International Zebra Day and Protecting the Grevy's Zebra

The 31^st January is International Zebra Day, which means a great opportunity to tell you about the charities involved in zebra conservation.  Do visit their websites and see what you can do to lend a hand! 

There are different species of zebra (and some subspecies – nature is never that simple!).  They are the Grevy Zebra, the Plains Zebra and the Mountain Zebra. 

Zebras matter

They help maintain grasslands, and by eating dry grasses, they reduce the intensity of wildfires.  And their poo helps - it disperses nutrients, which enables plants to thrive - and that helps other species.  Not only that, but they disperse seeds from the plants they eat which go through their systems and come out in poo!

Zebras will dig into riverbeds which have gone dry to get to water - and that means they and other wildlife can drink water! They create pathways for other animals which makes it easier for them to get to food and water.   As ecosystem enigneers, they keep habitats heatlhy so that wildlife can survive and thrive.  Climate change is making things worse for zebras, especially with severe droughts. 

ZSL has 10 things you didn’t know about Zebras
 – take a look and see how many of the 10 things you knew!

To help zebras, you can help raise awareness of the threats facing them, the charities working to help them, and you could also donate.  Please visit their websites to find out more.

There are different species of zebra, the Grevy's Zebra, the Plains Zebra, the Cape Mountain Zebra and the Hartmann's Mountain Zebra.

Grevy’s Zebra – there are about 3,000 of these left in the wild
Visit the Grevy's Zebra Trust

The Trust was founded to address the urgent need to conserve Grevy’s Zebra in Kenya and Ethiopia. Recognising that zebras and people must co-exist and that communities are vital in designing and driving conservation efforts, it works with communities who help to monitor zebra through citizen science.  The Trust has Scouts, Ambassadors and Warriors who patrol the bush areas where they live, and GPS collars also play an important role in monitoring the zebra populations – the Trust even knows when foals are born!

The Trust uses the data it receives about zebras to decide on the best solutions for positive conservation results.  So the data drives conservation action, tackling issues and threats to zebras, such as dry season water management, mud rescues, poaching and extra feeding.

The Trust works with many partners internationally – many of them zoos – you can find a list of them here.

Find out more about the Grevy's Zebra
©Grevy's Zebra Trust

Find out about the Kenya’s Recovery & Action Plan for Grevy’s Zebra (2017-2026) 

So far...

• The persecution of the Grevy's zebra has lessened
• There's less tolerance of conflict with wildlife
• There's more awareness of Grevy's zebra and other wildlife in the community
• Sick and dead animals are being reported

The aim is to meet this goal by mitigating the threats to Grevy’s zebra survival, increasing their numbers, and building a solid foundation upon which to sustain Grevy’s zebra conservation in the long-term

Drought in Kenya
Droughts are a real problem for animals and people and of course everyone - people, wildlife and livestock - wants their share.  As mentioned above, the Trust manages water access during the dry times to lessen this pressure, which helps everyone.  As an example, you can read their 2023 Drought Response Report here

You can donate to the Grevy's Zebra Trust here.   You’ll see that donations to the Trust are made through the Wildlife Conservation Network – 100% of your donation goes directly to the field to support the conservation of Grevy’s zebra. 

Find out about how Marwell Wildlife is helping the Grevy's Zebra Trust

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

The Lewa also supports Grevy's Zebra Trust.  It aims to provide a safe, secure habitat with everything zebra need to thrive, and to establish a predator-proof breeding area.  It works with Marwell Wildlife and Al Ain Zoo too with the Trust, to carry out a monitoring programme, which aims to reduce mortality rates, incrase the chances of young zebra surviving and to improve the zebra's range and environment.  Visit the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy here.

Meet two women protecting these endangered zebras with CNN's video.

Plains Zebra
The African Wildlife Foundation

The African Wildlife Foundation can tell us more about the Plains Zebra.  The species is threatened by habitat loss and livestock, who compete with zebras for food and water. They are also hunted for their meat and skins.  The African Wildldlife Foundation says that the solutions are to set aside space for the zebras with wildlife corridors so that they can get from one area to another, and to promote sustainable livestock management.  For instance, it works with governments and communities to designate wildlife corridors so that zebras and other animals can move safely from one place to another, and so follow rains or move to their feeding grounds.  AWF works with governments and communities to designate wildlife corridors — large swaths of land that zebras can use to from one park, or country, to another. Corridors link protected areas and allow wildlife to follow rains or migrate to their feeding grounds.

Mountain Zebra

The Mountain Zebra lives in the open grasslands of South Africa, Namibia and South West Angola.   There are two subspecies, one being the Cape Mountain Zebra which the Gondwana Conservation Foundation are working to conserve, increasing their numbers, and the other the Hartmann's Mountain Zebra. Marwell manage the International Studbook for Hartmann’s mountain zebra and they are undertaking studies on the impact disease has and working to understand how the reproductive performance of this and other species is affected by social behaviour and structure.  Hartmann’s mountain zebras are in the mountainous zone between the Namib Desert and the central plateau in Namibia.  They are vulnerable to extinction, although greater in number than the Mountain Zebra.

This is on Africam's You Tube Channel
and this particular video was from 16th January 2025

Marwell Wildlife

Marwell Zoo supports the Grevy Zebra Trust and they were instrumental in helping create a national conservation strategy for the species in Kenya.  They are also a founding member of the Grevy's Zebra Technical Committee which guides and implements conservation in action.  They undertake surveys and monitoring of the zebras to gain understanding of the species' changes in populations and also their distribution. Marwell manages the International Studbook and the European Ex situ Programme (EEP) for Grevy’s zebra, and it's got a dedicated Kenyan team who work to conserve Grevy Zebra.  And here's their newest Grevy Zebra arrival back in August 2024 at Marwell Zoo!  

  Find out more here.

But they do more...take a look at the article from The Independent below from December 2023!

UK conservationists helping protect rare zebras from pipeline scheme in Kenya

Born Free Foundation

Born Free have a "Saving Meru’s Giants" programme in Kenya's Meru National Park.  Their dedicated Twiga Team removes deadly snares and prevents illegal poaching activity.  The park is home both the plains zebra and the Grevy’s zebra so the work undertaken here helps to protect the populations here from further decline.  Find out more here.

You can adopt a Grevey's zebra from Marwell Zoo in the UK and also a Chapman's Zebra from Newquay Zoo.