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
Plains zebra The striping pattern of the zebra is unique among sympatric ungulates. One suggested function for the stripes is to provide crypsis for the animal in tall grass or in the dappled shade beneath bushes and trees. However, cryptically coloured species, such as the kudu and bushbuck, tend to be quiet and stealthy. They freeze during danger and flee only at the last moment. By contrast, the zebra is active and noisy, and makes no attempt to hide itself. Another suggestion is motion camouflage, that the stripes affect a predator's judgement of the zebra's size, distance, and what direction it is