Grevy's Zebra
Encyclopedia
The Grévy's zebra also known as the Imperial zebra, is the largest extant wild equid and one of three species of zebra
, the other two being the plains zebra
and the mountain zebra
. Named after Jules Grévy
, it is the sole extant member of the subgenus Dolichohippus. The Grévy's zebra is found in Kenya
and Ethiopia
. Compared with other zebras, it is tall, has large ears, and its stripes are narrower. It is more ass-like
in appearance as compared to other zebras, which are more horse-like.
The Grévy's zebra lives in semi-arid grasslands where it feeds on grass
es, legumes, and browse
; it can survive up to five days without water. It differs from the other zebra species in that it does not live in harems and has few long-lasting social bonds. Male territoriality and mother–foal relationships form the basis of the social system of the Grévy's zebra. This zebra is considered to be endangered. Its population has declined from 15,000 to 3,000 since the 1970s. However, as of 2008 the population is stable.
in 1882. He named it after Jules Grévy
, then president of France, who, in the 1880s, was given one by the government of Abyssinia
. It is the only extant species of the subgenus Dolichohippus. The plains zebra
and mountain zebra
belong to Hippotigris. Fossils of Dolichohippus zebras have been found throughout Africa and Asia in the Pliocene
and Pleistocene
deposits. Notable examples include E. sanmeniensis from China, E. cautleyi from India, E. valeriani from central Asia and E. oldowayensis from East Africa. The latter, in particular is very similar to the Grévy's zebra and may have been its ancestor. The modern Grévy's zebra arose in the early Pleistocene. Recent phylogenetic evidence suggests that Grevy's zebras are with asses and donkeys in a lineage separate from plains zebras, but perhaps not from mountain zebras. In areas where Grévy's zebras are sympatric with plains zebras, it is not unusual to find them in the same herds and fertile hybrids do occur.
Grévy's zebra differs from the other two zebras in its more primitive characteristics. Its head is large, long, and narrow with elongated nostril openings. It is particularly mule-like in appearance with a brown muzzle. The ears are very large, rounded, and conical. The mane
is tall and erect; juveniles have a mane that extends to the length of the back and shortens when they reach adulthood. Foals are born with brown and white striping, with the brown stripes darkening to black as they grow older.
The Grévy’s zebra once ranged though most of Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. Today it now largely inhabits northern Kenya, with some isolated populations in Ethiopia. Its status in Sudan is uncertain. This zebra fills an ecological niche between the African wild ass
, which prefers a more arid habitat, and the more water-dependent plains zebra. It has adapted to the thornbush country of the Acacia
-Commiphora
bushlands and the Somali Arid Zone's barren plains. Lactating
females and non-territorial males use areas with green, short grass and medium, dense bush more often than non-lactating females and territorial males.
Grévy's zebras rely on grass
es, legumes, and browse
for nutrition. They commonly browse when grasses are not plentiful. Their hindgut fermentation
digestive system allows them to subsist on diets of lower nutritional quality than that necessary for ruminant
herbivores. Grevy's zebras can survive up to five days without water, but will drink daily when it is plentiful. They often migrate to better watered highlands during the dry season. Females require significantly more water when they are lactating. During droughts, the zebras will dig water holes and defend them. Grévy's zebras are preyed on by lion
s, hyena
s, wild dogs
, cheetah
s and leopard
s. In addition, they are susceptible to various gastro-intestinal parasites, notably of the Trichostrongylus
genus.
with their immature offspring or foal
s. Numerous groups of females and young often gather into herds which are open and fluid and have no strict dominance hierarchies
. Adult males or stallion
s will establish territories that average 5.75 km², through vocalizations and by marking them with dung piles. They mostly live in territories during the wet seasons but some may stay in them year round provided local water sources last. Stallions that are unable to establish territories are free-ranging and are known as bachelors.
Females, young and non-territorial males wander though large home ranges. The females will wander from territory to territory preferring the ones with the highest-quality food and water sources. Up to nine males may compete for a female on neutral ground.
