Mountain Zebra

The mountain zebra comprises two subspecies: {| class="wikitable " |- ! Image !! Subspecies !! Distribution |- ||| Cape mountain zebra (E. z. zebra)|| Western and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. |- ||| Hartmann's mountain zebra (E. z. hartmannae)|| south-western Angola and western Namibia. |- |} In 2004, C. P. Groves and C. H. Bell investigated the taxonomy of the zebras (genus Equus, subgenus Hippotigris). They concluded that the mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) and Hartmann's mountain zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae) are distinct, and suggested that the two would be better classified as separate species, Equus zebra and Equus hartmannae. However, in a sexual genetic study that included 295 mountain zebra specimens, Moodley and Harley (2005) found nothing to support the separation of the two mountain zebra populations into separate species. They concluded that the Cape mountain zebra and Hartmann's mountain zebra should remain as subspecies. This is consistent with the third edition of Mammal Species of the World (2005), which lists the mountain zebra as a single species (Equus zebra) with two subspecies.

with a Barbary sheep behind it, in captivity at Ueno Zoo, Japan]] The mountain zebra has a dewlap, which is more conspicuous in E. z. zebra than in E. z. hartmannae. Like all extant zebras, mountain zebras are boldly striped in black or dark brown, and no two individuals look exactly alike. The whole body is striped except for the belly. In the Cape mountain zebra, the ground colour is effectively white, but the ground colour in Hartmann's zebra is slightly buff. Adult mountain zebras have a head-and-body length of and a tail of long. Wither height ranges from . They weigh from . Groves and Bell found that Cape mountain zebras exhibit sexual dimorphism, females being larger than males, whereas Hartmann's mountain zebras do not. Hartmann's zebra is on average slightly larger than the Cape mountain zebra.

Mountain zebras live in hot, dry, rocky, mountainous and hilly habitats. They prefer slopes and plateaus as high as above sea level, although they do migrate lower during winter. Their preferred diet is tufted grass, primarily Themeda triandra, but in times of shortage, they browse, eating bark, twigs, leaves, buds, fruit, and roots. Other grasses consumed include Cymbopogon pospischilii, Heteropogon contortus, Setaria sphacelata, and Enneapogon scoparius. They drink every day. When no surface water is available due to drought, they commonly dig for ground water in dry river beds. The Cape mountain zebra and Hartmann's mountain zebra are now allopatric, meaning that their present ranges do not overlap, which prevents them from crossbreeding. This was not always so, and the current situation is a result of their populations being fragmented when hunters exterminated them throughout the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Historically, mountain zebras could be found across the entire length of the escarpments along the west coast of southern Africa and in the fold mountain region in the south. However, they generally inhabited poorly productive land and were nowhere really numerous in comparison to those species of zebras or antelope that inhabited the plains, for example.

s]] Mountain zebras do not aggregate into large herds like plains zebras; they form small family groups consisting of a single stallion and one to five mares, together with their recent offspring. Bachelor males live in separate groups, and mature bachelors attempt to capture young mares to establish a harem. In this they are opposed by the dominant stallion of the group. Mares give birth to one foal at a time, for about 3 years baby foals gets weaned onto solid forage. Cape mountain zebra foals generally move away from their maternal herds sometime between the ages of 13 and 37 months. However, with Hartmann's mountain zebra, mares try to expel their foals when they are aged around 14 to 16 months. Young males may wander alone for a while before joining a bachelor group, while females are either taken into another breeding herd or are joined by a bachelor male to form a new breeding herd.

The main threats to the species are the loss of habitat to agriculture, hunting, and persecution. Poaching for food (for example, during guerrilla fighting) has decreased their numbers.

The species is listed as vulnerable under the IUCN Red List and both sub-species are included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Though both mountain zebra subspecies are currently protected in national parks, they are still threatened. The European Zoos Endangered Species Program and co-operative management of zoo populations worldwide have been set up for them.