Mountain Zebra “Cape & Hartmann’s

Equus zebra (Linnaeus, 1758)

Photo: Deon Furstenburg

IUCN Conservation Status:

EN = Endangered.

“Wild horse” was the name given to the mountain zebra in the 1700’s and early 1800’s. Attempts to tame the extinct quagga and the plains zebra in the 1870’s were successful but failed with the mountain zebra which proved to be bad-tempered and unruly and training did not improve their unwillingness to work or slow gait.

Taxonomy

Classification

The genus includes all zebras, horses and wild ass species. There are four species of zebra namely

• Equus grevyi (Oustalet, 1882), Grevy’s zebra from eastern Africa; chromosome number 2n = 46
• Equus zebra (Linnaeas, 1758), the mountain zebra of south-western Africa; chromosome number 2n = 32
• Equus burchelli (Gray, 1824), the extinct plains zebra from central and north-east Africa, also known as Burchell’s zebra; chromosome number 2n = 44
• Equus quagga (Boddaert, 1785), the extinct Cape quagga and the extant African plains zebra and two sub-species of mountain zebra
• Equus zebra zebra the Cape mountain zebra after Linnaeus 1758
• Equus zebra hartmannae Hartmann’s mountain zebra after Matschie 1808.

The mountain zebra evolved from an unidentified ancestor during the early Pleistocene (1-2 million years BP), together with the African wild ass Equus asinus. The extinct Burchell’s zebra Equus burchelli was derived from Equus mauritanicus, a much larger animal from northern Africa during late Pleistocene. The extinct quagga and extant plains zebra are sub-species of Equus burchelli that evolved between 120 000-290 000 years BP. Grevy’s zebra was derived from another pre-ancestor Equus capensis during the middle Pleistocene, prior to the development of Burchell’s zebra. Both subspecies of mountain zebra can crossbreed successfully with wild asses, horses and donkeys. These hybrids are called “zebdonks” and are sterile.

Description

The Hartmann’s mountain zebra is larger and heavier than the Cape mountain zebra. The black stripes across the buttocks are 2 to 3.5 cm wider in the Hartmann’s mountain zebra than in the Cape mountain zebra. The build of the Hartmann’s mountain zebra can be compared to that of a horse, while the build of the Cape mountain zebra is similar to that of a donkey or wild ass and is smaller and more slender.

Points that can be used to distinguish the mountain zebra from the plains zebra are:

• The mountain zebra has stripes on the side of the body that end in a horizontal line; the belly lacks stripes and is white. The stripes of plains zebra extend around the belly and may have shady stripes between them
• The stripes of the mountain zebra extend to the hooves but are absent at the bottom of the legs of the plains zebra
• Mountain zebra have a dewlap the size of a man’s hand below their necks. It is absent in the plains zebra
• The mountain zebra has a unique, bright orange shading surrounding the snout that is absent in the plains zebra
• The ears of the mountain zebra are 4-6 cm longer than those of the plains zebra and are thus more prominent
• Mountain zebra inhabit mountainous terrain, keeping primarily to the slopes, while plains zebra roam plains areas

Comparison To Man

Trophy

Zebra do not bear horns and thus do not have trophy status. Despite this, the hides are a highly priced curio for both the hunter and the tourist market.

Habitat requirement

Both subspecies are found in drier mountainous areas with a rainfall of 150 to 450mm/annum. They will drink daily if water is available but can survive for several days without it. Although Cape mountain zebra are found at altitudes of 2 000 m they cannot tolerate snowfalls and move downhill to sheltered kloofs. Kloofs and bush thickets are thus an important shelter from the rain and cold of winter. Suitable vegetation consists of fynbos and karroid or dry mountain grassveld. This includes scrubland and dwarf shrubland communities, providing that they have a relatively high grass biomass, especially of tall perennial grasses. Mountain zebra cannot survive exclusively on mountain plateaux and need access to mountain slopes and mountain-foot environments in different seasons. The transitional ecotone between the mountain foot and the bordering plains are an essential feeding ground. Hartmann’s mountain zebra are usually found at the foot of mountain slopes while Cape mountain zebra generally inhabit the higher slopes and kloofs. In summer they prefer to remain on the top of plateaus.

Distribution

Feeding & Nutrition

The diet consists of 92% grass and 8% dwarf shrubs and herbs. Seasonal movement in search of nutritious grazing with a high crude protein content often results in migration. By preference both sub-species graze between 5 and 15 cm height and consume large volumes of coarse fodder such as grass stems and plumes. The zebra is classed as a non-selective/bulk feeder of intermediate to tall grass. They are monogastric animals and do not ruminate. Mountain zebra frequently seek mineral-rich ground licks and will take supplementary artificial licks. The most preferred grasses are red grass Themeda triandra, turpentine grass Cymbopogon plurinodes, assegai grass Heteropogon contortus, common bristle grass Setaria sp, bottlebrush grass Enneapogon scoparius and finger grass Digitaria eriantha. Mountain zebra are diurnal and are mostly active in the cooler daylight hours of dawn and dusk. During the hot midday hours they tend to congregate in the shade of a tree.

Social structure

Mountain zebra are gregarious animals and form family breeding and bachelor groups. The average family group size is 4.7 with a maximum of 13 consisting of one stallion, five mares and seven foals. A definite hierarchy exists between the mares of a family group but although the dominant mare controls the females, she is still submissive to the stallion. Both male and female foals leave the family between 13 and 37 months and join bachelor groups. Cape mountain zebra juveniles leave the herd of their own volition. The ruling stallion often tries to prevent the young leaving while the Hartmann’s mountain zebra juveniles that are chased away by the mother at an age between 12-14 months. The mature mares of a family group generally stay bonded to the same group for life. The controlling stallion stays with the same family group for his entire reproductive life of 9 -12 years. When capturing and translocating mountain zebra, the entire family group should be kept intact, as isolated individuals can take 4-7 years to re-settle and form new groupings. During this time the animals do not breed.

Information Table

Bibliography