The Mountain zebra (Equus Zebra) is a Zebra species in the family Equidae, native to Southwestern Africa. There are two subspecies, the Cape Mountain Zebra found in South Africa and Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra found in Southwestern Angola and Namibia.
1. The Mountain Zebra has a dewlap, which is more conspicuous in E.z Zebra than E.z. hartmannae.
2. The whole body of the Mountain Zebra is striped except for the belly. The ground colour in the Cape Mountain Zebra is effectively white, but the ground colour in Hartmann’s Zebra is slightly buff.
3. Adult Mountain Zebras have a head and body length of 2.1 to 2.6 m (6 ft 11 to 8 ft 6 in)
4. Mountain Zebra species have females being larger than males.
5. Mountain Zebras are found on Mountain slopes, open grasslands, woodlands and areas with sufficient vegetation, but their preferred habitat is mountainous terrain, especially escarpment with a diversity of grass species.
6. Mountain Zebras live in hot, dry, rocky, mountainous and hilly habitats.
7. Mountain Zebras prefer slopes and plateaus as high as 2,000 m (6,600 ft) above sea level, although they do not migrate lower during winter.
8. Mountain Zebras feed on tufted grass, but in times of shortage, they browse, eating bark, twigs, leaves, buds, fruits and roots.
9. They drink every day. When no surface water is available due to drought, they commonly dig for groundwater in dry river beds.
10. Historically, Mountain Zebras could be found across the entire length of the escarpments along the West Coast of Southern Africa and in the fold Mountain region in the South.
11. Mountain Zebras do not aggregate into large herds like plains zebra; they form small family groups consisting of a single stalling, one to five mares, and their recent offspring.
12. Bachelor male Zebras live in separate groups, and mature bachelors attempt to capture young mares to establish a harem.
13. Female Zebras (mares) give birth to one foal at a time; for about 3 years, baby fools get weaved onto solid forage.
14. Young males may wander alone for a while before joining a bachelor group, while females are either taken into another breeding herd or are joined by a bachelor male to form a new breeding herd.
15. The main threats to the species are the loss of habitat to agriculture, hunting and persecution. Poaching for food has decreased their numbers.
16. This species is listed as vulnerable under the IUCN Red List, and both sub-species are included in Appendix.
17. The Mountain Zebra was hunted to near extinction. In the 1930s, their population was reduced to about 100 individuals.
18. In 1998, the population of the Cape Mountain Zebra was estimated to have increased to some 1200, about 540 in National Parks, 490 in provincial nature reserves and 165 in other reserves.
19. Mountain Zebra species are currently protected in National Parks but are still threatened.
20. Mountain Zebras are the smallest of the Zebra Subspecies.
21. Mountain Zebras are known to be capable climbers, navigating the rocky hillsides of their Mountain habitats with ease.
22. Mountain Zebras have a polygynous mating system. They form small breeding herds in which the dominant males mates with the females of the herd.
23. Baby names of the Mountain Zebras are Foal and Colt.
24. Ecological niche: Due to their habit of grazing, Mountain Zebras are likely to be important seeds dispersed from the plants they consume. Moreover, they are believed to generate habitats for smaller animals, such as mesopredators, through grazing.
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