December 19, 2009

Africa’s Horse - The Stunning Zebra - How They Live And Thrive

African mammals from the horse family, zebras owe their world fame for the black and white stripes on their bodies that represent the very label of their individuality. From small groups to very large herds, zebras are part of the African landscape and no one likes to come to the black continent and not see these splendid animals. Click over here for extra information about lion of judah tattoo .

There are three major species of zebras, the mountain zebras, the plains zebras and the Grevy's each with specific features and behaviors additional to the common traits. Imperial or Grevy zebras share wide areas in the lands of Kenya with their plain zebras kin; they are the most similar to their horse relatives unlike the mountain subspecies that resembles asses most. Though limited to the African continent, zebras are adapted to a very wide range of habitats from savannas and grasslands to mountains, hills and woodlands. Presently, the number of zebras roaming in the wild is definitely smaller than a century ago since hunting and the development of cities at the expense of the wild habitat triggered number fluctuations among zebras. You should get complimentary worthwhile info relating to tiger tattoo here.

The striped patters that zebras are famous for, represent an ID mark of each individual as the specimens recognize each other visually. Moreover, the stripes have a very important camouflage function against predators like lions. The stripes create the impression of waving grass particularly when the zebras live in herds, and lions have great difficulty spotting them because of their monochromatic view. Eyesight is a good point for zebras, and scientists believe that these animals have a visual acuity that makes them able to distinguish colors. Moreover, night vision is one other remarkable skill together with a great sense of hearing. Danger can be more easily detected with the ability to move ears in all directions, and last but not least, the smell and taste are also superior to that of other mammals.

In terms of food sources, zebras are very adaptable grazers feeding on twigs, trees, leaves and bark. Unlike other herbivores that need a high amount of nutrients, zebras can subsist on less nutritional food for quite long periods of time thanks to their very good digestive system that is able to extract nutritive substances from almost anything. You can acquire stacks of extra worthwhile information on lion tatoos here.

The mating habits of the zebras vary from one subspecies to another: some live in permanent groups of several mares and a stallion, while other only gather in herds temporarily for the mating season. The mating cycle takes place once a year for females ending with the birth of a single foal.

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