What is a Zebra?

                What is a Zebra?
     Zebras are a striped member of the horse family.(Hoyt 2008) There are 3 species of Zebras. There are Mountains Zebras, Plains Zebras, and Grevy's Zebras.(Wexo 2000)
         Plains zebras live on the grasslands of Africa. Mountains zebras live in dry areas of southern Africa. Grevy's zebras live in the dry areas of northeast Africa.(Zebra 2004)
        Zebras have strong bodies and legs, small hooves, big ears, and stiff manes that are striped.(2004)
        There are differences in how each species look.A Plains zebras body shape is like a horses. Wide black stripes stretch down to the stomach. They are  wider on the rump. Some have dark brownish stripes as well as black.(2004) Mountains zebras stripes are thin and close together on neck and body, on the rump the stripes widen.(2004) Grevy's zebras are the largest zebras. Long narrow head with wide, big ears. Lots of narrow stripes on body and legs. But the stomach is white.(2004)
        When threatened a zebra can choose to run, often using a zig-zag pattern to distract the predator.(Zebra 2003) They can also choose to put up a fight, using powerful jaws and heavy hooves to attack the predator.(2003) Their predators include lions, hyenas, leopards, cheetahs, and hunting dogs.(Janssen)
        Zebras are herbivores.(Zebra 2003) All species are in consistent search of green pastures.(Janssen) In the dry season, they can live on dry grass, but have to be within twenty miles of a watering hole.(Janssen)
        The female zebra carries a single young, call a foal in her body for a year before giving birth.(Hoyt 2008) A new foal weighs between 70 and 80 pounds.(2008) After one hour of being born a foal can stand up and walk.(2008) In a few days a foal begins eating grass. It may gain up to 1 pound each day for the next 2 months.(2008)
        No two zebra's stripes are the same. Like human finger prints. They can even have different stripes on one side compared to the other.(Zebra 2004) The stripes on a zebra can distract and confuse a predator. They can also camouflage each individual zebra.(Zebra 2003)

                      BIBLIOGRAPHY
(1) Kalman, Bobbie, Levigne, Heather, What is a horse? Crabtree Publishing Company. 2001.

(2) Wexo, John. Wild Horses. Wildlife Education Ltd. 2000.

(3) Janssen, Paul. Zebra. www.outtoafrica.nl/animals/engzebra.html.

(4) Zebra. wisegeek.com/what-is-a-zebra.htm. 2003

(5) Zebra. www.kidcyber.com.au. 2004

(6) Hoyt, Reginald. Encylopedia. 2008

If you want to use my article use this in your Bibliography:

Mitchell, Alyx. What is a Zebra? mremett.blogspot.com. UT. 2013.