How aggressive are zebras really?

[elefante]

I have heard people on here say zebras are aggressive in captivity, yet I've seen all three species mixed with other savanna species in zoos during my visits. The Como Zoo has plains zebras in with kudus and sulcata tortoises, Henry Doorly has Grevy's in with ostriches, and the Hogle Zoo has mountain zebras in with giraffes and ostriches. In all of these the zebras and other animals seemed to keep to themselves. I know this is only three different collections and not multiple viewings, but the animals all seemed to get along. Is it just that some zebras are aggressive? Do they have to be gradually introduced to the herd?

 

[Arizona Docent]

I am no expert, but from what I understand Grevy's are the most aggressive of the three zebra species and the most difficult to put in mixed exhibits. When the San Diego Safari Park opened they had Grevy's in one of their huge (approximately 100 acre) field exhibits with other hoofstock, but had to move them to their own hillside enclosure. You mention Henry Doorly mixing Grevy's with ostriches and my local Reid Park Zoo does the same. I think this works because ostriches are equally cantankerous and will not take any gruff. The only zoo I know of that mixes Grevy's with antelope is Caldwell Zoo (where it seems to not be an issue, but maybe they only have female zebras?).

 

[Zoofan15]

Zebra stallions are of course more aggressive than mares. It's common for stallions to harrass new mares joining the herd if they are pregnant to cause them to abort their foal so adding pregnant females to an established herd is usually not advised for this reason.

A zebra stallion at Hamilton Zoo in New Zealand was highly aggressive towards the giraffes and chased a juvenile bull giraffe into a fence causing injuries that led to it's death in 2001. The zebra was relocated shortly after. Their subsequent stallions have not caused any issues and are housed with giraffe, ostrich and blackbuck.

I heard another story on ZooChat of a zebra getting killed by a rhino after it provoked the rhino by attacking it. I'm not sure what zoo this was sorry.

 

[elefante]

It is generally more common for zebras to be housed seperately then? I've seen it a few times but it seems like I've seen them in mixed herds just as often. Maybe space also has something to do with it. That being said, they were conspicuously absent at Disney's Animal Kingdom when I was there in 2011.

 

[Grant Rhino]

I'm not an expert personally, but I've spoken to a number of people who are (at the zoo I volunteer at and other zoos) and apparently zebras "bully" smaller antelope species quite a bit. I know that Monarto Zoo houses zebra with eland, but when the eland have calves the zebra are moved into another exhibit. Apparently zebra will bite the tails off young eland (though I'm not sure how true this is). I'm surprised to here that zebra are being displayed with blackbuck, because I know that at my local zoo (Werribee Open Range Zoo) that the zebra were moved out of the enclosure they shared with the waterbuck because the blackbuck were coming in. I can't recall whether or not the waterbuck had young when the zebra were sharing the enclosure with them though. I do know that the zebra and fully grown waterbuck never had any issues living together though. Hope this helps a bit.

 

[elefante]

I'm not an expert personally, but I've spoken to a number of people who are (at the zoo I volunteer at and other zoos) and apparently zebras "bully" smaller antelope species quite a bit. I know that Monarto Zoo houses zebra with eland, but when the eland have calves the zebra are moved into another exhibit. Apparently zebra will bite the tails off young eland (though I'm not sure how true this is). I'm surprised to here that zebra are being displayed with blackbuck, because I know that at my local zoo (Werribee Open Range Zoo) that the zebra were moved out of the enclosure they shared with the waterbuck because the blackbuck were coming in. I can't recall whether or not the waterbuck had young when the zebra were sharing the enclosure with them though. I do know that the zebra and fully grown waterbuck never had any issues living together though. Hope this helps a bit.

Blackbuck can probably outrun zebras. Maybe they don't get harassed much by them.

 

[Azamat Shackleford]

Honestly if I ran a zoo and I had Grevy's there's no way I'd be keeping them with other species unless I find a species that'll thrive even with some rather aggressive and antsy animals. Like someone mentioned earlier I've seen that when mixed-species enclosures are hosted it's usually of the Hartmanns or plains species and not the Grevys. I've heard that more zookeepers are bitten by zebras every year than tigers but I cannot verify this claim (it was in a weird facts book for kids by National Geographic)

 

[Bib Fortuna]

Yeah, Zebras are killing machines and no keeper can be safe from them. No wonder more Zookeepers are biten by these dangerous animals, because most keepers didn't go inside to tigers or try to pet them.

Seems not to be the best book for children....

But of course Zebra stallions do not have any fun if you want to get to close to their mares, in the 1970ties, a sodmist get at night into the Grevy-Zebra exhibit at Frankfurt Zoo to mate with the mares, but too bad, the stallion was with the females at this time. Of course he attacked the man, who died later in the hospital. Bad Luck.