Territorial stallions will tolerate other stallions who wander in their territory, however when an estrous female is present the territorial stallion keeps other males at bay. Non-territorial males may avoid territorial ones because of harassment. When females are not around, a territorial stallion will seek the company of other stallions. Dominance is asserted with an arched neck and a high-stepping gait and the least dominant stallions submit by extending their tails and lowering their heads. The call of the Grévy's zebra has been described as "something like a hippo
's grunt combined with a donkey
's wheeze". Grévy's zebras do not perform mutual grooming
. To get rid of flies, they roll in dust, water or mud or twitch their skin. They also rub against trees, rocks and other objects to get rid of irritations like itchy skin, hair or parasites.
to replace the sperm of other males
. This is a useful adaptation for a species whose females mate polyandrously. Bachelors or outside territorial stallions sometimes "sneak" copulation of mares in another stallion’s territory. While female associations with individual males are brief and mating is promiscuous, females who have just given birth will reside with one male for long periods and mate exclusively with that male. Lactating females are harassed by males more often than non-lactating ones and thus associating with one male and his territory provides an advantage as he will guard against other males.
Gestation of the Grévy's zebra normally lasts 390 days, with a single foal being born. A newborn zebra will follow anything that moves, so new mothers prevent other mares from approaching their foals while imprinting their own striping pattern, scent and vocalization on them. This prevents the foal from imprinting on another female as its mother. From the time their foals are born until the foals reach an age of 3 months, females form small groups (three females and their foals). Mares may leave their foals in "kindergartens" while searching for water. The foals will not hide, so they can be vulnerable to predators. However, kindergartens tend to be guarded by an adult, usually a territorial male. A female with a foal stays with one dominant territorial male who has exclusive mating rights to her. However, the male must look after a foal which is likely not his. For these males, infanticide
is not an option as without her foal, the mother will leave the territory. Thus the territorial stallion must assist another male's offspring in order to ensure his own reproduction. To adapt to a semi-arid environment, Grévy's zebra foals take longer intervals between suckling bouts and do not drink water until they are 3 months old. Foals become independent of their mothers after half a year but will continue to follow them for up to three years.
The Grévy's zebra was the first zebra to be discovered by the Europeans and was used by the Romans
in circuses. However, it was largely forgotten in the Western world for a thousand years. It was rediscovered in the seventeenth century, when the king of Shoa (now central Ethiopia) sent one to the Sultan of Turkey and another to the Dutch governor of Jakarta
. A century later in 1882, the government of Abyssinia sent one to French president Jules Grévy
. Around the same time, French naturalist Alphonse Milne-Edwards
recognized it as distinct from the better known zebras of southern Africa and it was named in Grévy’s honor.
The Grévy's zebra is legally protected in Ethiopia. In Kenya it is protected by the hunting ban of 1977 but is still listed as a "Game Animal". In the past, Grévy's zebras were threatened mainly by hunting for their skins which fetched a high price on the world market. However hunting has declined and the main threat to the zebra is habitat loss and competition with livestock. Cattle gather around watering holes and the Grévy's zebras are fenced from those areas. Community-based conservation efforts have shown to the most effective in preserving Grévy's zebras and their habitat. Less than 0.5% of the range of the Grévy's zebra is in protected areas. In Ethiopia, the protected areas include Alledeghi Wildlife Reserve, Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary
, Borana Controlled Hunting Area and Chalbi Sanctuary. In Kenya, the Buffalo Springs
, Samburu
and Shaba
National Reserves and the private and community land wildlife conservancies in Isiolo, Samburu and the Laikipia Plateau provide a core and crucial protection of the southern population of Grévy's zebra. On the Laikipia Plateau, zebra numbers have increased thanks to protection and reduced competition with domestic livestock.
Zebra
Zebras are several species of African equids united by their distinctive black and white stripes. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds...
