Grevy's Zebra (Equus grevyi) Fact Sheet: Diet & Feeding

Vegetarian

• Grass is primary food
• Can not digest protein-rich grasses, such as alfalfa
• Use same habitats as Burchell's Zebras at Samburu-Buffalo Springs Game Reserves in Kenya (Rubenstein 1989)
  • Female Grevy's forage where vegetation is not abundant, but is variable; range widely
  • Female Burchell's Zebras forage where vegetation is denser; are somewhat sedentary

Water requirements

• Better adapted to dry conditions than domestic cattle (MacClintock 1974; Estes 1991; Churcher 1993)
• Need less water
• Can thrive on coarser grasses than cattle
• Typically bite off grasses instead of pluck
• Can eat browse when grass is gone
• Lactating female more dependant on water than others (Ginsberg 1989)
• Need to drink water daily
• Dig subsurface water in times of drought
• Use hooves to paw at the ground; an individual will defend these drinking places (Estes 1991; Churcher 1993)

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

Churcher (1993)
Estes (1991)
Ginsberg (1989)
MacClintock (1974)
Rubenstein (1989)