Grevy's Zebra

Grevy's Zebra

Equus grevyi

Shoulder height 140-160 cm

Dolichohippus (its own genus or subgenus, according to some)

Grevy's zebra is the largest of the wild equines (also called equids). It is black with white stripes as are all zebras. The skin is dark colored. The stripes are narrow and set close to each other. The stripes are broader on the neck and extend to the hooves. There is a lack of stripes around the base of the tail and on the belly. The ears are very large, rounded and conical. Young zebras have a mane which extends the length of the back. The voice is much like that of a donkey. These zebras are found in Somalia, Ethiopia, southern Sudan, and northern Kenya in scrubland and plain areas. The Romans called it “hippotigris”. One is portrayed standing next to the manger of Baby Jesus, in place of a donkey, on a tapestry in a French museum that depicts the Nativity.

This zebra was named so because the President of France, Jules Grevy, received it as a gift from an Ethiopian official. A French zoologist, Emile Oustalet realized that this striped animal, the size of a horse with the ears and bray of a donkey, was a new species. The Grevy zebras have very different social behavior. Stallions posses a certain territory and will sometimes allow other stallions to pass through. They congregate in stallion groups, mare groups (with and without foals), and mixed groups (mares and stallions). They do not seem to have personal bonds to each other and can therefore be found in one group at one time of the day and another group at another time of the day. These zebras sometimes spend hours alone. During their seasonal migration, they form large herds.

They denote their large territory (which is larger than most herbivores) by waterways, which have water only in the rainy season, with voiced language (acoustical marking), and with dung heaps (scent markings).

It is not known how long they live, but one has survived in a zoo for at least 26 years.