Zebras!

 Authors Note- In this essay you will learn lots about zebras and their growth. You will also learn about the growth about baby zebras.

Do you think zebras are black with white stripes or the other way around? Well if you think they are white with black stripes, you are wrong. They may look like there the other way around, but they are really not. I know this is a little confusing but it is the truth. Their stripes come in different patterns unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds. Unlike their closest relatives, horses and donkeys, zebras have never been truly domesticated.  Zebras are the most magnificent animals in the African Savanna.    

Why do zebras have stripes at all? Scientists aren't sure, but many theories center on their utility as some form of camouflage. The patterns may make it difficult for predators to identify a single animal from a running herd and distort distance at dawn and dusk. Or they may dissuade insects that recognize only large areas of single-colored fur or act as a kind of natural sunscreen. Because of their uniqueness, stripes may also help zebras recognize one another. Zebras' stripes are like fingerprints with each and every zebra having a different set of stripes.  

When a female zebra gives birth she will try as much as possible to prevent the newborn foal from seeing other zebras' strips for a few days. See, baby zebras aren’t born with stripes. Although when they are about 3 weeks old they will have light brown stripes. As they grow bigger, older, and stronger, their stripes will grow black and thicker. I think they will get more aggressive to, but some people don’t think that. When the baby zebra is first born they only feed off of their mother’s milk, but about 15 or more days later they will start to graze. Baby zebras have to stay with their mother to feed and stay protected, until they are about a year or two old. When they hit that age they will have to protect their self’s, find their own food and water.

These zebras are herbivores. Since these animals like to eat grass, fruit, vegetables, they live in mostly grasslands. They also live in savannas, woodlands, thorny scrublands, mountains, and coastal hills. However, factors have had a severe impact on zebra populations, in particular hunting for skins and habitat destruction. The Grevy's zebra and the mountain zebra are endangered. While plains zebras are much more plentiful, one subspecies, the quagga, went extinct in the late 19th century, though they have now been rebred from zebra DNA.

On the African Savanna, the most magnificent animals are the zebras. More zebras should be in the zoos, because these fragile animals become less popular year by year. We can keep them safe in the zoos we have today. We should not use their fur for our own needs. These precious animals deserve to live just as much as we do. Please keep these pour animals safe.