Zebras are my favorite animals, but which species are best in zoos?
Best Zebra Species
- Thread starter ZebraDude95
- Start date
Depends on what you mean. Personal opinion or best display animal?
I’d say best display species.
I would say Grant's zebra, because they are allot more common in zoos.
Thanks! Grant’s are also my favorite zebra species.
Well i must say you have great taste. They are also my favorite.
Plains zebras are cute with their squat rounder proportions and thicker stripes, and mountains have that charming dewlap. But Grevy's have to be the most distinctive in their impressive size, string-thin stripes, long faces and almost perfectly oval ears - not to mention being much less social than the other two. It's hard to choose! I guess plains, quaggas specifically, have always captured my imagination the most, though. Controversial as it is, the bring-back-the-quagga project at least interests me insofar as seeing living approximations to quagga coat colors as opposed to heavily aged taxidermy. So lovely!
Speaking about zoos - I've had a suspicion that up until the mid 20th century, Grevy's (and maybe mountains) were the more common species in captivity but this is mostly gathered from them appearing so much more frequently in books, film and other media of the day. It always struck me as curious. Is my suspicion right?
Speaking about zoos - I've had a suspicion that up until the mid 20th century, Grevy's (and maybe mountains) were the more common species in captivity but this is mostly gathered from them appearing so much more frequently in books, film and other media of the day. It always struck me as curious. Is my suspicion right?
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You might be correct. I think there are more Grevy's and Mountain Zebras in zoos because they are more endangered than Plains Zebras. However, Plains Zebras are now classified as Near Threatened, so they could make a comeback in zoos.
Is there a project of bringing back the quagga? Because i sure do hope so. I love them.
The current zebras classified as 'Quaggas' in the Project so far bear little resemblance to the original genuine animal in the colour or markings, apart from stripe reduction.
This is my opinion based on personal observation, though it may or may not accurately represent the situation across the entire USA. From what I have seen a majority of AZA accredited zoos house Grevy's zebra due to their endangered status. A majority of non-AZA zoos house plains zebras (usually the Grant's race) due to their availability in the private sector.
For a discussion on the quagga project, see this thread: Resurrecting the Quagga
For a discussion on the quagga project, see this thread: Resurrecting the Quagga
Not exactly. It's all cosmetic and in all frankness kind of a waste of resources IMO. I don't recall if there are plans to release them into the wild or not but it'd be a moot point. It's hard for me not to appreciate the beauty of the individuals they've bred, though, regardless of how close to the precise coloration they are. I find it interesting that the genes for those browns and reds are still in other plains subspecies. Getting off topic with that, though.
@Arizona Docent: Thanks for clearing that up! I was under the impression plains were more common period in modern day American zoos at least.
That would be cool. But i think zoos dont do that because you will get some crossbreed species. And having two enclosures would probally bore regular visitors.
Tierpark Berlin has the three zebra species + Somali wild ass in one row, perfect for nerdy comparisons, but a bit boring for 95% of the visitors....
Or maybe only perfect for comparisons by those not nerdy enough - where are the other equid species in that row??
Kulan, kiang and Przewalski wild horse are close to each other in the Asian section of the park, you have to respect geography when doing taxonomy
FunkyGibbon
Well-Known Member
Kulan, kiang and Przewalski wild horse are close to each other in the Asian section of the park, you have to respect geography when doing taxonomy
The patch of ground where you can see all three herds of Asian horse is one of my favourites in any zoo I think.
Sounds like my dream, I gotta get back to Berlin!!
Zebras are my favorite animals too! Specifically the Grevy's zebra, although I do love all of them. (I'm actually planning on getting a Grevy's zebra tattoo). Not to sound really dramatic... but I cried the first time I saw Grevy's zebras in real life.
I can totally relate to this!