What Do Zebra Eat Throughout Their Lives?

What Do Zebra Eat Throughout Their Lives? 

Plains zebras spend the majority of the day foraging, mostly consuming grass but also occasionally eating leaves and stalks. It is difficult to argue that grassy zebras consume more than horses and burros because they spend between 60 and 80 percent of their day munching on less nutrient-rich grass. 

Zebras consume grasses, which make up about 90% of their diet, but they may also consume other kinds of plants, such as leaves, twigs, branches, shrubs, etc. If they can find a specific type of grass to eat, all zebra species will pick that over all other options. When a leaf or shrub is not toxic, zebras will eat it almost without exception, and they may even prefer to sample some leaves. There is a lot of grass available for eating. In other words, zebras will also eat bark, flowers, herbs, leaves, pulses, roots, shrubs, and twigs if they can't find any grass to suit them. 

As previously mentioned, grass comprises a large portion (over 90%) of the diet of zebras. However, they may also browse leaves, twigs, bark, and shrubs, and they do this frequently during droughts when it is difficult to find fresh, green grass. Zebras primarily eat grass, but they also like to consume shrubs, herbs, twigs, leaves, and bark. All zebra species are content to eat pulses, herbs, twigs, leaves, aquatic vegetation, crops that are being grown, fallen fruits, beans, and other legumes when grass is in short supply. shrubs, trees, and their bark. 

Zebras are solely land-dwelling herbivores. They prefer to eat green shoots over other types of vegetation, such as shrubs, herbs, twigs, leaves, some fall fruits, aquatic vegetation, cultivated crops, roots, and bark. Zebras can eat twigs, leaves, roots, and bark in addition to dried grass thanks to their unique digestive system. Despite having a less than ideal digestive system, zebras can still survive on less nutritious food. 

When compared to other herbivores with comparable diets, zebras consume an astonishing amount of food each day for their size. As the most recent grass has the highest concentration of nutrients, zebras prefer to eat it because it is fresh and green. However, zebras actually have a very effective digestive system. Compared to the majority of the other large African herbivores, they have a very distinctive digestive system. When an area has a lot of older, dried grasses, zebras are typically one of the first animals to migrate there because they can consume and obtain nutrients from these types of grasses, which most other large herbivores cannot. Since the digestive systems of the majority of other herbivores are not nearly as effective as zebras' in terms of acquisition, zebras are typically the first animals to migrate into an area with a lot of old, dry grass. As they consume the old grass, they will leave space for new, fresh grass to grow, which not only benefits zebras but also attracts other animals. Many other species of herbivores rely on the new to supply them with nutrients. 

The zebras are built to survive a wider range of environments and under harsher conditions than other grassland grazers because competition for their preferred food sources is low and because these high-fiber grasses are better able to withstand drought. Although they prefer shorter grass, they will eat taller grasses like elephant grass when the going gets tough. Due to the fact that their front teeth are made specifically to slash the grass blades and their back teeth are made to chew grass, zebras prefer shorter, greener grasses. As they remove longer grasses for other herbivores with more delicate stomachs, plains zebras are sometimes referred to as pioneer grazers. They frequently consume Sawtooth Loving Grass, Bermuda, African Foxtail, and Red Oat (yes, it is an actual grass name). Grevy's zebras regularly consume turpentine grass, bottlebrush grass, black lancergrass, and red oat grass (these names are getting worse). Common or Plains Zebras rely on red oat grass to survive in the wild, but if it is absent from the area around a food source, they will look for other greenish-blue clumping grasses, including Cenchrus ciliaris, Eragrostis superba, and Cynodon dactylon. 

Themeda triandra, Heteropogon contortus, Enneapogon scoparius, Cymbopogon plurinodis, and Setaria neglecta grasses have also been observed being grazed by mountain zebras in addition to tufted grasses. The mountain zebra, like other equids, is a coarse-grazing feeder, which means it consumes a wide variety of grasses can be found in its natural habitat. Mountain zebras are known to spend up to 18 hours foraging, with the remaining time being spent attempting to flee from lions, leopards, and other potential predators like hyenas. 

Zebras typically engage in diurnal behaviors, so it's common to see them foraging during the day. Zebras can digest a lot of grass in a day thanks to their simple stomachs. This suggests that zebras do not forage with as much discrimination and instead spend most of their time eating. Although zoo zebras might or might not consume the same grass, they most definitely do not consume higher-protein foods.