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
Zebra mbuna actions scrape off the loose aufwuchs which it then ingests. The zebra mbuna is a maternal mouth brooding cichlid. The female broods the eggs and early stage young in her mouth for 18 to 24 days. During this time she is unable to feed and she loses weight. When mature enough, the fry are expelled into the open water and quickly find natural shelter in which to hide. A study by Pierottia et al. (2008) investigated whether the colour morph of the female influenced the male's choice of mate. It was found that the male's preference in mate colouring was