The Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) is a subspecies of Mountain zebra that is found in certain mountainous regions of South Africa. It is the smallest of all existing zebra species and also the most geographically restricted.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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GraminivoreIn zoology, a graminivore (not to be confused with a granivore) is an herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass. Graminivory is a form of g...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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CursorialA cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. chee...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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GrazingGrazing is a method of feeding in which a herbivore feeds on plants such as grasses, or other multicellular organisms such as algae. In agriculture...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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HerdingA herd is a social grouping of certain animals of the same species, either wild or domestic. The form of collective animal behavior associated with...
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Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
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Altitudinal MigrantAltitudinal migration is a short-distance animal migration from lower altitudes to higher altitudes and back. Altitudinal migrants change their ele...
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starts withLike all zebra species, the Cape mountain zebra has a characteristic black and white striping pattern on its pelage, unique to individuals. As with other mountain zebras, it is medium-sized, thinner with narrower hooves than the common Plains zebra, and has a white belly like the Grévy's zebra. Stripes of the Cape subspecies are narrower and therefore more numerous than the other two zebra species, although slightly wider than those of the Hartmann's subspecies. Stripes on the head are narrowest, followed by those on the body. Much broader, horizontal stripes are found in the hind area of Cape mountain zebra, lacking the “shadow stripes” seen in the Plains zebra. Stripes on the hind legs are broader than those of the front legs, and striping continues all the way down to the hooves. However, the dark vertical stripes stop abruptly at the flanks, leaving the belly white.
Today Cape mountain zebras are found in several mountain reserves and national parks: mainly the Mountain Zebra National Park, but also the Gamka Mountain Reserve and Karoo National Park, amongst many others. Like all mountain zebras, Cape mountain zebras live on slopes and plateaus of mountainous regions in the summer and move to lower elevations in the winter.
Cape mountain zebras are predominantly diurnal or crepuscular and are most active early morning and from late afternoon to sunset. They usually come to waterholes to drink twice a day and take a daily dust bath. Cape mountain zebras are not territorial and live in small groups of two types: breeding groups and bachelor groups. A breeding herd consists of a mature male (stallion) and up to five females (mares) and their foals. Stallions that cannot obtain mares associate in less defined bachelor groups. Once established, breeding groups normally stay together for many years; one stallion in the Mountain Zebra National Park is known to have stayed with his herd for more than a decade until he was at least 17 years old. Foals leave their herds on their own accord at around 22 months of age, and stallions actually try to prevent them from leaving. If two breeding herds meet, the stallions of each herd will approach each other and perform a challenging ritual: body rubbing, touching noses, and nasogenital contact. A dominance hierarchy exists but doesn’t seem to correlate with leadership, which is selected randomly. It has been observed that the social hierarchy can change due to the birth of a foal: while fertile, lower-ranking mares can threaten higher-ranking ones, and mares with new-born foals are highly aggressive towards other members of the herd.
Cape mountain zebras are herbivores (graminivores), meaning that their diet consists mainly of grasses. They prefer greener leafy plants, particularly the South African red grass and the weeping lovegrass. In marginal habitats such as fynbos, mountain zebras can also feed on young restio shoots, as well as underground bulbs.
In general, mountain zebras are polygynous, and within breeding herds a dominant male mates with the females of the herd. Cape mountain zebras usually breed in December-January/February. After the gestation period of 1 year, each female gives birth to a single foal. The young are usually weaned 10 months after birth. Bachelor males become reproductively mature at 5-6 years when they are capable of becoming herd stallions, while females produce their first foals at 3-6 years and can remain reproductively active until around 24 years of age.
Due to excessive and prolonged hunting and habitat destruction in South Africa, populations of Cape mountain zebra have declined greatly during the last 300 years. Threats that the Cape subspecies still face are conversion of habitats to agricultural lands, competition with domestic livestock, hunting, persecution, and potential crossbreeding between the two subspecies, which would lead to further reduction of the already low genetic diversity.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Cape mountain zebra is 1,758-2,691 mature individuals. Currently, this subspecies is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are increasing.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...