Zebras Research Paper

Introduction

The zebra can get identified by its distinctive bold coat of black or brown and white stripes. Like fingerprints, each animal's coat is unique. Zebras are closely related to horses and donkeys seeing that they belong to the same genus, Equus however, they have never been domesticated. They are single hoofed animals that base their origins in Africa. They are social animals that exist in small to large packs, feeding together and even grooming each other. Each herd consists of a male, several females, and their offsprings. These family units could combine with others to be in part of a greater pack. A herd is known as a harem. They are herbivorous animals feeding on a variety of grasses, shrubs, herbs, twigs, leaves, and barks. This animal has a lifespan of 20 years and has a gestation period of 13months.

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The zebra gets divided into three species namely, the plain zebra, the mountain zebra, and the Grevy zebra. They can be differentiated by the shape and patterns of their stripes and by their body sizes. The Grevy zebra has thin stripes while the mountain zebra has vertical stripes on its neck and torso and horizontal ones on its haunches. The plain zebra has brownish stripes in between its black stripes. The Grevy zebra is the largest weighing 350-450 kgs and is approximately 1.5m tall. Mountain zebras are the smallest weighting around 240-372kgs and are 1m tall. The plain zebra is the most common. However, there has been interbreeding between these species leading to hybridization. Zebras have interbred with horses and wild asses.

Habitat

Zebra's habitats include open plains, semi-deserts, woodlands and some in mountainous regions. These animals avoid wetlands, desert, and rainforests. They exist mainly in eastern and southern Africa. The plain zebra live in open grasslands and woodlands in east and southern Africa. The Grevy zebra is found in the arid grasslands of Ethiopia and Kenya. The mountain zebra exists in South Africa, Namibia, and Angola. Their habitat is being affected by climate change, and they have become extinct in Burundi, and Lesotho. The Grevy zebra is more resilient as it can eat tough grasses inedible to cattle and is not dependent on the accessibility of fresh water.

Life history traits

Zebras are paraphyletic; they evolved from the old world horses, known as stripped equids within the last 4 million years (Bradford 2017, October 17). Asses and horses do not have stripes because they were of no use in low-density deserts. Some members of this group developed shaggy coats in adaptation to cold.

Zebras have several ways of communicating with each other seeing that they are the most sort after prey. Scientists have observed some facial expressions such as wide open eyes or bared teeth to all mean something. For instance, ears flattened backward indicate danger. They also make sounds such as barking, braying, snorting, and huffing. Zebras exercise mutual grooming to tighten family bonds.

Adaptation

The zebra is adapted to its habitat by their anatomy behaviors and even their physiology. These adaptations help protect them from predators and parasites and others help them utilize food resources. The zebra's stripes help the animal camouflage. These stripes are very conspicuous; they serve as dazzle camouflage. Unlike the other types of camouflage, the stripes do not hide the zebra. Instead, it confuses the predator in the distance, making it hard for the predator to depict the actual distance, therefore, throwing off their strikes. The stripes affect a predator's judgment on the prey's size and the direction which it is heading since they create a visual illusion. It is also harder for a predator to determine how many zebras there is in a herd while deciding to strike. Besides, it helps these animals stick together while fleeing from a predator. Further, the stripes are unattractive to parasitic flies, like the horsefly, since they do not resemble any other mammal.

Scientists have suggested that the stripes may also serve a social function, helping these animals identify each other from the herd. They have also been proven to regulate the animal's temperature by acting as a sunscreen.

These animals display a particular type of teething that helps them adapt to their habitats. They have different types of teeth including incisors, canines, molars, and premolars. At the front of their mouths, zebras have incisors that help in biting of grass and other vegetation that they feed on. They have strong molars and premolars for grinding the grass. These animals have large, high crowned teeth because they eat grass with a high silica content which wears off teeth. Males have enlarged canine for fighting as a result of sexual selection. The stronger males have higher chances of getting a mate and reproducing. The male may at times stand his ground to fight off the enemy, and this adaptation helps. When a predator approaches, he at times lowers his head, outstretches his neck and bares his teeth ready to bite.

Their digestive tract gets adapted to the rough grasses that these animals feed. These animals are known as pioneer grazers who prepare the plains for other eaters who rely on nutritional grass. The animal is said to eat over 50 types of grass. Zebras have a cecum where most of the digestion occurs. This organ is located right after the stomach, at the beginning of the small intestines. Here, bacteria help in the breakdown of the food so that the body can absorb it. This breakdown helps food pass rapidly through the digestive system. This adaptation of the digestive tract to the habitat helps the zebra get useful nutrition from the poor-quality grasses that it feeds on. This adaptation helps the animal survive in adverse areas where other herbivores cannot. However, they need to eat more so that they can get enough proteins. Therefore, they spend most of the day feeding.

