Our Zebras

The Texas Zoofari Park is home to both Grant’s zebras and Grevy’s zebras, two species that can be distinguished by their size, stripe patterns, and ears. Grant’s zebras are the most common and recognizable of the zebra species, while Grevy’s zebras are the largest, weighing up to 990 pounds and standing taller with longer legs.

Visitors can also tell them apart by looking closely at their markings. Grevy’s zebras have very narrow stripes, large rounded ears, and a bright white belly with no stripes. Grant’s zebras have broader stripes that wrap around their belly, and their ears are smaller.

Zebras are found primarily in eastern and southeastern Africa. Grant’s zebras live in groups known as families or harems, which are led by a single male called a stallion. Grevy’s zebra stallions are territorial, and mares enter their territory to mate and give birth.

Each zebra’s stripe pattern is unique—much like a human fingerprint. Scientists believe their striped coats may help confuse predators when zebras gather in groups.

Plains zebras, including Grant’s zebra, live in eastern and southern Africa’s treeless grasslands and open woodlands. Grevy’s zebras inhabit the dry grasslands of Ethiopia and northern Kenya, where water is less abundant.

Grant’s zebras spend much of their day grazing on red oat grass, roots, stems, and bark.

Grevy’s zebras eat many of the same plants but will also feed on fruit and other vegetation, allowing them to survive in drier habitats. They also require less water than other zebra species, an adaptation that helps them live in arid environments.