Zebra 38 cm - Soft Toy

Physical Characteristics
The Zebra has a distinctive black and white striped coat, which may have originated as a form of camouflage making it difficult for predators to distinguish one animal from a herd.

Habitat
Zebras inhabit the African savannah and open grasslands.

Behaviour
Zebras are social animals that spend time in herds. They graze together, primarily on grass, and even groom one another. Plains (Burchell's) zebras are the most common species. They live in small family groups consisting of a male (stallion), several females, and their young. These units may combine with others to form awe-inspiring herds thousands of head strong, but family members will remain close within the herd. Zebras must be constantly wary of lions and hyenas. A herd has many eyes alert to danger. If an animal is attacked, its family will come to its defense, circling the wounded zebra and attempting to drive off predators.

Breeding
When a foal is born the mother keeps all other zebras (even the members of her family) away from it for 2 or 3 days, until it learns to recognize her by sight, voice and smell. While all foals have a close association with their mothers, the male foals are also close to their fathers. They leave their group on their own accord between the ages of 1 and 4 years to join an all-male bachelor group until they are strong enough to head a family.

Diet
The Zebra is a herbivore, grazing on the lush green pastures of the savannah. During the dry season they must remain close to the watering holes to survive.

Strange and Interesting Facts
Each zebra's stripes are as unique as fingerprints-no two are exactly alike.