, the other two being the plains zebra
Plains Zebra
The plains zebra , also known as the common zebra or Burchell's zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Angola and eastern South Africa...
and the mountain zebra
Mountain Zebra
The Mountain Zebra, Equus zebra, is a threatened species of equid native to south-western Angola, Namibia and South Africa. It has two subspecies, the Cape Mountain Zebra and Hartmann's Mountain Zebra , though it has been suggested these should be considered separate species.-Taxonomy:In 2004,...
. Named after Jules Grévy
Jules Grévy
François Paul Jules Grévy was a President of the French Third Republic and one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans faction. Given that his predecessors were monarchists who tried without success to restore the French monarchy, Grévy is seen as the first real republican President of...
, it is the sole extant member of the subgenus Dolichohippus. The Grévy's zebra is found in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. Compared with other zebras, it is tall, has large ears, and its stripes are narrower. It is more ass-like
Asinus
The subgenus Asinus encompasses four species and several subspecies of Equidae characterized by long ears, a lean, straight-backed build, a scant tail, and a reputation for considerable toughness and endurance....
in appearance as compared to other zebras, which are more horse-like.
The Grévy's zebra lives in semi-arid grasslands where it feeds on grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
es, legumes, and browse
Browsing (predation)
Browsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high growing, generally woody, plants such as shrubs. This is contrasted with grazing, usually associated with animals feeding on grass or other low vegetation...
; it can survive up to five days without water. It differs from the other zebra species in that it does not live in harems and has few long-lasting social bonds. Male territoriality and mother–foal relationships form the basis of the social system of the Grévy's zebra. This zebra is considered to be endangered. Its population has declined from 15,000 to 3,000 since the 1970s. However, as of 2008 the population is stable.
Taxonomy and naming
The Grévy's zebra was first described by French naturalist Émile OustaletÉmile Oustalet
Jean-Frédéric Émile Oustalet was a French zoologist.Oustalet was born at Montbéliard, in the department of Doubs. He studied at the Ecole des Hautes-Etudes and his first scientific work was on the respiratory organs of dragonfly larvae...
in 1882. He named it after Jules Grévy
Jules Grévy
François Paul Jules Grévy was a President of the French Third Republic and one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans faction. Given that his predecessors were monarchists who tried without success to restore the French monarchy, Grévy is seen as the first real republican President of...
, then president of France, who, in the 1880s, was given one by the government of Abyssinia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. It is the only extant species of the subgenus Dolichohippus. The plains zebra
Plains Zebra
The plains zebra , also known as the common zebra or Burchell's zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. It ranges from the south of Ethiopia through East Africa to as far south as Angola and eastern South Africa...
and mountain zebra
Mountain Zebra
The Mountain Zebra, Equus zebra, is a threatened species of equid native to south-western Angola, Namibia and South Africa. It has two subspecies, the Cape Mountain Zebra and Hartmann's Mountain Zebra , though it has been suggested these should be considered separate species.-Taxonomy:In 2004,...
belong to Hippotigris. Fossils of Dolichohippus zebras have been found throughout Africa and Asia in the Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
and Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
deposits. Notable examples include E. sanmeniensis from China, E. cautleyi from India, E. valeriani from central Asia and E. oldowayensis from East Africa. The latter, in particular is very similar to the Grévy's zebra and may have been its ancestor. The modern Grévy's zebra arose in the early Pleistocene. Recent phylogenetic evidence suggests that Grevy's zebras are with asses and donkeys in a lineage separate from plains zebras, but perhaps not from mountain zebras. In areas where Grévy's zebras are sympatric with plains zebras, it is not unusual to find them in the same herds and fertile hybrids do occur.
