

could provide camouflage, act as
a mechanism to keep cool or deter

tsetse flies that spread fatal diseases.
Skull

Keep flies at bay
Skin parasites are a serious
threat and the tail swats away
harmful flies. Zebras cannot

reach their own rumps to groom
themselves, so their tail takes on
the job for them.
Zebras have a degree Like most other prey animals,
of night vision as large zebra eyes are placed on each side
predators like lions are of the head to provide a wide field

known to hunt at night. of vision to watch for predators.
Trachea
Oesophagus

Rounded heart
The semi-spherical
heart is assisted by
structures called Long eyelashes keep the
‘frogs’ in the hooves. eyes free from dust and
With each step, debris to maintain the
these pump blood animal’s sharp vision.
up the leg, back
towards the heart.
Closest family
Closely related to the zebra are…

Quagga Horse African wild ass
Quaggas shared many Horses share an ancient This critically endangered
traits with modern zebras, ancestor with rhinos and species has banded legs,
including a section of bold tapirs. Zebras were one similar to its stripy cousin.
Female abduction 1-2 years Bachelor boys 2-3 years Establishing a harem 4 years stripes on their head and of the earliest species to Their range is limited to
Mature males jostle for the right Female zebras automatically Finally, male zebras gain the social neck. They lived alongside diverge from the lineage, northern Ethiopia and
to mate with a young female, and belong to a harem, but skills, strength and reproductive zebras in the southern tip with modern horses southern Eritrea, but

she is claimed by the male that can young, immature males band drive to recruit females into their of Africa but were hunted arising around five million once extended to Djibouti,
outcompete the others. together for protection. very own family unit. to extinction in 1878. years ago. Somalia, Sudan and Egypt.
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