Their thundering hooves across the plains are the heartbeat of Africa. These lovely cousins of the horse are truly wild, social animals which live in harems and protect each other. Their skin is black with white hair, each pattern being unique to the individual.

One African folk tale explains that the zebra got its black stripes after fighting with a baboon over a watering hole. The zebra kicked the baboon so hard that the zebra fell over into a fire. The fire left scorch marks over the zebra’s body, hence the black stripes.

Zebras come in three different species. They are the Grevy’s zebra, the mountain zebra, and the plains zebra. Of the three species, the Grevy’s zebra and the mountain zebras are on the list of endangered species due to hunting for their skin and loss of habitat. For more information see the African Wildlife foundation website at www.awf.org