PLAINS OR BURCHELL'S ZEBRA, Equus burchelli
SUBSPECIES
Grant's or Boehm's zebra, E. b. boehmi
Selous' zebra, E. b. selousi
Chapman's zebra, E. b. antiquorum
Burchell's zebra, E. b. butchelli
WHAT IT IS
African version of the horse. Portly build. Male wt 550 lb (250 kg), ht 51-56 in
(127-140 cm); female wt 484 (220 kg), ht slightly shorter than male. Color: no
gender difference; background white to buff color; striping varies geographically
(and individually), most complete and bold in equatorial race (E. b. boehmi),
decreasing toward southern Africa, where E. b. antiquotum and butchelli
have unstriped lower legs and belly and shadow stripes between black torso stripes.
Juvenile coat longer with brown stripes.
WHERE IT LIVES
From southeastern Sudan to South Africa and west to Angola,
in Somali-Masai Arid Zone, Southern Savanna, and South West Arid Zone.
The extinct South African quagga, striped only on head, neck, and back,
was probably not a different species but a distinctive subspecies adapted
to the temperate highveld and arid Karroo. Quagga, the Hottentot name,
may come from the qua.ha contact call of the plains zebra.
GOOD PLACES TO SEE IT
Too numerous to list; 2 of the best places to get very close are
Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania and Etosha NP, Namibia.
ECOLOGY
One of most numerous and successful large herbivores, adapted to a broad range of
grassland habitats. Though usually outnumbered by wildebeest where the two
grazers occur together and equally water-dependent, tolerance for taller
grass and more wooded savanna gives the zebra much greater geographical range.
A pioneer in the grazer community, first to enter tall or wet pastures,
followed by wildebeests and gazelles after zebras have trampled and cropped
the grass shorter; also crops short greenflush with its matched set of incisors
and mobile lips much more efficiently than wildebeests and most other ruminants.
ACTIVITY
More active in daylight, spending nights preferably on short pasture relatively
safe from ambush. Zebras graze individually an hour or so at a time at night
but move about very little. Resting zebras often steep soundly, but at least
one herd member remains standing and alert. At daybreak in warm weather,
herds begin filing to pastures of longer grass and may cover over
10 mi (17 km) before settling for another night. Mass movements between
pastures and sleeping grounds, and to water at midday, are also peaks of
social activity; stallions in bachelor herds are especially active and
entertaining to watch.
SOCIAL/MATING SYSTEM
Harem masters have exclusive mating rights with 2 to 6 mares.
Harems are so stable that mares remain associated for life; their foals
gain added protection from the family stallion's readiness to defend his
wives and offspring against all threats to their survival-and his reproductive
success. On balance, it is a win-win arrangement. When members of the herd
become separated, the family stallion goes looking and calling for them, and
the whole herd will adjust its pace to accommodate sick or crippled members.
Home ranges can be as small as 11 mi square (30 km square) in the best habitat,
to over 232 mi square (600 km square) in migratory popuiations.
Harem ownership is about as safe as territory ownership: respected as long as
the family stallion is fit enough to assert his rights. When a breeding male
gets killed, severely injured, or too old to outface challengers, some lucky
stallion stands to inherit his whole harem. But such luck is as unlikely as
winning the state lottery: with a potential life span of over 20 years,
stallions stay fighting-fit for some 15 years. The normal way to become a harem
stallion is by abducting fillies in heat, one at a time.
Between I and 2 years of age, fillies begin ovulating and advertise estrus by
adopting a distinctive posture (see Courtship). Up to 18 stallions
gather around a herd with an estrus filly and fight for her with the herd stallion
and one another. This happens not just once but 5 days every month for about a year
until the filly finally conceives. Abducting a filly from her father's herd is just
the beginning of a recurrent ordeal, and the odds against a female bearing the
offspring of the first stallion to steal her must be very low.
