The zebra lives in family groups of about 15 which normally comprise a stallion, several mares and their youngsters. Fully grown zebras stand about 1.3 metres (4ft) high at the shoulder and live for about 25 years.

Zebras are grazers, and eat the coarser grasses. They always look fat and glossy, even in a bad season, as they store a lot of fat under the skin and around their internal organs. The stallions are fierce and quarrelsome, often picking a violent fight with other males over territory or females. They make a sharp, barking sound instead of a whinny. To us, the zebra’s stripes may seem unlikely camouflage, but in fact the bold pattern serves to break up the animal’s outline, confusing any attacker by blending together with other zebras nearby. At night, colours become shades of grey and, since most predators hunt at night, the stripes of the zebra make it hard to see in the dark. Early settlers in Africa tried to train zebras to pull carts, with limited success because they stayed rather bad-tempered.