Description
Grévy's zebra is the largest of all wild equines. It is 2.5–2.75 m (8–9 ft) from head to tail with a 38–75 cm (15–30 in) tail, and stands 1.45–1.60 m (4'7"–5'3") high at the shoulder. These zebras weigh 350–450 kg (770–990 lb). The stripes are narrow and close-set, being broader on the neck, and they extend to the hooves. The belly and the area around the base of the tail lack stripes. The stripes of the zebra may serve to make it look bigger than it actually is or disrupt its outline. It appears that a motionless zebra can be unnoticed at night or in shade.Grévy's zebra differs from the other two zebras in its more primitive characteristics. Its head is large, long, and narrow with elongated nostril openings. It is particularly mule-like in appearance with a brown muzzle. The ears are very large, rounded, and conical. The mane
Mane
- Biology :* mane of a horse, the line of hair along the spine of the neck* mane of a lion, found around the male mammal's neck- Places :* Mane Department, a department in the Sanmatenga Province of Burkina Faso* French communes:...
is tall and erect; juveniles have a mane that extends to the length of the back and shortens when they reach adulthood. Foals are born with brown and white striping, with the brown stripes darkening to black as they grow older.
Range and ecology
African Wild Ass
The African Wild Ass is a wild member of the horse family, Equidae. This species is believed to be the ancestor of the domestic donkey which is usually placed within the same species. They live in the deserts and other arid areas of northeastern Africa, in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia; it...
, which prefers a more arid habitat, and the more water-dependent plains zebra. It has adapted to the thornbush country of the Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
-Commiphora
Commiphora
Commiphora is a genus of flowering plants in the family Burseraceae. It includes about 185 species of trees and shrubs, often armed or thorny, native to Africa, Arabia, and the Indian subcontinent.-Uses:...
bushlands and the Somali Arid Zone's barren plains. Lactating
Lactation
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process occurs in all female mammals, however it predates mammals. In humans the process of feeding milk is called breastfeeding or nursing...
females and non-territorial males use areas with green, short grass and medium, dense bush more often than non-lactating females and territorial males.
Grévy's zebras rely on grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
es, legumes, and browse
Browsing (predation)
Browsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high growing, generally woody, plants such as shrubs. This is contrasted with grazing, usually associated with animals feeding on grass or other low vegetation...
for nutrition. They commonly browse when grasses are not plentiful. Their hindgut fermentation
Hindgut fermentation
Hindgut fermentation is a digestive process seen in monogastric herbivores, animals with a simple, single-chambered stomach. Cellulose is digested with the aid of symbiotic bacteria. The microbial fermentation occurs in the digestive organs that follow the small intestine, namely the large...
digestive system allows them to subsist on diets of lower nutritional quality than that necessary for ruminant
Ruminant
A ruminant is a mammal of the order Artiodactyla that digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the animal's first compartment of the stomach, principally through bacterial actions, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cud, and chewing it again...
herbivores. Grevy's zebras can survive up to five days without water, but will drink daily when it is plentiful. They often migrate to better watered highlands during the dry season. Females require significantly more water when they are lactating. During droughts, the zebras will dig water holes and defend them. Grévy's zebras are preyed on by lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s, hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
s, wild dogs
African Wild Dog
Lycaon pictus is a large canid found only in Africa, especially in savannas and lightly wooded areas. It is variously called the African wild dog, African hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, painted dog, painted wolf, painted hunting dog, spotted dog, or ornate wolf...
, cheetah
Cheetah
The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...
s and leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
s. In addition, they are susceptible to various gastro-intestinal parasites, notably of the Trichostrongylus
Trichostrongylus
Trichostrongylus species are nematodes , which are ubiquitous among herbivores worldwide, including cattle, sheep, donkeys, goats, deer, and rabbits ....
genus.
Behavior
Behaviourally, the Grévy's zebra differs from the other two zebra species as it does not live in harems. The basic social units of the species are adult females or maresMare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
with their immature offspring or foal
Foal
A foal is an equine, particularly a horse, that is one year old or younger. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, but these terms are used until the horse is age three or four. When the foal is nursing from its dam , it may also be called a suckling...
s. Numerous groups of females and young often gather into herds which are open and fluid and have no strict dominance hierarchies
Dominance hierarchy
A dominance hierarchy is the organization of individuals in a group that occurs when competition for resources leads to aggression...
