Hartmann’s mountain zebra
Equus zebra hartmannae
Seen by the oracleIts power
It digs wells in the sand of dry riverbeds. All the others come to drink there after it.
Estimated wild population
About 15,000 to 20,000
Trend
Stable to locally declining
Range
Namibia / Angola
Main threat
Loss of mountain habitat, competition with livestock, hunting
Meet it
It really exists. It is waiting for you at the Parc Animalier d’Auvergne.
Hartmann’s mountain zebra is the largest and most common subspecies of mountain zebra. You can recognise it by its dewlap, a fold of skin under the throat found in no other zebra, and by the wider stripes on its rump. Its black and white stripes are not just for show: they help keep insects away and control body temperature. It helps spread seeds and lives in small family groups made up of one stallion, several mares and their foals. It has a win-win partnership with oxpeckers, birds that pick the parasites off its skin and act as lookouts against predators.
What the Park does
Namib-Naukluft National Park (Namibia), protected areas in Angola, population monitoring