Drive Thru Safari - Grant's Zebra

Grant's zebra (Equus quagga boehmi) is the smallest of the seven subspecies of the plains zebra. This subspecies represents the zebra form of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem. Recent civil wars in the Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda have caused dramatic declines in all wildlife populations, including those of Grant’s Zebra. It is now extinct in Burundi. Civil war in Angola during much of the past 25 years has devastated its wildlife populations, including its once-abundant plains zebra, and destroyed the national parks administration and infrastructure.

Consequently, Grant's zebra is probably extinct or nearly so in Angola, although confirmation will have to wait until future surveys are conducted. More Grant’s zebras are in the wild than any other species or subspecies of zebras. Unlike Grevy and mountain zebras, they are not endangered. Zambia is an ideal place for zebras. These animals prefer living in savanna woodlands and grasslands; they are not found in deserts, wetlands, or rainforests. The mountain variety lives in rocky mountainous areas. Unfortunately, the availability of habitat for all species of zebras is shrinking, resulting in population decline.

Zebras are exclusively herbivorous, meaning that they only eat plants. Their diet is almost entirely made up of grasses, but they also eat leaves, bark, shrubs, and more. Like all members of the horse family, zebras spend more time feeding than ruminant herbivores, such as antelope and wildebeest do. This is because horses, including zebras, do not chew the cud. Instead the cellulose in their food is broken down in their caecum. Female zebras can have one foal per year. Their gestation period is around 360 – 395 days long, depending on the species. The mother will protect her foal, and it can stand, walk, and run shortly after birth. This is especially important, as foals are vulnerable to predators. Foals will nurse from their mother for up to one year before being weaned.