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Interesting RP......im sure it must have something to do with the young be lost, lonely and desperate..I tyhink the colour of the car might not even be a part of the reason, but rather of the car just being the next big mobile object for the lost young to hang around...Being so young, they might not be so wise as to what humans or vehicles are really

zebra at satara

nice pic

Agreed

Beautiful pic esto!! Simply stunning!!

Here is one of a Cape Mountain Zebra in MZNP - taken early in the morning and it was only 2 degrees so they were all puffy and standing in the sun!! This foal was absolutely adorable!!

Esto and Bushfairy

what stunning pictures of a magnificent animal. Your images have reminded us of just how striking they are.

Bushfairy, I must admit to thinking that the Mount Zebra "Zebra" have a very special charm.. they do have a gentleness and unique beauty about them.

I completely agree MM - they are incredibly captivating and I can sit and photograph them all day in MZNP!!

to be so close to MZNP

We saw this baby Zebra near Satara, it was rubbing its face against it's mothers back quite a lot and also had it's front legs on her back..
We thought all the hair had rubbed off its face?

That looks very young, JJ. I do wonder about what might be happening there. poor little thing.

I wonder if Zebra can get mange, a form of mites.

Yes, they can, and this from Jock, its a form of grass mange I think she said, usually caused from eating wet grass.

We have seen several cases of this before and it most probably itches hence the rubbing of its face.

Now a question which is confusing me, is the Burchell's Zebra, the one we see in Kruger the same as the Plains and now also called Common Zebra?

You have a couple of different species of zebra in Southern Africa, and there are some discussion amongst scientist as to exact classifications. The following seems to be the current situation:

Mountain Zebra: Equus zebra - divided in to two subspecies.
- Cape mountain zebra - Equus zebra zebra - Originally found in North, East and West Cape, today in i.e. Mountain Zebra NP.
- Hartmanns mountain zebra - Equus zebra hartmannae - Found in Namibia with small populations in the Northern cape and South Angola.

Plains zebra - Equus quagga - Northern SA, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, North Botswana, South Angola. The one found in Kruger. Some may refer to them as the common zebra.

Now for the confusion. The Plains Zebra was previously classified as Equus Burchelli and known as the Burchell's zebra. It was seen as the same as the zebra found in East Africa. The two have however been split, and today the zebras found in East Africa are known as Burchell's Zebra.

There are discussions whether the extinct quagga was not merely a form of the plains zebra. It seems more and more are thinking that way.

Thanks Imberbe,
that is fascinating, always called the Kruger ones Burchell's, now it seems that is incorrect.

I don't know if we're talking subspecies or species here...

The Mountain zebra are therefore divided into two subspecies, the SA and Namibia ones!

But still a seperate species! (Although interbreedable etc. with plains zebra)

In East Africa you also have the Grevy's zebra, a seperate species at the moment!?

The others have always been the same species...with numerous subspecies as fashion has dictated...there is also a Chapman's zebra from East Africa in the mix...

So the quagga may be a subspecies...depending on who makes the rules!

Here's Wiki!

(And I only peeked now! )

Classification

There are three extant species. Collectively, two of the species have 8 subspecies (7 extant). Zebra populations are diverse, and the relationships between and the taxonomic status of several of the subspecies are not well known.

Genus: Equus
Subgenus: Hippotigris
Plains Zebra, Equus quagga
Quagga, Equus quagga quagga (extinct)
Burchell's zebra, Equus quagga burchellii (includes Damara Zebra)
Grant's zebra, Equus quagga boehmi
Selous' zebra, Equus quagga borensis
Chapman's zebra, Equus quagga chapmani
Crawshay's zebra, Equus quagga crawshayi
Mountain zebra, Equus zebra
Cape mountain zebra, Equus zebra zebra
Hartmann's mountain zebra, Equus zebra hartmannae
Subgenus: Dolichohippus
Grévy's Zebra, Equus grevyi

The plains zebra (Equus quagga, formerly Equus burchelli) is the most common, and has or had about twelve subspecies distributed across much of southern and eastern Africa. It, or particular subspecies of it, have also been known as the common zebra, the dauw, Burchell's Zebra (actually the subspecies Equus quagga burchellii), Chapman's zebra, Wahlberg's zebra, Selous' zebra, Grant's zebra, Boehm's zebra and the quagga (another extinct subspecies, Equus quagga quagga).

The mountain zebra (Equus zebra) of southwest Africa tends to have a sleek coat with a white belly and narrower stripes than the plains Zebra. It has two subspecies and is classified as vulnerable.

Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi) is the largest type, with a long, narrow head, making it appear rather mule-like. It is an inhabitant of the semiarid grasslands of Ethiopia and northern Kenya. Grévy's zebra is the rarest species, and is classified as endangered.

Although zebra species may have overlapping ranges, they do not interbreed. This held true even when the quagga and Burchell's race of plains zebra shared the same area. In captivity, plains zebras have been crossed with mountain zebras. The hybrid foals lacked a dewlap and resembled the plains zebra apart from their larger ears and their hindquarters pattern. Attempts to breed a Grévy's zebra stallion to mountain zebra mares resulted in a high rate of miscarriage. In captivity, crosses between zebras and other (non-zebra) equines have produced several distinct hybrids, including the zebroid, zeedonk, zony, and zorse.

My underlinings...

Grevys have been an established and popular addition to Zoo populations for a long time, so hopefully there is plenty of genetic material there!

Still don't buy the quagga being a subspecies!