3. Zebras Spend Around 60 to 80 Percent of Their Time Eating. Zebras are born to eat, what a beautiful life. When they are not eating, they are sleeping. They feed on grasses, leaves, and stems of bushes. 4. Zebras are Walking Barcodes. Just like our fingerprints, the stripes on every zebra are unique. The most common and widespread of its species, the plains zebra even appears on the coat of arms of Botswana. Larger than the mountain zebra, and smaller than the Grevy’s, this ungulate is horse-like but has a mane of short, erect hair, a tail with a tuft at the tip, and bears recognizable vertical stripes. Scientific Name. Equus Quagga. Weight. Zebras have stripes to keep pesky insects at bay, researchers concluded after analyzing the distribution of tsetse flies in Africa. The researchers explained in a news release: “I was amazed by our results,” said lead author Tim Caro, a UC Davis professor of wildlife biology. “Again and again, there was greater striping on areas of the Zebra have adapted to their habitats in several ways. These include adaptations in their anatomy, physiology and even their behavior. Some adaptations serve to discourage predators and parasites. Others help them feed and take advantage of food sources. These adaptations range from the obvious, like their stripes, to more subtle adaptions, like The main threat to the zebras is lions, as they are the only big cat capable of killing healthy adults. However, cheetahs, hyenas, leopards, and wild dogs can prey on them as well. Crocodiles also attack zebras that come to drink at a water source. Adaptations. The stripes of a zebra may serve several purposes, with all of them not discovered yet. Size and Weight: Zebras vary in size depending on the species. Grévy’s zebra is the largest. It is about 4.10 to 5.25 feet at shoulder height and weighs 776 to 992 pounds. The mountain zebra is A team of researchers with members from Denmark, the U.S., Portugal and France has found that the six subspecies classifications currently used to categorize plains zebras living in Africa do not Debate has long raged over the reasons for a zebra’s stripes. A new study has shed further light on this topic, uncovering new evidence that suggests the stripes are indeed used to help zebras The coats, colors, feathers, and stripes we see in the animal kingdom often evolved to play a specific role such as providing convenient camouflage to hide from predators or prey or attracting mates. When it comes to the bright orange and black stripes of a tiger, researchers have long wondered why tigers have such seemingly obvious coat colors A zebra's stripes, however, help it blend in with grasses and brush, making it much more difficult to see. Some biologists also believe the zebra's stripes may be helpful when zebras run in a herd. When a large number of zebras move together, their stripes could appear to be one large animal running. 5vkhQP4.