Zebras live in herds on the plains and hilly regions of some parts of Africa. They feed mainly on coarse grass. Adult zebras can run at a constant speed of about 40km/h over a long period of time. Although they stay very much on the look out for hungry predators, they do not give much concern to well-fed lions.

Of all hoofed mammals, zebras have the most striking appearance. Their conspicuous black and white striped coats seem to make them sitting targets for hungry lions of African plains.

However, their coloration and stripes do serve a purpose. The sun-scorched savannah often gives off a heat haze, which tends to obscure most shapes on the horizon of the flat plains. Thus, during the heat haze, the stripes appear to break up the zebra’s body outline, especially when moving in a large herd. Such a form of camouflage is known as ‘disruptive coloration’. It is interesting to note that some ships were painted with black and white stripes during the Second World War, as a form of camouflage.

There are three species of zebras, the Burchell’s, Grevy’s and Mountain Zebras, with many subspecies in the Burchell’s category. Coming from different parts of Africa, each subspecies can be identified by the patterns of their stripes.