Description

Zebras (/ˈzɛbrə/ ZEB-rə or /ˈziːbrə/ZEE-brə)[1] are several species of African equids (horse family)united by their distinctive black and white striped coats. Theirstripes come in different patterns, unique to each individual. Theyare generally social animals that live in small harems to largeherds. Unlike their closest relatives, horses and donkeys, zebrashave never been truly domesticated.

There are three species of zebras: the plains zebra, the Grévy'szebra and the mountain zebra. The plains zebra and the mountainzebra belong to the subgenus Hippotigris, but Grévy's zebra is thesole species of subgenus Dolichohippus. The latter resembles anass, to which it is closely related, while the former two are morehorse-like. All three belong to the genus Equus, along with otherliving equids.

The unique stripes of zebras make them one of the animals mostfamiliar to people. They occur in a variety of habitats, such asgrasslands, savannas, woodlands, thorny scrublands, mountains, andcoastal hills. However, various anthropogenic factors have had asevere impact on zebra populations, in particular hunting for skinsand habitat destruction. Grévy's zebra and the mountain zebra areendangered. While plains zebras are much more plentiful, onesubspecies, the quagga, became extinct in the late 19th century –though there is currently a plan, called the Quagga Project, thataims to breed zebras that are phenotypically similar to the quaggain a process called breeding back.