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African savanna
Plains zebra
Equus quagga
A stocky wild horse in black and white stripes, living in family groups that join into great herds.
- Size
- About 1.3m at the shoulder
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- Grassland and savanna of eastern and southern Africa
My spotter's list
Trots after you, stopping to graze and flick its ears. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the zebra
StripesLike a fingerprint
No two zebras have the same stripes. A foal learns its mother's pattern in its first days.
FliesWhy the stripes?
The best evidence is that stripes confuse biting flies, which find it hard to land on them.
ColourBlack skin underneath
Under the striped coat, a zebra's skin is black all over.
JourneyThe great migration
Hundreds of thousands of zebras travel with the wildebeest across the Serengeti each year, following the rain.
FamilyHarems and herds
A family is one stallion, several mares and their foals. Families gather into herds for safety.
KickA dangerous kick
A zebra's kick is powerful enough to injure a lion.
The real thing
Photos of the zebra
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
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Out and aboutHow to spot one
Look on open grassland, often mixed in with wildebeest. A herd tends to face in different directions, so there is always someone watching for lions.
Lend a handHow to help
Zebras need room to migrate. Wildlife corridors that keep old routes open between parks matter as much as the parks themselves.
Following youLadybird
Who should follow you?
African savanna
African river animals live on the African river page: choosing one takes you there.
African river
African rainforest
African desert
Animals from other parts of the world live on their own pages: change area.
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