Earn Your Stripes (how to help endangered zebras)
We all know and love zebras, but what do you know about them, other than they look a bit like horses, have stripes and live in Africa? In fact, all three species are endangered, yet there are wonderful organisations worldwide helping to restore numbers, without them being incarcerated in zoos.
Zebras are African mammals (related to horses) known for their black-and-white stripes which are as unique as human fingerprints. They helped to camouflage to avoid predators like wild lions (they can run up to 65 km per hour). And can deliver a kick enough to injure or kill a predator.
Just like horses, zebras are social animals that live in small wild herds (or larger herds when migrating). Foals can stand up within six minutes, and run within an hour of being born.
Like horses, zebras can lock their knee joints to sleep while standing up. And making similar braying noises, to horses sand donkeys.
There are three species of wild zebras:
- Plains zebras are the most common, found in savanna habitats in eastern and southern Africa.
- Mountain zebras are found in mountainous regions of Namibia and South Africa, with vertical stripes on their necks.
- Grévy’s zebras are found in arid grasslands of Ethiopia and Kenya. These large zebras have thin stripe,s that don’t join up to their bellies.
What wild zebras eat depends on their natural habitats. In the wild, they eat tough long grasses, and this prepares habitats for grazers of short grass. This is why wild zebras are so important.
The main threats to wild zebras are:
- Habitat loss
- Poaching (illegal hunting)
- Legal hunting
Born Free is working to protect natural habitats, and removes snares and stops poaching.
If concerned about any captive animal, report to Born Free’s Red Flag Alert (also tell the local police and tour operator). Their team can investigate.
How to help African wild zebras
- Live a simple sustainable life. The more we do this, the less their habitats are destroyed to buy wood, palm oil and other imported goods.
- Never visit zoos. Zebras are not in the right climate and don’t have the company as in the wild. There are plenty of conservationists helping to save species, in their native lands.
- If you travel abroad, don’t visit animal-based circuses.
- Don’t poach or hunt zebras. There is fury in parliament that the Labour government’s animal welfare plan is dropping the ban on trophy hunting (and the sale of foie gras). Due to vested interests in the House of Lords (some delayed the pending Bill) and pressure from President Trump.
Since the death of Cecil the lion by a US dentist (with a bow and arrow that took hours for him to die), he went on to shoot an endangered sheep, once the fuss had died down. And since then, over 60 more lions (and over 100 zebras) have been killed for trophy hunting – by British hunters.
Trophy hunting affects all African species. A lion kills a zebra – that’s nature. But humans don’t. As wildlife campaigner Hamza Yassin says ‘If hunting is a sport, give the other creature a rifle and then see who wins’.