 

[d1am0ndback]

In the Dallas Zoo's giants of the savanna where zebra are mixed with elephants, giraffes, ostrich, guinea fowl, and impala, the zebras are as the zookeeper called "Complete A-holes". As others have mentioned they typically bully around smaller animals. At fossil rim they highly recommend you don't hand feed any animal but giraffes, but specifically recommend you don't hand feed the zebras because they bite a lot.

 

[Water Dragon]

At Chester zoo I saw a zebra having a fight with a scimitar-horned oryx through the fencing. Both were running up and down the fencing at each other; the zebra kicking at the oryx with its hind legs, and the oryx trying to get its large horns through the fencing.

 

[FBBird]

I

At Chester zoo I saw a zebra having a fight with a scimitar-horned oryx through the fencing. Both were running up and down the fencing at each other; the zebra kicking at the oryx with its hind legs, and the oryx trying to get its large horns through the fencing.

One issue with Zebras is that some will try to kill newborn antelopes.

 

[Azamat Shackleford]

At this one small rather meh zoo I visited awhile back (one in Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio) they had a long tube for feeding zebras instead of directly feeding them with your hands (zoo wasn't the best, and I've heard issues about animal welfare as well)

 

[Brum]

One issue with Zebras is that some will try to kill newborn antelopes.

Not just antelope either, I'm sure Cotswold had to remove their zebra from the main paddock because of bullying the last baby rhino they had in with them.

And was it Basel where a hippo took offence to a grandstanding stallion and killed it?

Just goes to show that they may be aggressive but they ain't clever!

 

[FBBird]

Not just antelope either, I'm sure Cotswold had to remove their zebra from the main paddock because of bullying the last baby rhino they had in with them.

And was it Basel where a hippo took offence to a grandstanding stallion and killed it?

Just goes to show that they may be aggressive but they ain't clever!

I think that's right about Basel and Cotswold!

 

[Tim May]

I have seen a Chapman's zebra stallion kill a free-ranging Chinese water deer that entered its enclosure.

 

[FBBird]

I have seen a Chapman's zebra stallion kill a free-ranging Chinese water deer that entered its enclosure.

Which entirely fits with the whole 'killing anything smallish with four legs' approach to life. Both sexes of Plains Zebra are likely to do it.

 

[Hyak_II]

Yes, to concur with everything else said in this thread, zebra's are completes asses.

They are hands down some of the most ornery, dangerous animals to work with in zoo's, and are virtually always completely protected contact. While you get the odd mare that is ok, virtually all stallions and most mares would rather bite and kick than play nice. And this even goes for introductions of a horny male and a cycling female!

 

[Jana]

In Dvur Kralove, a Hartmann zebra stalion and blue wildebeest bull got together into one enclosure by mistake of a keeper. The fight was short but brutal. Stallion suffered open/torn abdomen (among others injuries) but suvived by intesive vet help at the end. Hartebeest got away with superficial damage at first look, but died some hours later for devastating internal injuries.

Mixed giraffe pen at Prague zoo has only single-sex groups of animals there (with exception of giraffes). To prevent aggression and losses. It included also small all-mare herd of plain zebra. They still created too much injuries so they were removed. And they were replaced by 3 Grevy mares - who proved to be more peaceful than plain zebras.

 

[JigerofLemuria]

And they were replaced by 3 Grevy mares - who proved to be more peaceful than plain zebras.

A zebra stallion at Hamilton Zoo in New Zealand was highly aggressive towards the giraffes and chased a juvenile bull giraffe into a fence causing injuries that led to it's death in 2001. The zebra was relocated shortly after. Their subsequent stallions have not caused any issues and are housed with giraffe, ostrich and blackbuck.

I think that, independently from stallions being more aggressive than mares, it's quite likely that the individual personality and temperament of each specimen could be a decisive factor in these relations. I remember that in a recent docu-series about the Bioparc Valencia ("Las Crónicas del Zoo", 2022), they mentioned how their two Hartmann's mountain zebra mares were a bit more troublesome than the stallion. They keep them with common ostrich and Southern white rhinos.

Barcelona Zoo used to keep their breeding herd of Chapman's zebra with ostrich and blue wildebeest, but while there were no disasters (to my knowledge), the zebras generally harrassed the other animals and now have that paddock all to themselves. I think that's for the best.
Also on my visit of the Berlin zoo, I witnessed a small stampede in the Grant's zebra and common eland exhibit; some of the zebras kicked, but fortunately didn't hurt anyone.

 

[Jurek7]

I sometimes wonder if zebra males could be given toys to vent their aggression. Large hanging boxing punching balls are sometimes given to rhinos, for example.

The bottom line is that aggression among animals is a natural instinct as much as affiliation, and should not be ignored or prevented.