Talk:Zebra

Quality Standards

Please ensure your edits do not break the page. I feel the page may also need to be reviewed to move some sentences into more appropriate sections. Lossy 16:49, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

Legality of "natural zebra hides"

Are all Zebra species endangered or only some? Because I notice some businesses advertised on google claim to sell "natural zebra hide" products. Just curious if this means some are not endandered (or the companies are full of crap in their advertising), or if something illegal is going on that should be reported...

The way to tell a male from a female

Lunkwil

l,It is only YOUR OPINION the way to tell a male from a female is a bad . Perhaps you should not be so dictatorial, overbearing and arrogant to think that someone else might have another opinion.

Lighten up :-))!

Color of the Stripes

This is a Question Answer!!! Maybe this is silly, but what color are the stripes? Is the Zebra purple with yellow stripes or yellow with purplestripes. Surely there must be a dominant color for the zebra and the other is the stripe?

It is said that the skin of the zebra ia black, however hairs are white where they make white straps. Therefore the answer is zebra is black with white straps. Further, these straps are unique for each zebra like our finger prints. (PK 06:34, 4 June 2006 (UTC))

All of these make sense, but why does the article say Zebras are white with black stripes? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.97.20.102 (talk) 17:00, 9 May 2007 (UTC).

Exactly, the article says white with black stripes but its supporting text (number 1) says the exact opposite, I would support changing the text to black with white stripes.

Ah, the eternal question! Actually, neither is really correct... zebras are simply striped all over (Horses with dark skin are not "black" regardless of their coat color either...). If you consider the Quagga you'll find that the original color is brown.

Thus, technically, zebras are brown with white-black-white stripes, but the brown background color has - in the living zebras - usually been entirely replaced with a pattern of broader and ever broader stripes. The "typical" Burchell's Zebra (see for example here) are specimens where the stripes are less wide, and some of the original background color is still visible. Dysmorodrepanis 18:05, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

The claim in the footnote "zebras are normally black animals" is... well, provide me an evolutionary scenario that's plausible and I'm gonna believe it. Pattern anomalies in living zebras are no proof of anything save the fact that it's harder to produce no melanin at all than to produce a visible amount of it - a black panther does not mean that leopards are black with tan pattern! A brown horse evolving into a black one and then getting white stripes, and all this on the African savanna is the evolutionary equivalent of the Green Party candidate getting elected to PotUS in 2008: won't happen. If the lions don't get a black horse on the savanna, the heatstoke will.

Even Gould could be mistaken by the fallacy that a two-color pattern has to mean a background color and a pattern color, and not a two-color pattern entirely covering the background. No doubt this would have amused him very much. But think of tortoiseshell cats. Same phenomenon: the concept of "background color" vs "pattern color" does not apply in the first place - the pattern has entirely taken over. Dysmorodrepanis 18:30, 23 July 2007 (UTC)

Riding a zebra

can zebra ever be trained to be ridden? why is that one never sees it?

thanks.

Xah P0lyglut 10:10, 2003 Nov 29 (UTC)

Zebras do not have a suitable temprment. The can be tamed and seem broken to the task, but then suddenly attack with teeth or hooves, utterly without warning. Tannin

Irrelevant passage

Removed irrelevant passage, not sure if user was a vandal or just confused:)

)

"Those who have travelled in South Africa and spent some of their time in the province of KwaZulu/Natal, might have been fortunate enough to have seen something of the colourful beadwork for which the Zulu in that part of the country are well known. Decorative beadwork is sold at many outlets in the region and in major centres throughout the countery, where some of these beaded trinkets have been offered to souvenir huners as "Zulu love letters".:) To appreciate the true significance of traditional Zulu beadwork, however, one has to understand how effectively the Zulu have integrated social values into their arts and crafts. Traditional colours, colour combinations and patterns are still found in modern Zulu beadwork but the real eloquence is rapidly subsiding under the pressures of urbanization and culture change" Sayeth 14:11, Sep 6, 2004 (UTC)

NEWS

There is a lot of errors in this passage theres actually 17 errors wow i suck.P.S. I pick my nose and eat it.And I like pie

Alisha march 5th 2007

Pictures

At the moment, there are a lot of pictures. The flow of the text is disrupted. Can we choose? JFW | T@lk 10:54, 26 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Yes, too many perhaps but instead of choosing I've moved one up and to the left: it works for me. Jimp 04:50, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

How the zebra got its stripes

Surprising how little input there's been into this article, as the subject of how the Zebra got his stripes is quite an interesting one. The theory put forward here (and it is only a theory, one among many) is a weak one and not widely supported:

"The stripes have a cooling effect due to convection currents."

