They can maintain a good body condition even on very poor forage. Zebras are classified as unselective bulk feeders and are therefore less sensitive to food quality when compared to other large herbivores. Occasionally they browse on mopane leaves ( Colophospermum mopane). They prefer fresh, green grass shorter than 350 mm, but they will sometimes consume tall grass. They are water-dependent, which means that they need to drink water often. During the dry season they dig out underground tubers and rhizomes. They also commonly feed on ground-level grass that has been recently burnt and is starting to send out green shoots. Main periods of feeding are in the early mornings and late afternoons when it is cooler. Zebras are grazers and are capable of grazing grass shoots at ground level. Burchell’s zebra is a migratory species their movements are largely determined by the availability of food, water and newly burnt areas. They adapt easily and are not discouraged by broken or mountainous terrain where they occur widely as well. The highest populations of zebras are found on open plains where they commonly associate with wildebeest. They are strictly water-dependent therefore they rarely move more than 12 km from waterholes. They also occur in the Free State.īurchell’s zebra occur throughout all habitats like open woodlands and grasslands except where there are dense shrubs and where there are tree thickets or dense riparian vegetation. In South Africa they are widely distributed in Mpumalanga (Kruger National Park) down to KwaZulu-Natal and in the Western Cape. They also make snorting, barking and baying sounds.īurchell’s zebra is distributed from East Africa going down to the northern and eastern regions of southern Africa. Its alarm call is a high-pitched ‘kwa-ha’. When moving, they step with left hind leg followed by their left foreleg, then the right hind leg finally followed by right foreleg. Zebras are quadrupeds – they have four legs. Males grow to between 1.35 and 1.37 m at the shoulder and their weight is between 290 and 340 kg, while females weigh about 260 kg. Males are slightly larger than the females, and they have a narrow black stripe running vertically between their hind legs. There is a short mane down the back of the neck. clear stripes on mountain zebra) and belly are distinct (in the mountain zebra, the belly is all white with no stripes).īurchell’s zebra also have smaller ears when compared to those of the mountain zebra. Burchell’s zebra can be mistaken for the mountain zebra, but the stripes on the legs (fading stripes in Burchell’s zebra vs. The stripes on the sides run down and join under the belly. Each zebra has unique stripes that can be used as an identification character to distinguish between individuals – similar to fingerprints in humans. The patterns formed by these stripes are unique to each individual which is why you will hear people say that no two zebras are completely the same.īurchell’s zebra, which is also known as the plains zebra, has black and white stripes all over its body with only a few or fading stripes on the legs. The striking black and white colours of the coat of the Burchell’s zebra are breath taking. The species name burchellii is derived from the name of the British explorer and naturalist, William John Burchell.īurchell’s zebra, zebra, plains zebra (Eng.), idube (Zulu) bontsebra (Afr.) lidvuba (Swati), idube (Ndebele) mangwa (Tsonga) pitse ya naga (Tswana) and iqwarhashe (Xhosa) mangwa (Xitsonga).
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