Zebra herbs, twigs, leaves and bark. Their digestive systems allow them to subsist on diets of lower nutritional quality than that necessary for other herbivores. Female zebras mature earlier than the males, and a mare may have her first foal by the age of three. Males are not able to breed until the age of five or six. Mares may give birth to one foal every twelve months. She nurses the foal for up to a year. Like horses, zebras are able to stand, walk and suckle shortly after they are born. A zebra foal is brown and white instead of
Burchell's zebra Burchell's zebra Burchell's zebra ("Equus quagga burchellii") is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell. Common names include bontequagga, Damara zebra, and Zululand zebra (Gray, 1824). Burchell's zebra is the only subspecies of zebra which may be legally farmed for human consumption. Like most plains zebras, females and males are relatively the same size, standing 1.1 to 1.4 meters (3.75 to 4.6 feet) at the shoulder. They weigh between 485 to 550 pounds. Year-round reproduction observed in this subspecies in Etosha National Park, Namibia, concludes synchronization of a