I'm not an expert in this field, but if black and white stripes had any significant cooling properties, humans would be using them in industry all over the place. Other theories (also weak, but worth mentioning) are: camouflage (long grass); creating a blur of stripes to confuse lions while running, making it harder to judge their leap; and having a similarly optically confusing effect as seen from a distance, distorted by heat currents. A newer and much more interesting theory (all others are pure guesswork and don't stand up to scientific scritiny) is that of protection from the Tsetse fly. Simple experiments have proved that, for whatever reason, this fly is repelled by black-and-white stripes, particularly horizontal ones (hence the horizontal stripes on the zebra's behind). I'd appreciate it if someone with specialist knowledge could elaborate on this and incorporate it into the article. Thanks. Palefire

User:Palefire's mention of the stripes putting off tsetse flies intrigued me, and so I had a quick hunt through Google. I have not tried the more specialist catalogues. But in date order, here's what I found:

• The development of zebra striping patterns: article from DevBio, a site which supplements Developmental Biology by Scott F Gilbert, lists several theories. Waage is the "to confuse tsetses" one.
  • Waage, J. K. 1981. How the zebra got its stripes: biting flies as selective agents in the evolution of zebra coloration. J. Entom. Soc. South Afric. 44: 351-358.
• New Life For A Vanished Zebra?:article about quagga-breeding mentions off-handedly that while entomologist Gabriella Gibson says a tsetse is 53 times more likely to land on a black target than on a stripy one, "zebras are largely immune to tsetses, so why evolve an elaborate fly screen"? No further information about Gibson though.
• Some document repository (sorry :)) cites this promising-sounding article:
  • Ruxton, G.D., 2002. The possible fitness benefits of striped coat coloration for zebra. Mammal Review, 32 (4): 237-244. ..which has an abstract listing four general theories, suggesting that the tsetse tests are inconclusive, and reappraising the camouflage one.

So someone with a university library can hunt these down.

Telsa 16:52, 23 August 2005 (UTC)

Zebra with spots - very interesting picture here - Rooivalk 19:42, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

Some document repository mentioned above would be hosted by the quite respectable organisation called... the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations!

I have always read that it is to break up a herd. With all the stripes it is harder for a predator to spot an individual against a bunch of stripes when they are crowded together.

Crossbreed aka zebra hybrid

removed section on crossbreeds for now, as both removals (quote: 'this is retarted') and the previously existing text (no references) were not ideal. However there are some references to be found on Zebra Hybrids, e.g. BBC and elsewhere. If there is solid text on circumstances and cases, with references, we might consider recreating a Zebra hybrid section.Santaduck 20:38, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

I say it's fine without. There's already an article on Zebroids.

hey

expand?

A lot of famous animals have extensive articles on Wikipedia. Maybe the Zebra article could be expanded?

ambiguity in text

"During the course of a day the plains zebra can walk around forty kilometres (from its herd, and back again in the evening)."

I assume this means a plains zebra can walk 80km a day? --82.133.79.7 10:44, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Equus hartmannae & Equus zebra

Mountain Zebra pretty clearly states that the current scholarship on the Mountain Zebra puts E. hartmannae & E. zebra are two seperate species. This is per Groves & Bell, 2004. I don't want to start some kind of reversion scandal over zebras, but it seems pretty clear to me that they should be seperately delineated in the taxobox. --mordicai. 20:46, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Number of chromosomes?

In the wild horse article it is mentioned that the Przewalski horse has 66 chromosomes whereas the domesticated horse has 64. Does anyone know how many chromosomes the zebra has? I recall to have read that the zebra also has 66 chromosomes. If so it raises some quite interesting questions about the relations within the family Equidae. The question being: Is the 64 chromosomes of the modern horse a recent (within the domestication period) change or had the old wild horses of Europe also 64 chromosomes. If so wouldn't the Przewalski horse be more likely to be a close relative to the zebras, and indeed be considered one, than to the horses?

This could of course be decided by comparison of the genetic code from some different spices of zebras, the domesticated horse and Przewalski's horse. If anyone has seen anything about such a comparison it would be interesting to know.

And yes, I do know that the zebras are quite a genetically diverse group, a fact that really only makes the above questions more interesting, it even raises a new one: must a zebra be striped to be considered one?

Anders Kristoffersson 130.243.153.103 19:09, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

pronounciation

zeb-ra or zee-bra? someone else add it because i don' t know how to use ipa Eng101 03:20, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

• I've heard both pronunciations, and I'm pretty sure that either is acceptable (I'm from Eastern Canada and I say ZEE-bra, FYI). I can sort of do IPA (with difficulty), and I'll try to add it. --Pharaoh Hound (talk) (The Game) 12:08, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

"In popular culture"

I have removed the section on "Zebras in popular culture" yet again. Articles "in popular culture" have been the frequent subject of AFD discussions, and most users believe that they generally do not belong in an article about a serious topic. Can we reach an agreement that the trivia section added previously to this article shall not be reinstated? Shalom ^Hello 17:34, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

do zebra foals learn to identify their mothers by looking at their stripes?

