Animal Guide

Grevy’s zebra is the largest and the most beautiful of the zebras. Its very narrow and closely spaced stripes cover the head, neck, back, rump, and limbs. Grevy’s zebras are the only zebras with many stripes on the rump, which makes it easy to distinguish them from other species. Large round ears are another distinctive feature.
They rest under shady trees during the day and become active mainly in the early mornings and the evenings. Their activities cover the area of as much as 10,000 km2. Grevy’s zebras sleep standing closely together, and they live in herds of twenty to fifty with one male, several females, and foals.
Grevy’s zebras feed mainly on grass and grass roots in a savanna, sometimes on the bark of trees. Their ability to stay active for three days without water makes them resistant to drought. Grevy’s zebras’ olfactory sense is so keen that, when there is no place to drink water, they can sense where a water vein runs and dig water holes with their forelegs.
Mares usually have one foal, with a gestation period of about 390 days. Foals wean from their mothers at about 6 months after birth and offspring stay with their mothers until about the age of two. The bond between foals and their mothers is very strong. The life span for a Grevy’s zebra is 25 - 30 years. Sexual maturity for males starts around the time they become independent from their mothers at the age of three and lasts until five years of age.

Grevy’s zebra are essentially confined to savannas and the semi-deserts of Ethiopia and Northern Kenya in Africa. The number of Grevy’s zebras has drastically decreased since the 1970’s mainly due to poaching for their beautiful coat. As a result of overhunting, Grevy’s zebras are extinct in Somalia and disappearing in Ethiopia, leaving about 5,000 confirmed in national parks and protected areas in Kenya.