Zebras are striped equids native to Africa. These animals, closely related to horses and donkeys, are herbivores. Their diet largely consists of various types of grasses found across African savannas and grasslands.
The Primary Diet: Grazing Grasses
The majority of a zebra’s diet, often exceeding 90%, is comprised of grass. Zebras are well-adapted grazers, utilizing their strong front teeth to crop grass close to the ground and large molars at the back of their mouths to grind it down. This continuous grazing helps maintain the ecosystems they inhabit, as they clear old, dry grass, making way for new growth that benefits other herbivores.
Zebras consume 20 to 30 pounds (9 to 14 kilograms) of food daily, spending up to 19 hours grazing to meet their nutritional needs. While they prefer fresh, green, and often shorter grasses, zebras are also capable of eating tougher, drier grasses. Common grass varieties in their diet include red oat grass, Bermuda grass, and star grass.
Beyond Grass: Adaptations and Seasonal Eating
When fresh grass is scarce, particularly during dry seasons, zebras demonstrate dietary flexibility by consuming other plant materials. They can browse on shoots, leaves, herbs, and even bark or twigs. This adaptability allows them to survive in challenging environments where food resources fluctuate.
Different zebra species, such as Plains zebras, Grevy’s zebras, and Mountain zebras, exhibit slight variations in their dietary preferences based on their specific environments. For instance, Grevy’s zebras can eat coarser grasses that other species might avoid, along with foliage and bark during dry periods. Mountain zebras, found in more rugged terrain, may also consume a wider range of vegetation, including roots and succulents, when necessary.
How Zebras Digest Their Food
Zebras possess a digestive system that efficiently processes their fibrous, plant-based diet. They are classified as hindgut fermenters, meaning that the majority of their food digestion occurs in their large intestine and cecum, rather than in a multi-chambered stomach like ruminants. Microbes within this hindgut break down the tough plant fibers, extracting nutrients.
This digestive strategy enables zebras to process large quantities of low-nutrient plant material relatively quickly. While it may be less efficient in nutrient absorption compared to foregut fermentation, the rapid passage allows zebras to consume more food, compensating for the lower quality.