In Africa there are striped horses who roam the wild free. These wild horses are called zebras. Zebras belong to the horse family.Zebras have an excellent eyesight and hearing.
Plain zebras, Mountain zebras and Grevy's zebras are the three main species of zebra. Plains zebra (Equus quagga) are also call common zebra because they are the most common zebra and are geographically widespread.
But what troubles are zebra's facing?
As we all know zebra's are prey to lions, hyenas and to a lesser extent cheetahs, leopards and wild dogs. But this is natural.
But what other threats of extinction are zebra's facing?
The Burchell's zebra is in danger of habitat loss and competition for water with livestock.
Grevy's zebra is the wildest, largest and most untamable of the three main zebra species. Historically they roamed the scrublands of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya. Grevy's zebras have suffered a lot of reduction of range. Grevy's zebra are now forced to inhabit semi-arid to arid ecosystems which are dominate by livestock and their owners.
More than 15,000 Grevy's zebras inhabited Africa, a few decades ago, but today less than 2,500 remain.
Habitat fragmentation, loss as more land is converted into agricultural use are the greatest threat Grevy's zebra face. Livestock overgrazing is leading to environmental degradation. The Grevy's zebras compete with the ever-increasing livestock population and agricultural crops for water.
Are zebra's poached?
It is true that zebras are poached. They are poached because hunters want their skin to make blankets, snuggies, carpets, clothing and various other items. They are also poached for their meat.In Bodhswana the hunting season lasts almost till the rains.
Another cruel fact is that the hunters choose the best and healthiest zebras who have survived the migration, unlike the lions.
But no zebra skin, snuggy, carpet, clothing and blankets will look as good as a wild zebra.
So we should try to stop the poaching of zebras, the beautiful, striped, wild horses of Africa.