. Adult males or stallion
Stallion
A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...
s will establish territories that average 5.75 km², through vocalizations and by marking them with dung piles. They mostly live in territories during the wet seasons but some may stay in them year round provided local water sources last. Stallions that are unable to establish territories are free-ranging and are known as bachelors.
Females, young and non-territorial males wander though large home ranges. The females will wander from territory to territory preferring the ones with the highest-quality food and water sources. Up to nine males may compete for a female on neutral ground.
Territorial stallions will tolerate other stallions who wander in their territory, however when an estrous female is present the territorial stallion keeps other males at bay. Non-territorial males may avoid territorial ones because of harassment. When females are not around, a territorial stallion will seek the company of other stallions. Dominance is asserted with an arched neck and a high-stepping gait and the least dominant stallions submit by extending their tails and lowering their heads. The call of the Grévy's zebra has been described as "something like a hippo
Hippo
A hippo or hippopotamus is either of two species of large African mammal which live mainly in and near water:* Hippopotamus* Pygmy HippopotamusHippo may also refer to:-Given names:...
's grunt combined with a donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
's wheeze". Grévy's zebras do not perform mutual grooming
Social grooming
In social animals, including humans, social grooming or allogrooming is an activity in which individuals in a group clean or maintain one another's body or appearance. It is a major social activity, and a means by which animals who live in proximity can bond and reinforce social structures, family...
. To get rid of flies, they roll in dust, water or mud or twitch their skin. They also rub against trees, rocks and other objects to get rid of irritations like itchy skin, hair or parasites.
Reproduction
Grévy's zebras can mate and give birth year-round, but most mating takes place in the early rainy seasons and births mostly take place in August or September after the long rains. An estrous mare may wander though as many as four territories a day and will mate with the stallions in them. Among territorial stallions, the most dominant ones control territories near open watering points, which mostly attract mares with foals, while more subordinate stallions control territories away from water with more abundant vegatation, which mostly attract mares without foals. The resident stallions of territories will try to subdue the entering mares with dominance rituals and then continue with courtship and copulation. Grévy's zebra stallions have large testicles and can ejaculate a large amount of semenSemen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
to replace the sperm of other males
Sperm competition
Sperm competition is a term used to refer to the competitive process between spermatozoa of two different males to fertilize an egg of a lone female. Competition occurs whenever females engage in promiscuous mating to increase their chances in producing more viable offspring...
. This is a useful adaptation for a species whose females mate polyandrously. Bachelors or outside territorial stallions sometimes "sneak" copulation of mares in another stallion’s territory. While female associations with individual males are brief and mating is promiscuous, females who have just given birth will reside with one male for long periods and mate exclusively with that male. Lactating females are harassed by males more often than non-lactating ones and thus associating with one male and his territory provides an advantage as he will guard against other males.
Gestation of the Grévy's zebra normally lasts 390 days, with a single foal being born. A newborn zebra will follow anything that moves, so new mothers prevent other mares from approaching their foals while imprinting their own striping pattern, scent and vocalization on them. This prevents the foal from imprinting on another female as its mother. From the time their foals are born until the foals reach an age of 3 months, females form small groups (three females and their foals). Mares may leave their foals in "kindergartens" while searching for water. The foals will not hide, so they can be vulnerable to predators. However, kindergartens tend to be guarded by an adult, usually a territorial male. A female with a foal stays with one dominant territorial male who has exclusive mating rights to her. However, the male must look after a foal which is likely not his. For these males, infanticide
Infanticide (zoology)
In animals, infanticide involves the killing of young offspring by a mature animal of its own species, and is studied in zoology, specifically in the field of ethology. Ovicide is the analogous destruction of eggs. Although human infanticide has been widely studied, the practice has been observed...
is not an option as without her foal, the mother will leave the territory. Thus the territorial stallion must assist another male's offspring in order to ensure his own reproduction. To adapt to a semi-arid environment, Grévy's zebra foals take longer intervals between suckling bouts and do not drink water until they are 3 months old. Foals become independent of their mothers after half a year but will continue to follow them for up to three years.
