Burchell's zebra

Burchell's zebra, a subspecies of the plains zebra, is named after the British explorer William John Burchell. It is also commonly referred to as the bontequagga, Damaraland zebra, and Zululand zebra. Notably, it is the only zebra species legally farmed for human consumption.

These zebras display relatively uniform size, with both males and females standing approximately 1.1 to 1.4 meters tall at the shoulder and weighing between 500 to 700 pounds. They can reproduce throughout the year, likely due to the synchronization of their daily routines.

One of the distinguishing features of Burchell's zebras is their stripes. They possess bold stripes on their head, neck, and flanks, which gradually fade to white on their limbs. Furthermore, they have shadow stripes between the bold stripes on their haunches, differentiating them from other zebra subspecies.

Burchell's zebras typically form small family groups, which can be either harem groups or bachelor groups. These small groups often congregate to form larger herds, particularly around water and food sources, while still maintaining their individual family identities.

Geographically, Burchell's zebras range from Namibia to Botswana, Swaziland, and KwaZulu-Natal. Although they have disappeared from the central parts of their range, they continue to inhabit the northwestern and southeastern areas. They are known for their remarkable migrations, traveling up to 160 miles one way within the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.

There have been controversial efforts to reintroduce Burchell's zebras outside their historical range, including areas such as Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These initiatives have sparked debate, particularly because native Grant's zebras were not selected for these reintroduction projects.

While it was once believed that wild herds of Burchell's zebras had become extinct by 1910, recent studies indicate that this subspecies is not extinct. The subspecies Equus quagga burchellii still exists in KwaZulu-Natal and Etosha. Various zoos in the United States are also working to preserve this unique subspecies.