Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Grévy's zebra

The Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi) belongs to the Dolichohippus subgenus, while plains and mountain zebras are classified in the Hippotigris subgenus. It is found in Kenya and Ethiopia in eastern Africa and is taller, heavier and more donkey-like than members of the other two main species. It was named after Jules Grévy, the President of France from 1879-1887 after its discovery by a French naturalist. It is an endangered species, with population numbers having fallen by over 50% in the 30 years following its addition to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List in the late 1980s.

The incorrect options are all subspecies of plains zebra.

Answer: To find new sources of food and water

Zebra migrations take place because of the animals' need to find water and therefore the fresh grasses and vegetation that make up the majority of their diet. During the dry season, zebras will move around in search of any water sources (even digging and defending drinking holes if necessary). In the rainy season, herds of plains and Grévy's zebras will follow the weather around in order to move to areas that have experienced rainfall and therefore have plenty of food available. As food and water become scarce, this can result in massive herds of thousands of zebras moving together. Many of these migratory routes are followed year-after-year and can consist of round trips of hundreds of miles.

Mountain zebras don't tend to cover such large distances in search of food and water. They can survive in more arid conditions than their cousins and their migratory movements each year more often consist of moving to lower altitudes in the winter.

Answer: No

Zebras are not amongst the creatures that are known to select a single mate and remain with (or return to) their chosen partner for the rest of their lives.

Plains and mountain zebras typically live in small groups called harems that consist of a stallion, several mares and their offspring. Eventually, the stallion will be challenged and defeated by a younger male who then takes over as the females' mate. Stallions will also occasionally add new females (usually young adults) to their harem of mares. The adult members of a harem will often stay together for many years - young females will join other harems as they reach maturity, while young males will often band together in small herds until they are strong enough to set up their own harems.

Grévy's zebras have a different approach to relationships - the males are highly territorial and will tend to mate with any female who wanders into their territory. In turn, the females tend to move on regularly and will mate with many different males, only settling with one when they have a young foal to protect.

Answer: Transport - they pulled his carriage to Buckingham Palace

Walter Rothschild, the second Baron and member of the famous banking family, was an avid collector of exotic animals from childhood - both live and stuffed. In addition to giving his name to a well-known species of giraffe, he founded a private museum at his family home in Tring in 1892 that was later donated to the nation and became part of the Natural History Museum.

Rothschild's trip to Buckingham Palace in a carriage pulled by a team of zebras was a stunt designed to disprove the theory that zebras were untameable. However, he regularly travelled around London in a carriage pulled by some of the zebras or zebra-horse cross-breeds that he kept in his collection.

Answer: Yes

Much like human fingerprints, zebra stripes are unique to the individual. Research has shown that they don't have 'black and white stripes', but are in fact predominantly black animals with white stripes. The purpose of a zebra's stripes has been the subject of much scientific debate and research, but theories include: camouflage - the stripes provide a type of 'dazzle' effect (also used with some success on WW1 shipping); fly deterrents - an experiment in 2012 showed horseflies were less likely to land on models painted with zebra stripes; or recognition - the stripes might provide a way for one zebra to recognise another (although there is little evidence to support this).

Answer: Precocial

Precocial animals are those whose offspring are able to move about independently and feed themselves within hours of birth (or hatching in the case of birds and reptile species). Like other equine species, zebra foals are able to stand and suckle from their mother within hours of birth and are quickly strong enough to follow the herd. Foals are usually weaned between six and twelve months of age and their mothers will provide protection for their first year or so, usually until they have another younger foal to care for. Precocial animals tend to have a longer gestation period to allow them to be born in a more developed state - a zebra pregnancy lasts for around 12 to 13 months depending on species.

Altricial is the opposite of precocial where young animals are born entirely dependent on their parents. A marsupial is a type of mammal and synovial is a type of joint containing a lubricating fluid.

Answer: Elephant

Despite their large and intimidating size, elephants are herbivores - so zebra is not something that is found on their menus. Lions and spotted hyenas are the two main predators of all three zebra species (plains, mountain and Grévy's) but Nile crocodiles will take zebras that venture close to the water or decide to swim across. Zebra foals are at higher risk from other predators than the adults and also need to be particularly wary of leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs and even baboons.

Answer: 35

The practice of keeping animals in zoos can be somewhat controversial, with concerns raised about animal welfare and exploitation. However, zoos also play a vital role in maintaining populations of endangered species and in schemes to reintroduce animals to areas where the wild population has become extinct. Since zoo animals are not subject to many of the risks of life in the wild (such as predators, poaching or a lack of food and water) and benefit from medical attention for illnesses and injuries, they tend to have a higher life expectancy than their wild cousins.

In the wild a plains zebra might, on average, live for 25 years (if they are one of the 50% of foals who survive their first year). In captivity, plains zebras can live to over 30 years of age, and a 37-year-old plains zebra died at Oregon Zoo in 2013.

Answer: Rabies

Rabies is probably more commonly associated with dogs, but it can affect most mammal species, including zebras and humans. While most cases of rabies being transmitted to humans result from dog bites, there have been isolated incidents of humans being bitten by zebras or exposed to rabid zebras.

Rabies is an infectious disease caused by a type of lyssavirus. The virus attacks the brain and nervous system causing a range of symptoms from confusion and anxiety in the beginning, to paranoia, hallucinations, paralysis and coma as it develops. While vaccines exist and early treatment can be effective, the disease has an extremely high mortality rate that reaches almost 100% if treatment is not started before the patient (zebra, human or other) starts displaying symptoms.

Answer: Quagga

The quagga was a subspecies of plains zebra that became extinct in the late 19th century. Photos of one of the last quaggas in captivity show that it was considerably less stripy than its surviving cousins and was predominantly brown with the stripes being restricted to its face, head, neck and the front part of its back. Before its demise, the species was predominantly found on the grasslands of South Africa, south of the Orange River. Quaggas were largely hunted to extinction for their meat and skins by early European settlers in the area.

Quokkas and quolls are both small marsupials; a quahog is a type of clam.