In addition to physical adaptations, zebras also display some behavioral adaptations. These animals live in herds, as it is common in the horse family. These animals even graze with other animals such as giraffes and wildebeests. Living in groups supplement their physical adaptations. Standing in groups makes it harder for a predator to determine the shape of an individual zebra, therefore, making it impossible to select one as the target. Also, staying in a group makes it easier to spot an enemy and alert the rest. Zebras love open areas where visibility is good at night. While the herd is foraging or sleeping one of them keeps watching. When faced with an attack from a hyena or a wild dog, the stallion tries to distract them while the herd escapes, however, when attacked by a lion, the only way out is to escape. Furthermore, the zebra has excellent eyesight with its eyes located at the sides of its head giving it a wide eye view. Besides, it has night vision.

In East Africa, zebras and wildebeest travel from Tanzania to Kenya, Covering a distance of approximately 1800 miles, in search of food. This annual walk gets recognized as a wonder of the world. They travel through rivers leading to many of them being eaten by crocodiles. This migration also attracts other predators like lions and hyenas.

Global climatic change and its effect on the zebra

Each species evolves to live in a specific ecological niche with a particular set of temperature and other living conditions. Global warming is causing Antarctica to melt, the temperature to rise and causing droughts and reducing the sea levels. The rainfall is becoming scarce therefore vegetation is failing too. The Grevy zebra gets endangered. The mountain zebra has already shown signs of being affected by poor habitat such as gender imbalance which will affect their reproduction and eventually, their long-term survival.

The African savannahs and rainforest depend on rainfall quantity and seasonality. Research has shown that the continent will have a significant share of the impacts of global change due to its unique weather patterns. Savannahs, which are the habitat of zebras, receive rainfall only during the wet season. This habitat is most likely to be adversely affected by the changing rainfall patterns and decreasing amount of rain. In Burkina Faso, desertification is imminent while in Chad rainfall has increased. More rainfall in savannahs may increase tree cover while less rainfall in forests will decrease the forest cover.

Vast deforestation in the continent is causing the weather change. According to Boumis (2015), Africa accounts for 17% of the worlds forest cover but has recorded the largest deforestation rates. This coupled with the large amounts of greenhouse gases being emitted all over the world are creating global warming. The Africans savannah ecosystems are receiving higher rainfall hence fueling the growth of trees at the expense of grass. This will lead to habitat loss for the zebras.

The animals are also experiencing habitat loss to ranching and farming. Humans continue to convert forest land into human land leading to an animal-human conflict. In the case of the Grevy zebra, desertification is preying on it survival rates. Drought is forcing animals to congregate in areas where water is available increasing disease incidents. These animals are also at risk of being hunted down by humans for their skins. In the long run, the drought will cause vegetation to die out. There will be a disruption in the food chain causing the extinction of many animals. Hopefully, the world will not get there as there are already conservation measures taking place all over the world. Governments are regulating the conversion of forestlands into farmlands. However, new development policies are targeting savannahs for biofuel production, which could detrimental to the animals and their habitats.

African savannahs have trees and grasses growing at equilibrium because they are located in areas of sufficient rainfall. Fires and huge herbivores such as elephants eat and knock off trees ensuring that grasses find room to grow. Conversion of into savannahs into woodlands will be harmful to zebras seeing that they rely on grasses as their food source. Zebras live in the eastern and southern Africa, especially in Tanzania's Serengeti hills. In Namibia, cheetahs have been adversely affected by climate change which facilitated the growth of trees in savannahs. The cheetahs cannot hunt in crowded areas and furthermore, the horny bushes hurt their eyes affecting their eyesight.

According to Shapiro (2012, September 26), the zebra can eat a variety of plant species. Therefore, it will prosper with climate change. The savannahs which get associated with moderate rainfall are anticipated to get higher amounts of rainfall, thus facilitating the growth of more vegetation. There will be the growth of trees, more grass, and shrubs. The zebra has a robust digestive system that can handle any rough food. However, with the growth of more grass with higher nutritional value, the animal will do better. This growth will limit its predators, and therefore, zebras will reproduce freely. Water will also be more accessible to these animals, ensuring their well being.

However, the zebras which exist in places whereby rainfall gets minimized, their survival will depend on migration to places where there is vegetation. Drought will lead to overgrazing, where there are more shrubs compared to grasses. Less nutrient and water levels characterize these shrubs. The zebra can survive on such plants but ultimately will be forced to migrate to greener vegetation. Droughts also make the land susceptible to forest fires. Forests fires could lead to the loss of animal life.

The zebra is doing well as a species and faces no major threat that would warrant concern. These animals exist in protected forest lands in Serengeti national park in Tanzania, Tsavo and Masai Mara animal pa...