Zebras

Of all the children’s wildlife stories “How the Zebra Got His Stripes”, a Ugandan folk legend, must be the most famous. Zebras belong to the Equus genus, along with horses and donkeysRead more, from which comes the word "equine". Exactly as human fingerprints are unique, so are zebras’ stripes, but it is unknown whether they can recognise each other based on the patterns of their bizarre coats. They are very social animals and live in herds called harems, as seen in the group painting. They appear to be very caring with their other members, and will even groom each other. They will only sleep if their neighbours are nearby in order to have a warning system in place should predators approach. Portrayed in a series of stunning canvas prints, the Photowall art is beautifully detailed, with extraordinary clarity. These animals, probably the most recognised of all, are displayed in both classic and modern genres. The movement of the running zebras can almost be felt emanating from the painting, and noise of their hooves is almost audible. The mother and foal canvas print is typical of the family bond. The mother keeps her foal close for the first few days after birth so that the youth can learn her smell, sight and voice and will always be able to find her.

Characteristics

Zebras makes a series of noises. If looking for a mate they bray like a donkey but when trying to find another zebra it becomes high-pitched and short, almost like a shrill dog bark. They also make the typical horse sounds, snorting and whinnying. They communicate their mood by using their tails and ears. Much like a horse, the ears will be upright when they are calm, forward if they are frightened, but flattened backwards when they are angry. Extremely fast, they can reach speeds of up to 65km per hour, and with their extraordinary stamina, they use zig-zag movements to evade predators. Their speed is displayed in the annual migration, with the approximately 1.5 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebras, crossing the Serengeti plains in Tanzania, much like the canvas prints in the series.

Species

Of the three different species, the plains zebra is the most common, found in southern and eastern Africa. The mountain zebra has a white belly and originates from south-west Africa. The rarest species, the Grévy's zebra is the largest and inhabits grassland in Northern Kenya, and is classified as endangered.
Product information