African Zebra

An extraordinary land

Africa is a land of diversity and extreme beauty. From the rising golden sun to swift flowing rivers and peaceful, grazing black wildebeest spread across the brown and green savannah, one can always have a glimpse of nature’s beautiful paradise. And nature has a way of healing everything…

If you ever had the chance to visit Africa, you will have a life-long memory to cherish and will be glad you did. Don’t take my word for it, come and see for yourself.

Diverse wildlife

One beautiful thing I love about Africa is in its diverse wildlife. There are numerous species. There are lions, leopards, wild hogs, crocodiles, wildebeests, panthers, alligators, turtles, tortoise, jackals, zebras, elephants, giraffes, antelopes, buffalos, cheetahs, wild dogs, foxes, skunks, springbok, honey badgers, porcupines, giant anteater, spotted hyaena, civets, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, tapirs, lemurs, ostriches, and different species of snakes, apes, birds, insects etc… and there are flourishing vegetation all over the continent. You can see many species in one location. What can be more exciting? Africa is indeed blessed.

Just like the kangaroo which is native to Australia, some species like lemurs, zebras and more are native only to Africa and so may not be found elsewhere. Of all quadrupedal, I love zebras most. I took special interest in this beautiful single-hoofed animal when I fantasized riding one as a child. But when I learned that it could bite and kick, I reconsidered and respected their distance.

The African Zebra

Now the African zebra is related to horses but you wouldn’t want to ride one. Zebras are strange examples of the saying: looks can be deceptive. It is aggressive and in several occasions had killed lions and other cats with its kick.

With black and white stripes, it is a spectacular beauty to behold. Scientists say the stripes act as camouflage; predators may not know the exact number of individuals when they stand together in a herd. Also, the stripes blend with their habitat. Each zebra stripe is unique.

They are very fast animals when they run and can reach up to 65Km/h. As herbivores, they move in groups or herds feeding on fruits, leaves, grasses, barks and roots. There are many species and they occur in different locations.

Grevy’s zebra

Most of zebra population is primarily found in Southern Africa. Individuals occur in West and Central Africa. South Africa, Namibia, Angola and Eastern African nations record most populations. They are seen in protected parks and reserves.

Zebra’s natural predators are mostly the big cats, crocodiles and wild dogs. Man, unfortunately kills zebras too for food. Measures are being taken to protect them as they go extinct in some African countries.

I invite you to visit Africa, maybe you will be lucky to bump into a solitary zebra or watch the herd head towards a waterhole to drink after a long sunny day.