Burchell's and Mountain Zebra
© Zebra Africa
African Wildlife, Animals - Zebra
There are three true species of zebra: the well-known and common
Burchell's Zebra Equus burchelli, the Mountain Zebra Equus
zebra, and the Grevy's Zebra Equus greyvi of East Africa;
all three species are further divided into regional sub-species.
The extinct Quagga is considered to have been a sub-species of the
Burchell's Zebra.
Burchell's Zebra is of stocky build with wide black and white stripes that run diagonally and lengthways on the rump and continue on to the belly, all the way down to hooves. The mane is upright and striped to match the neck. The tail is striped with a dark tassle. Zebra stripes are as individual as a human fingerprint.
The mountain zebra has wider stripes than the Grévy’s zebra, particularly on its rump.
On both Grévy’s zebra and the Mountain Zebra the undersideof the belly is completely or mainly white, which differs from the Plains/Burchell's zebra whose stripes wrap around from the back to the belly.
Zebra WeightMale Plains/Burchell's Zebras can weigh up to 300 Kg and have a shoulder height of about 50 inches whilst females are a little smaller.
Grévys zebras weigh up to 450 kg and both sexes weigh about the same.
Zebra's can live up to 30 years old but generally the life expectancy in the
wild is about 12 years due to predators.
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