Welcome to You Ask Andy

Traci Wright, age 8, of High Point, N. C. for her question:

CAN ZEBRAS RUN FAST?

One of the most beautiful animals in the zoo, almost everyone agrees, is the zebra. His stripes give him a very distinctive and attractive look. The markings also serve a useful purpose when the zebra is living in the wilds: he can blend in with his background of tall grasses and in that way be almost hidden from his enemies.

The zebra is rated as a swift runner, but he isn't one of the record breakers. In Africa, where the zebra is found in his wild state, he is the chief prey of lions  who often work together to trap him. Several lions have been known to lie in wait while others drive a zebra toward an ambush. Or a lion will wait at a water hole for the zebra.

Even though a lion is often after him, the zebra still manages to do very well, thank you.

The common zebra, or Burchell's zebra, is found on the southern plains of Africa. In east Africa you'll find the Grevy's zebra, the largest and most handsome type. His head is long and his stripes are finer and more numerous than in other zebras.

The Grevy species is four and a half to five feet tall at the shoulder while the mountain zebra, the smallest type, is only four feet.

Zebras' manes form upright crests. Their tails are without long hairs on the upper half. Their ears are very long and their hoofs are narrow. They have sharp teeth and great kicking ability. They live happily in zoos, but they aren't too useful as domesticated animals. In fact they can't easily be trained to be farm workers or providers of rides. They aren't a bit like their cousin the horse in this regard.In the mid 1800s the quagga type lived in great numbers on the plains of Southern Africa, but in 1872 the last of his type died and he's now extinct. He was famous for being only partly striped  the head, neck and front part of the body had dark brown stripes which became fainter toward the rear with the hindquarter bare of stripes.

Scientists have found that some of the fossil horses of North America had teeth much like those of the zebra. This seems to indicate that the zebras, like a good number of other African mammals, are actually living fossils  that is they are animals of an earlier day that have managed to survive through the ages.

The smaller types of zebras weigh about 400 pounds as adults, while the larger types go up to about 700 pounds.

Zebras band together in herds. For a time a few years back they were in danger of being completely exterminated because their pelts were much in demand. Today, there's a better system of control.

 

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