Grant's Zebra Equus Burchelli Bohmi

GRANT'S ZEBRA (equus burchelli bohmi)

Habitat: Africa - southern Sudan and Ethiopia to northern Rhodesia

Height: 45 to 55 inches at shoulder

Weight: 450 to 550 pounds

Longevity: 8 to 12 years in the wild - 28 to 25 years in captivity

Gestation: 336 to 375 days

Diet: Primarily a grazer, grasses

Zebras stripped patterns are like our fingerprints, no tow are alike. Living in small family groups consisting of several mares, their foals of the year and a dominant stallion, the Grant Zebra is non-territorial but constantly move to better feeding areas. Predators include lions, hyenas and cape hunting dogs. Mares in a family are usually unrelated and subject to definite pecking order. Young females are evicted from their family at about 18 months of age, when their mother gives birth again and must join other existing family groups or become attached to a young stallion who is building up his harem. Young mares mature at approximately 3 years, while stallions may take up to 5 years. The stripped pattern supposedly confuses predators and makes it difficult to distinguish an individual zebra in a fleeing formation. The Natural Bridge Zoological Park has been raising Grant Zebra for over 30 years and has shipped over 50 zebra to other zoological parks.