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Mammal. Zebras are members of the horse family, Equus. They live in family groups of more than a dozen zebras with one stallion as head. While zebras' stripes may look the same to us, each has a unique pattern that can be recognized by other family members. When zebras run as a herd, the stripes help protect them by confusing predators with a dizzying display. Zebras sleep in shifts, so that some members of the herd are always awake and alert. The leader uses sounds to signal when all is safe or when a threat occurs. Even though they weigh from 227 to 272 km (500 to 600 lb), zebras can run 64 km (40 mi) per hour. |
| Scientific
Name |
Lifespan |
| Equus burchelli boehmi |
28 years |
| Diet |
| Herbivore. Grasses. |
| Predators and Threats |
| Lions are their major predators; others are hyenas, wild dogs, leopards, and cheetahs. |
| Habitat |
| Grasslands, savannah, some mountainous regions, tall grasses; Northern Zimbabwe to the Sudan in East Africa. |
