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AMPHIBIANS:
Pac Man Frog
BIRDS:
Chickens
Cockatoo, Sulfer Crested
Chinese Geese
Ducks
Helmeted Guinea Fowl
Macaw, Blue & Yellow
Miniature Macaw
Parrot, Amazon
MAMMALS:
Black Bear
Bobcat
Capuchin, Black & White
Coati Mundis
Cougar
Deer, Fallow
Ferrets
Goat (Pygmy)
Hedgehog
Lemur, Ringtailed
Leopard, black
Liger
Lion (African)
Lion (Barbary)
Macaque, Java
Macaque, Snow
Marmoset
Pig
Sheep
Tiger (Bengal)
Tiger (Siberian)
Vervet
Wolves
Zebra
REPTILES:
Alligator
Anaconda
Bearded Dragon
Boa, Columbian
California King Snake
Corn Snake
Iguana
Lizard, African Plated
Python, Burmese
Python, Reticulated
Python, Royal
Skink, Blue Tongue
Tortoise, Spurred
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|
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| Common
Zebra |
 |
| DESCRIPTION: |
Forehead
and crown green; variable yellow band across lower nape and hindneck.
Bill is dark gray, paler towards base of upper maBlack ground color
with bold contrasting stripes continuing all the way down to hooves;
rarely any shadow stripes, except occasionally and faintly on hindquarters.
Seven to ten neck stripes; three to four vertical body stripes. Short,
upright mane. Tail terminally haired. Shoulder height 50”; weight
500-600 pounds.
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| GEOGRAPHICAL
RANGE AND HABITAT: |
From
northern Zimbabwe to the Sudan in East Africa. Inhabits grasslands,
especially those with scattered trees.
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| DIET: |
| In
the wild, non-selective grazing of available grasses, especially
grass stems and sheaths. Teeth very high crowned, an adaptation
to chewing silica-rich grasses. Large barrel-shaped body holds a
very large amount of relatively un-nutritious grass. Very dependent
on water. At the zoo, they eat hay and alfalfa pellets fed inside
at night.
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| LIFE
CYCLE/SOCIAL STRUCTURE: |
| Live
in stable family groups of up to 17 animals headed by a single stallion
(Sometimes two stallions are part of the group, but one will be dominant).
Mares stay with the group; offspring leave. Females establish a dominance
hierarchy. During travel, group is led by the dominant female and
her foal, followed by other females in their order of dominance. Members
recognize each other by sight primarily, but also by voice and smell.
Families maintain close bonds even during extended migrations with
thousands of other zebra and wildebeest. The family will slow its
pace to allow weak ones to keep up; they don’t leave them. The
stallion is the rear guard when the family flees from a predator.
Zebras are gregarious under conditions of abundant food or around
water holes. Males have displays, including a sort of barking whinny,
that seem to minimize aggression at such times.
Males are not sexually
mature until 5 to 6 years of age, although in zoos breeding may
occur at 3 years of age. Until old enough to establish their own
breeding groups, young males remain with their families or leave
to form bachelor herds of 2 to 10 individuals. However, they retain
good relationships with their fathers. Females have first estrous
at 13-18 months but do not become fertile for another year. Young
females have a characteristic stance during estrous which attracts
nearby males who then attempt to abduct her. The abductor may have
to fight her father to acquire her. She may be abducted by several
males until she learns not to show estrous. This forceful removal
from the family acts to prevent inbreeding.
Under ideal conditions, a female may produce a foal every year.
One young is born after a gestation of 361-390 days (about one year).
Newborn has brown stripes and is short-bodied and long-legged. Weight
66-76 pounds; height 33”. Female guards her baby from other
members of the herd when it is first born, perhaps giving it time
to learn her pattern of stripes. Foals are very attached to their
mothers; bond lasts until birth of next foal. Life span is up to
28 years.
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| SPECIAL
ADAPTATIONS: |
| Capable
of running 40 mph. Zebras use hooves and teeth in defense. There
is much discussion about the adaptive value of stripes, but none
of the theories has consensus. One theory is that all those black
and white stripes break up the shape and make it not so recognizable
as prey; another is that the stripes of a herd exploding in all
directions make it difficult for a predator to focus on one animal.
The stripes also confuse the tsetse flies who cannot see the zebra
for the stripes. And finally, the stripe pattern on each zebra is
individual and the learned pattern of each serves to bond zebras
together as a family group.
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| INTERPRETIVE
INFORMATION: |
| The
zebra is the only grazer to have both upper and lower incisors;
it can thus snip the grass blade (rather than yanking it out), exposing
the tender under grasses for others. The antelope of the plains
rely on the zebra to open up the grasslands for them, removing the
tough outer layers to expose nutritious parts
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| STATUS
IN WILD: |
| Plains
zebras are not in danger yet. They can eat coarse grass and are
resistant to diseases that affect cattle, so as long as the African
plains exist, so will the plains zebra. Two rarer species are in
danger, however.
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| Special
thanks to the Oakland Zoo website where most of this data was obtained.
Please visit them at http://www.oaklandzoo.org |
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