Animal Facts

Grants Zebra
The Longleat herd of Grant’s Zebra is a firm favourite amongst visitors.

These striped, horse-like animals graze the grasslands of the ‘East Africa Reserve’ roaming free amongst the Giraffe, Camel and Llama.

There are many theories as to the origin of the black and white stripes. Many believe that they help ‘camouflage’ the zebra as a ‘herd of stripes’ confuses predators such as lion who are unable to pick out one animal to prey upon – an essential part of their hunting technique. Others believe that the stripes offer a ‘cooling system’ as black absorbs heat and white reflects heat thus offering an ‘air flow’ over the zebra’s back. Another suggestion is that the stripes may have evolved to deter harmful flies and optical signals can discourage them. Research has also shown that zebras will actively seek each other out for safety as their visual system is ‘excited’ by black and white stripes due to several kinds of primary nerve cells in their eyes!

What is certain however that the markings of each zebra are unique – similar to the human fingerprint.