Would you rather be a Plains or a Grevy's zebra?

Two kinds of zebras frequent the grounds of the Lewa Conservancy: the Plains and the Grevy’s. At first glance, the Grevy’s are way cuter than the Plains. Digging deeper into the characteristics of these royal animals, and I’m not so sure I would maintain my bias towards imaging the Grevy’s. I’ll let you decide…..

The Plains or Commons zebra is the one you most likely have the image of in your head. Wide black and white stripes right down to the tail, pointed ears, and stubby legs, this type of zebra is the one that story books are written about. In terms of population numbers, the Plains zebra is doing quite well and remains stable (phew!).



The Grevy’s zebra, by comparison, have much thinner stripes that more numerous across the body right down to the hooves but not to the base of the tail. Standing tall and proud, the Grevy’s is the largest species of zebra in terms of body size found in the world. With large curved ears that would make Mickey Mouse quite jealous, the Grevy’s zebra is surely listening to the frequency of the shutter speed on my camera. This zebra species is endangered, largely due to hunting for its skin and habitat loss.



Behaviourally speaking, the Grevy’s zebra seems to be closer to the donkey or ass – yes, this is an acceptable term as it is derived from the genus Asinus! Grevy’s like to mingle together and don’t display the social dominance found in the Plains. Adult Grevy’s will get together, mingle for a little while before the males head off on their own to roam around solo. In contrast, the Plains will form harems where the male will acquire females to his liking and will keep them for life.

So if you had to choose – which type would you be? The image-perfect seductive Plains or the charming ass-like Grevy’s in jeopardy? Either way - both zebra species feed on similar habitats and fall prey to predation from lions or hyenas– some of the zebras have lost part of their tails from this – ouch!!