Hartmann's Mountain Zebra
(Equus zebra hartmannae)
Facts
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IUCN VULNERABLE (VU)
Facts about this animal
The Hartmann's Mountain Zebra is a fairly large-sized donkey-like member of the horse family, with a narrow body and narrow, fast-growing hooves. The Mountain Zebras are the only zebras with a dewlap - a pendulous fold of skin under the throat, which is commonly associated with bovines. There is a grid pattern on the rump which includes a series of short transverse stripes running perpendicular to the dorsal stripe, not found on any other equine. The legs are striped to the hooves, and the belly is white. The stripes are black. The widest stripes are seen on upper hind legs.
There are two subspecies of the Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra): The Hartmann's Mountain Zebra and the Cape Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra zebra). The Cape Mountain Zebra is the smallest of the wild equines; the Hartmann's Zebra is considerably larger, with a maximum weight of about 340 kgs and a shoulder height of 150 cm. It tends to have narrower, more closely spaced stripes than the Cape Mountain Zebra.
Did you know?
That there are two subspecies of mountain zebras in Southern Africa? The Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) is the smallest of the extant zebras and the most restricted geographically. It became almost extinct but was saved in situ by the establishment of national parks and wildlife reserves. There are no Cape mountain zebras kept in zoos.
| Factsheet | |
|---|---|
| Class | MAMMALIA |
| Order | PERISSODACTYLA |
| Suborder | HIPPOMORPHA |
| Family | EQUIDAE |
| Name (Scientific) | Equus zebra hartmannae |
| Name (English) | Hartmann's Mountain Zebra |
| Name (French) | Zèbre de Hartmann |
| Name (German) | Hartmanns Bergzebra |
| Name (Spanish) | Cebra de Hartmann |
| Local names | Afrikaans: Hartmann-Bergkwagga Khoekhoegowab: !Goren oshiVambo: oNgoro shiwaradi otjiHerero: oNgoro hambarundu |
| CITES Status | Appendix II |
| CMS Status | Not listed |
Photo Copyright by
Trisha Shears
Distribution
| Distribution | |
|---|---|
| Range | Namibia and in the south of Angola |
| Habitat | Dry, stony, mountain and hill habitats |
| Wild population | 1950: 50'000-75'000 1992: approx. 8'000 1998: approx. 26'000 |
| Zoo population | 85 reported to ISIS (2006). |
In the Zoo
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How this animal should be transported
For air transport, Container Requirement 73 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.
Road transport (according to the South African Standard SANS 10331): Transport family groups in mass crates. Transport individual stallions in separate, individual compartments in a mass crate. If fighting occurs, separate dominant and aggressive stallions and mares and transport them under tranquillization in individual compartments in mass crates. Since fighting usually begins when different family groups are captured and transported together, this should be avoided at all costs. If a few selected animals are transported over a short distance, transportation under chemical immobilization should be considered.
Find this animal on ZooLex
Photo Copyright by
Alex Sliwa
Why do zoos keep this animal
Zebras are very popular with the general public, i.e. they are good ambassador species for conservation in their African range states. As the Hartmann's mountain zebra is rated Endangered by IUCN, also the maintenance of a reserve population in human care makes sense, in particular as the range is relatively limited and about 98% of all individuals live in one single country, which makes the population depending of essentially one single government and susceptible to the impact of droughts and changes in agricultural practice.