Each year up to 25,000 zebra migrate through Botswana's Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pan National Parks in what is one of the animal kingdom's most spectacular sights.
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Africa and The Indian Ocean
Zebra in the Vumbura Concession, Okavango Delta
A common sight on most safaris, the zebra is also one of the most distinctive animals due to its stripped markings, which are unique to each individual.
Zebras can be found in a variety of habitats, such as grasslands, savannas, woodlands, mountains and coastal hills.
Sadly, however, many zebra populations have been greatly reduced due to hunting and habitat destruction: one subspecies, the quagga, was hunted to extinction in the late nineteenth century. Today, both the Grevy's Zebra and Mountain Zebra, are endangered.
Plains zebras are the most common species and the one's you are most likely to see on Safari. They live in small family groups consisting of a male (stallion), several females, and their young. These often combine with others to form herds thousands-strong and as seen in Botswana's zebra migration.
Zebras have excellent eyesight (it is believed that they also see in colour), smell and hearing, all of which are vital attributes to keep predators such as lion and hyena at bay.
Being grazers they feed mainly on grasses but will also eat shrubs, herbs, twigs, leaves and bark.
Type: Mammal.Diet: Herbivore.Species: Plains Zebra (includes sub-species like Burchell's Zebra and Selous Zebra); Mountain Zebra; Grévy's Zebra.Average life span in the wild: 25 years. Size: Height at the shoulder, 3.5 to 5 ft (1.1 to 1.5 m).Weight: 440 to 990 lbs (200 to 450 kg).Group name: Herd.