The fruits of conquest go to the inseminating stallion; the filly stays with him.
After foaling, subsequent estrous periods are advertised so much more discreetly
that rivals stay away-as long as the herd stallion is there to repel intruders.
But newcomers are not welcomed by resident mares. The latest wife
must keep her distance, protected and herded by her consort, during a probation
of several weeks. A strict rank hierarchy is enforced, the first mare to join
the harem and her offspring taking precedence over the second, the second over
the third, and so on down to the latest conquest. This order is strictly
enforced when a herd is filing. The stallion's usual position is behind his
family, from where he can still direct the herd's movements when he sees fit.
Colts leave their families on their own initiative usually between 2 and 3 years
to join a bachelor herd, there to remain until mature and ready to start a harem
at 5 years. Bachelor herds include 2 to 15 males, are usually led by a young
adult, and are quite stable, with a rank order based simply on age.
REPRODUCTION
Foals born in most months but a definite annual birth/mating peak early in
the rains (Dec.-Jan. in East Africa). Mares in good condition conceive during
the following "foal heat"; others reproduce at 2-year intervals. First foals
at 3 to 3.5 years.
OFFSPRING AND PARENTAL CARE
A mare labors lying on her side, while the herd remains nearby and the stallion
stands watch. Foals weigh approximately 70 lb (31-33 kg), are able to stand within 15
minutes and suckle in an hour. The mother keeps all other zebras away for
several days, much to the distress of her previous offspring. But once the
foal is imprinted on her, she allows other herd members to contact it; its
sibling can establish close ties through mutual social grooming. However, the
place closest to its mother is taken by the newborn.
PREDATORS
Plains zebra a mainstay of lions throughout its range, but spotted hyenas often
hunt zebras in packs to overcome the close cooperation of the group and the
stallion's aggressive defense. In the Serengeti one wild dog pack made
something of a speciality of hunting zebras, but zebras are not their usual prey.
Expect to see and hear 
Usual context and meaning
Maintenance Activities
Dust-bathing; rubbing against trees, rocks, termite mounds, etc.
Zebras line up to dust-bathe (often on wildebeest stamping grounds) and scratch. Rubbing on isolated trees wears away bark; rocks worn smooth with grooved paths around them reflect centuries of rubbing.
Advertising Harem or Territory Ownership
Adult male standing apart from female herd or coming to meet an approaching herd or individual. A territory or harem owner (the former may also be all alone).
GREETING/CHALLENGE RITUAL
Greeting of equals. Meetings of equal adult males, at territorial boundaries (Grevy's zebra) or between their herds by family stallions. Males and young greet in similar fashion but with little or no aggression.
Both approach with heads outstretched and ears cocked, or 1 stands
in erect posture watching other approach.
Contact and smelling: nasal contact and sniffing; rubbing cheeks;
moving into head-to-tail position and sniffing penis, pressing and rubbing sides.
Resting/ pressing chin on partner.
Aggressive actions: biting, short squeal, kick threats, and kicking out with front feet (not at each other), often just before parting (parting jump).
Parting jump.
Dunging ceremony: Ostentatious defecation with tail raised, often preceded by nosing and pawing earlier deposit before over-marking the spot.
Territorial interactions; less common between harem stallions.
Challenge rituals end with males returning to their respective herds/territories, often in grazing attitude (displacement grazing).
HERDING AND HAZING BEHAVIOR
Herding/hazing posture. Controlling herd movements with threat displays.
Chasing. Especially of females by amorous territorial males.
CONTACT/ADVERTISING CALLS
Braying (Grevy's zebra, ass); barking (plains, mountain zebras).
Equivalent to neighing of horse. Not confined to stallions in the
harem species, but males are most vocal. Calls are individually distinct.
Aggression
Standing in erect posture with head high, ears pricked, tail arched. Dominance display.
High stepping (prancing).
Broadside display. Blocking way.
