Grant's zebra (Equus quagga boehmi ) is the smallest of the seven subspecies of the plains zebra. This subspecies represents the zebra form of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem.
This northern subspecies is vertically striped in front, horizontally on the back legs, and diagonally on the rump and hind flanks. Shadow stripes are absent or only poorly expressed. The stripes, as well as the inner spaces, are broad and well defined. Northerly specimens may lack a mane. Grant’s zebras grow to be about 182 to 243 cm (6-8 ft) long and 120 to 140 cm (3.9 to 4.6 ft) tall, and generally weigh about 300 kg (660 lb). The zebras live in family groups of up to 18 zebras, and they are led by a single stallion. Grant’s zebras typically live 20 years.
The distribution of this subspecies is in Zambia west of the Luangwa river and west to Kariba, Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, north to the Kibanzao Plateau, and in Tanzania north from Nyangaui and Kibwezi into southwestern Kenya as far as Sotik. It can also be found in eastern Kenya and east of the Great Rift Valley into southernmost Ethiopia. It also occurs as far as the Juba River in Somalia.
Zambia is an ideal place for zebras. These animals prefer living in savanna woodlands and grasslands; they are not found in deserts, wetlands, or rainforests. The mountain variety lives in rocky mountainous areas. Unfortunately, the availability of habitat for all species of zebras is shrinking, resulting in population decline.
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