I have recently heard fomr a game ranger in the Eastern Cape, South Africa that zebra newborns spend days focussed on their mother's stripes so as to be able to identify them. Is there science in this or only a good story? liz in Johannesburg —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.8.44.130 (talk) 09:32, August 30, 2007 (UTC)

huh?

FIRST we're told that :

Zebras are white with black stripes and their bellies have a large white blotch for camouflage purposes.

This sentence is immediatedly followed by this statement:

The reasons is it believed that zebras are black with white stripes are: (1) white equids would not survive well in the African plains or forests; (2) The quagga, an extinct zebra species, had the zebra striping pattern in the front of the animal, but had a dark rump; (3) when the region between the pigmented bands becomes too wide, secondary stripes emerge, as if suppression was weakening. The fact that zebras have white bellies is not very strong evidence for a white background, since many animals of different colors have white or light colored bellies. [1] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Arthurian Legend (talk • contribs) 16:37, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Zebrasss

is it white on black or black on white?

The truth is that its black on white because i said so and theres nothing you can do about it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.39.49.180 (talk) 17:18, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Three zebra species

I just changed the pages to where it lists only three zebra species due to the info on the Mountain zebra page that disputes that there are two mountain zebra species. Any objections? Bobisbob (talk) 18:18, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

Huh? again

Zebras are mutant horses?? I don't think that this belongs there.

68.164.150.157 (talk) 23:10, 22 December 2007 (UTC)

Picture

In the picture that says its of a zebra trotting the zebra is actually walking so I am changing it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.74.162.9 (talk) 04:38, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

Etymology of the word Zebra

I think this would be very important to include. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 169.229.53.193 (talk) 04:45, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Are zebras black with white stripes or white with black stripes?

Zebras are black with white stripes (if you don't believe me go look at a zebras ass,take a look at its tail and at the end of its tail its white I am wrong but if its black I am right which I am because I've studied). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.70.31.69 (talk) 00:10, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

zebras

blah blah blah I just got bored so I put this here. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.70.31.69 (talk) 00:14, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

zebras

alison frazze sucks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.70.31.69 (talk) 00:40, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

zebras (computer)

A zebra weight is from 484-708 lbs.

zeasba

aafa —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.70.31.69 (talk) 22:56, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

ZEBRA (computer)

zebra, herbivorous hoofed African mammal of the genus Equus, which also includes the horse and the ass. It is distinguished by its striking pattern of black or dark brown stripes alternating with white. In size and body form it is intermediate between the larger horse and the smaller ass. It has a heavy head, stout body, short, stiff mane, and tufted tail. There are three living zebra species; a fourth species, the quagga, became extinct in the late 19th cent. Most zebras inhabit open plains or brush country, while mountain zebras favor rocky hillsides. Zebra herds on the Serengeti of E Africa can be as large as 200,000 individuals, but all are organized in family groups led by a stallion. The plains zebras usually mix with other grazing animals, such as wildebeest and antelopes. They are swift runners, achieving speeds of up to 40 mph. Some authorities believe that the stripes evolved as visual identification to reinforce social bonds with other zebras, rather than for disguise or insect protection. The zebra's natural enemies are the lion and the leopard. The plains zebra, Equus burchelli, is found throughout Africa S of the Sahara. It stands about 4 ft (120 cm) tall at the shoulder and has small ears. It has very broad stripes, which vary greatly in their pattern among the several races of the species, as well as among individuals of the same race. Grevy's zebra, E. grevyii, is a large zebra found in E Africa. It stands 4 1/2 to 5 ft (140–150 cm) at the shoulder and weighs about 600 lb (270 kg). It has large, rounded ears and numerous very narrow stripes. Most distinctive is the mountain zebra, E. zebra, with a donkeylike build, long ears, and a characteristic stripe pattern. Unlike any other member of the genus Equus, its throat has a dewlap. One race of the mountain species, Hartmann's zebra, found in the arid mountains and coastal plains of SW Africa, increased in numbers in the 1980s to an estimated 15,000 from about 7,000 in 1967. The other race, the endangered Cape mountain zebra, is rarely found outside a protected area in South Africa. Zebras have been hunted extensively for their flesh and skins, but the plains zebra and Grevy's zebra are still numerous. Zebras have been crossed with horses in an attempt to produce a draft animal, but the offspring have proved sterile and unreliable. Zebras are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Perissodactyla, family Equidae.