IUCN Conservation Status –
Least Concern
Extinct In The Wild
Class: Mammals
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Paignton Zoo is home to two Hartmann’s mountain zebras: females Taru and Leila.
This zebra subspecies has a very small range today – dry, stony mountains and hills in South Africa, western Namibia and southwestern Angola, Africa.
Zebras are grazers, meaning they mainly eat grasses, bark, roots and leaves.
Interesting facts!
- Mountain zebras are different to plains zebras in that they have a ‘dewlap’. This is a piece of skin that hangs from their throat and is more prominent on males.
- Each individual zebra has their very own pattern of stripes that is completely unique to them!
- After a long gestation period of 12 months, female zebras give birth to a single foal, which is able to stand within a few hours.
Conservation
The rough estimate of Hartmann’s mountain zebras in the wild today is thought to be around 25,000 individuals. They are hunted for their skin and also suffer from habitat loss due to agricultural development.
Some populations are managed in national parks within Africa and zoological population of this species is managed cooperatively. The zebras at the zoo are managed in line with the EAZA ex-situ breeding programme (EEP).