Zebra Facts for Kids

A Picture of a Herd of Zebras
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Chordata
  • Class: Mammalia
  • Order: Perissodactyla
  • Family: Equidae
  • Tribe: Equini
  • Genus: Equus

21 Zebra Facts for Kids

  1. A zebra is the common name for several species of equids that are native to Africa.
  2. Zebras have very distinct white and black stripes on their body.
  3. All zebras have unique stripe patterns and no two zebras have the same stripes.
  4. A theory as to why zebras have stripes is it helps camouflage them from predators in tall grass.
  5. Zebras are social animals and can be found living together in herds.
  6. A herd of zebras is known as a zeal or dazzle.
  7. Zebras are herbivores and almost feed exclusively on grass.
  8. The common zebra can weigh up to 770 pounds.
  9. The common zebra has an average body length between 6.6 and 8.5 feet.
  10. A zebra can run up to 40 miles per hour and is considered the 19th fastest mammal on our planet.
  11. An adult zebra has a lifespan of about 25 years in the wild. The overall average lifespan is vastly lower than that since zebras are a common prey for a lot of predators and about 50% of all baby zebras die within their first year.
  12. Zebras have four different types of movements (gaits). They are walk, trot, canter and gallop.
  13. A male zebra is called a stallion, a female zebra is called a mare and a young zebra is called a foal.
  14. There are three living zebra species, and they are the plains zebra (Equus quagga), the mountain zebra (Equus zebra) and the imperial zebra (Equus grevyi).
  15. The plains zebra (Equus quagga) is the most common and widely distributed zebra species in Africa. There are six living subspecies of plains zebras.
  16. The mountain zebra (Equus zebra) can be found in south-western Angola, Namibia and South Africa. There are two living subspecies of mountain zebras.
  17. The imperial zebra (Equus grevyi) can only be found in northern Kenya, but a few small isolated populations have been found in Ethiopia.
  18. Zebras can mate with other species of equids and produce hybrid offspring.
  19. When a zebra and a horse mate, a zorse is produced.
  20. When a zebra and a pony mate, a zony is produced.
  21. When a zebra and a donkey mate, a zeedonk is produced.

Additional Resources about the Zebra

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