Relationship with humans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
in circuses. However, it was largely forgotten in the Western world for a thousand years. It was rediscovered in the seventeenth century, when the king of Shoa (now central Ethiopia) sent one to the Sultan of Turkey and another to the Dutch governor of Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
. A century later in 1882, the government of Abyssinia sent one to French president Jules Grévy
Jules Grévy
François Paul Jules Grévy was a President of the French Third Republic and one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans faction. Given that his predecessors were monarchists who tried without success to restore the French monarchy, Grévy is seen as the first real republican President of...
. Around the same time, French naturalist Alphonse Milne-Edwards
Alphonse Milne-Edwards
Alphonse Milne-Edwards was a French mammalologist, ornithologist and carcinologist. He was English in origin, the son of Henri Milne-Edwards and grandson of Bryan Edwards, a Jamaican planter who settled at Bruges .Milne-Edwards obtained a medical degree in 1859 and became assistant to his father...
recognized it as distinct from the better known zebras of southern Africa and it was named in Grévy’s honor.
Status and conservation
The Grévy's zebra is considered endangered. Its population was estimated to be 15,000 in the 1970s and by the early 21st century the population was lower than 3,500, a 75% decline. It is estimated that there are less than 2,500 Grévy's zebras still living in the wild. There are also an estimated 600 Grévy's zebras in captivity. The Grévy's zebra population trend is considered stable as of 2008.The Grévy's zebra is legally protected in Ethiopia. In Kenya it is protected by the hunting ban of 1977 but is still listed as a "Game Animal". In the past, Grévy's zebras were threatened mainly by hunting for their skins which fetched a high price on the world market. However hunting has declined and the main threat to the zebra is habitat loss and competition with livestock. Cattle gather around watering holes and the Grévy's zebras are fenced from those areas. Community-based conservation efforts have shown to the most effective in preserving Grévy's zebras and their habitat. Less than 0.5% of the range of the Grévy's zebra is in protected areas. In Ethiopia, the protected areas include Alledeghi Wildlife Reserve, Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary
Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary
Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area and wildlife sanctuary in southern Ethiopia. It is located in the Borena Zone of the Oromia Region west of the town of Yabelo, having an area of 2,500 square kilometers and elevations ranging from 1430 to 2000 meters above sea level with a latitude and...
, Borana Controlled Hunting Area and Chalbi Sanctuary. In Kenya, the Buffalo Springs
Buffalo Springs National Reserve
Buffalo Springs National Reserve is a protected area in the Isiolo District of Eastern Province, in northern Kenya.-Organization:The reserve was established in 1948 as part of the Samburu - Isiolo Game Reserve, and the present boundaries were established in 1985...
, Samburu
Samburu National Reserve
The Samburu National Reserve is located on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Kenya; on the other side of the river is the Buffalo Springs National Reserve in Northern Kenya. It is 165 km² in size and 350 kilometers from Nairobi and ranges in altitude from 800 to 1230m above sea level...
and Shaba
Shaba National Reserve
Shaba National Reserve is a protected area in northern Kenya to the east of the Samburu and Buffalo Springs national reserves. Together, the three reserves form a large protected area....
National Reserves and the private and community land wildlife conservancies in Isiolo, Samburu and the Laikipia Plateau provide a core and crucial protection of the southern population of Grévy's zebra. On the Laikipia Plateau, zebra numbers have increased thanks to protection and reduced competition with domestic livestock.
External links
- Grévy's zebra: Wildlife summary from the African Wildlife Foundation
- ARKive: images and movies of the Grévy's zebra.
- To Catch a Zebra by Brian Jackman - Story of catching endangered Grévy's zebra for translocation
- Why are the Grevy's Zebras in trouble?: Rich Blundell Reports from Kenya
- Grevy's Zebra Trust - A Kenyan organization dedicated to preserving the Grévy's zebra