Head-low threat (ears back, snaking head movements). herding/hazing posture.
BITING THREATS
Threat face: ears back; teeth bared; tail-swishing.
Biting-intention movements, ranging from head movements Only, through rearing and rushing.
KICK THREATS
Lifting hindquarters or forequarters in direction of adversary.
Rearing.
Chasing. Mainly between members of bachelor herds and during battles to abduct fillies in heat.
OTHER ACTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THREAT DISPLAYS
Stamping and pawing, dunging ritual, short squeals.
FIGHTING TECHNIQUES
Biting and slashing: ears, neck, body. Look for bloodstains. male canine teeth make superficial wounds.
Attempted leg bite, countered by dropping to ground.
Kicking out with hind feet. Dangerous, as kick can break leg or jaw.
Kick threat or actual kicking with hind feet while moving away.
Defensive threat.
Submission
Bachelor d declining challenge of harem stallion by displaying submission: laying ears back and making open-mouthed chewing motions squealing. Resembles display of mare in heat. Ears back suggest threat but chewing is submissive-an intention movement to nibblegroom. Only immature animals and adult bachelor males display active submission.
Moving away from threatening superior.
Grooming initiative. Appeasing behavior, as social grooming is initiated by lower-ranking individual.
Sociable Behavior
Nose-to-nose contact. Greeting behavior, prelude to friendly or aggressive interactions (as in challenge ritual).
Social grooming: scraping and nibbling partner's neck, shoulders, and back, performed by both partners at once. Most frequent between
relatives, especially mother and foal.
Resting in pairs and mutual head-resting. Position enables pair to see in all directions and to brush flies off each other's face.
Blowing with loose lips (as in horses). Often heard in grazing herd; an "all's well" social-contact sound.
Courtship
SIGNS OF ESTRUS
Swollen, everted labia and mucous discharge; frequent urination; fighting and chasing among stallions; kick threats and kicking with hind feet in response to premature mounting attempts.
Mare-in-heat display: tail and neck extended, ears back, lips retracted and open-mouthed chewing. Similar to submissive display and to female urination posture.
Mating posture (full estrus). Similar to mare-in-heat display, but with hind legs spread, mouth wide open, backing into male.
MALE BEHAVIOR
Chasing, nipping, mounting attempts (sometimes on the run). * Rather violent, especially Grevy's zebra.
Urine-testing ± urinating on the spot afterward. Unusually conspicuous in equids, with pronounced lip-curl.
Dunging on female's excrement.
Nuzzling, social grooming; resting chin on female's back or rump. Preliminary mounting attempts without erection.
Parent and Offspring
Maternal protectiveness. Mother keeps other zebras, including last offspring, away from foal for first days, until maternal bond established and foal recognizes own mother.
Social grooming. Frequent, important for maternal and sibling social bonding.
Play
Running games, play-fighting. Common only among young and bachelors.
Response to Predators
Alert posture: standing with head high staring in one direction, stamping and snorting.
Flight.
Closing ranks around young and defense by herd stallion. Harem system.
SOUNDS OF ALARM
Snorting, e-hah gasp with open mouth.
Drawn-out squeal. Distress cry of captured or injured animal.
Qua-ha call of plains and mountain zebra. Contact call, given at highest intensity and frequency following disturbance.
DIFFERENCES IN PLAINS ZEBRA BEHAVIOR
Expect to see and hear Usual context and meaning
Advertising Herd Ownership
GREETING/CHALLENGE RITUAL
Greeting of equals features open-mouthed chevang movements,
but with ears cocked, unlike submissive display.
Dunging ceremony. Resembles territorial
boundary marking, as though the herd and the space surrounding it is the territory.
Sociable Behavior
Mutual grooming and standing and resting in
pairs. Most frequent between relatives, especially
mother and foal, but occasional between all herd members. Also in bachelor herds.
Reprinted from "The Safari Companion" by Richard Estes
Back
Photos