To avoid inbreeding in captive zebras, zoos occasionally introduce a new male into their herd. After a brief moment discussing how the baby needed to learn to walk shortly after birth they showed a male zebra rush the baby and attack it. Sadly, there is a 50 percent average mortality rate for foals, due in large to such predators as lions, hyenas, cheetahs, leopards and wild dogs. If the females in the harem have recently given birth, the new dominant male may kill their foals to eliminate any traces of his predecessor, and to bring… But many medical professionals seem to forget that “zebras” DO exist and so getting a diagnosis and treatment can be more difficult for sufferers of rare conditions. Can stallions really tell when you are menstruating? If we want to truly understand our equine companions we first need to recognise and respect them as the living, breathing, spooky, smelly, funny, occasionally violent, frequently flatulent, engaging and beautiful animals that they are. Over many generations, this means the genes present in the horse population favour stallions that produce lots of offspring that go on to produce their own offspring and so on. The Zebra You Don’t Know. An example of such a rule would be to kill foals when taking over a band of mares from another stallion. If a stallion manages to breed, it is because he possesses a set of genes that give him advantages over other stallions when it comes to breeding. first thing to appreciate is that this behaviour is not simply some strange quirk This is radically anthropomorphizing an animal's behavior beyond all reason. Zebras have never been domesticated. These horses would be sold, donated or otherwise rehomed; however, kill buyers outbid legitimate horse owners and rescues at auctions, robbing horses of ever having a second chance at life. Does a regular (outlet) fan work for drying the bathroom? The same thing happens with lions, by the way. When hyenas or wild dogs attack a zebra band, the mares form a circle around the foals while the stallion attempts to ward off the predators. From an evolutionary perspective, even quite a poor rule can be better than nothing at all. The legs are a little longer on the horse. As you can see below horses are faster than zebras and there’s a good physical explanation for that. to decide the ISS should be a zero-g station when the massive negative health and quality of life impacts of zero-g were known? Can an Arcane Archer's choose to activate arcane shot after it gets deflected? Why did the scene cut away without showing Ocean's reply? The beautiful and seemingly harmless zebra has actually been known to seriously injure humans who have tried to come near them (in zoos). Horses had stripes like zebras until humans broke them in, scientists say. We know that reproduction is very important for evolution: if a horse does not reproduce, he or she will not pass on the genes that made them who they are. Young stallions are less likely to show aggression towards foals they don’t know and fillies are less at risk in general. @Erik Chimps are basically epitomize how brutal primates can be. It’s difficult to say without seeing your zebra’s living conditions, for example; how much pasture or land is available to them and how close are the stallions to each other, to the mares and to the foals. Understanding horses is achieved not just through our own experiences but by constantly learning from the latest research in all areas of equine science and biology, from biomechanics and ethology to evolutionary theory. After a long battle between the male, mother and foal, the zebras disappeared behind the trees. Though disturbing to us, infanticide is fairly commonplace across many species. Calculator: How much weight can my horse carry? He could be fairly confident that the foal was not his own and sadly that was enough for him to decide to kill it. What Areas? By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. What happens when the agent faces a state that never before encountered? Sometimes we get so caught up in controlling everything our horses do that maybe we forget some of what we love so much about horses in the first place. User friendly, easy to understand and backed up by the latest research.