Zebra Trivia Quiz Questions And Answers
What is a Zebra?
A: Zebras are several species of African equids (horse family) united by their
distinctive black and white striped coats.
Zebra's stripes come in different patterns, unique to what?
A: Each individual.
They are generally social
animals that live in what
groupings?
A: Small harems to large herds.
Unlike their closest relatives, horses and donkeys, zebras
have never been what?
A: Truly domesticated.
There are how many species of zebras?
A: Three.
What are the three species?
A: The plains zebra, the Grévy's zebra and the mountain zebra.
Zebras evolved among the Old World horses within the last
how many years?
A: 4 million.
The mountain zebra of southwest Africa tends to have a
sleek coat with what color belly?
A: A white belly.
Grévy's zebra is the largest type, with a long, narrow
head, making it appear like a what?
A: Like a mule.
It is an inhabitant of the semi-arid grasslands of what
countries?
A: Ethiopia and northern
Kenya.
Grévy's zebra is the rarest species, and is classified as
what?
A: Endangered.
Although zebra species may have overlapping ranges, they do
not what?
A: Interbreed.
In captivity, plains zebras have been crossed with what?
A: Mountain zebras.
The common plains zebra is about how tall at the shoulder?
A: 50–52 inches (12.2–13 hands, 1.3 m).
It can weigh up to how many pounds?
A: 770 pounds (350 kg).
The males are slightly what?
A: Bigger than females.
Grévy's Zebra is considerably larger, while the mountain
zebra is what?
A: Somewhat smaller.
It was previously believed that zebras were white animals
with what?
A: Black stripes, since some zebras have white underbellies.
Embryological evidence, however, shows that the animal's
background color is what?
A: Black. The white stripes and bellies are additions.
The stripes are typically vertical on the head, neck,
forequarters, and main body, with horizontal stripes where?
A: At the rear and on the legs of the animal.
Experiments by different researchers indicate that the
stripes are effective in doing what?
A: Attracting fewer flies, including blood-sucking tsetse flies and tabanid
horseflies.
A 2012 experiment in Hungary showed what?
A: That zebra-striped models were nearly minimally attractive to tabanid
horseflies.
These flies are attracted to linearly polarized light, and
the study showed that black and white stripes did what?
A: Disrupted the attractive pattern.
Attractiveness increases with stripe width, so the
relatively narrow stripes of the three living species of zebras should be
unattractive to what?
A: Horseflies.
Zebras have how many gaits?
A: Four, walk, trot, canter and gallop.
They are generally slower than what?
A: Horses, but their great stamina helps them outrun predators.
When chased, a zebra will zig-zag from side to side, making
it what?
A: More difficult for the predator to attack.
When cornered, the zebra will do what?
A: Rear up and kick or bite its attacker.
Zebras have excellent what?
A: Eyesight.
It is believed that they can see in what?
A: Color.
Like most ungulates, the zebra's eyes are where?
A: On the sides of its head, giving it a wide field of view.
Zebras also have night what?
A: Vision.
Zebras have excellent hearing and have larger, rounder what
than horses?
A: ears.
Like other ungulates, zebras can turn their "what" in
almost any direction?
A: Ears.
In addition to superb eyesight and hearing, zebras also
have acute senses of what?
A: Smell and taste.
Being an equid, zebras are subject to many of the same
common infections and diseases as the what?
A: The domestic horse.
Like most members of the horse family, zebras are highly
what?
A: Social.
Mountain zebras and plains zebras live in groups, known as
what?
A: Harems consisting of one stallion with up to six mares and their foals.
Bachelor males either live alone or with groups of other
bachelors until they are old enough to do what?
A: Challenge a breeding stallion.
Unlike the other zebra species, Grévy's zebras do not have
what?
A: Permanent social bonds.
A group of these zebras rarely stays together for more than
how long?
A: A few months.
The foals stay with their mothers, while adult males do
what?
A: Live alone.
Like horses, how do zebras sleep?
A: Standing up.
Zebras communicate with each other with what?
A: High-pitched barks and whinnying.
A zebra's ears signify its what?
A: Mood.
When a zebra is in a calm, tense or friendly mood, its ears
do what?
A: Stand erect.
When it is frightened, its ears are what?
A: Pushed forward.
When angry, the ears are what?
A: Pulled backward.
Zebras feed almost entirely on what?
A: Grasses, but may occasionally eat shrubs, herbs, twigs, leaves and bark.
Their digestive systems allow them to subsist on
diets of
what?
A: 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 what age?
A: The age of three.
Males are not able to breed until what age?
A: Five or six.
Mares may give birth to one foal every how many months?
A: Twelve.
