29 Weird Zebra Facts (for a 6-year-old)

Let’s learn 29 silly and surprising things about zebras. Read them one by one — they are short and fun!

1. Zebras wear black and white stripes all over their bodies.
2. No two zebras have the exact same stripe pattern — each one is special like a fingerprint.
3. Their stripes help hide them in tall grass so lions find it harder to see one zebra alone.
4. When zebras run together, their stripes can confuse a hungry predator. This is called a "dazzle."
5. Stripes can keep some biting flies away — bugs don’t like landing on stripes!
6. Zebras are cousins of horses and donkeys.
7. A baby zebra is called a foal.
8. Foals can stand and walk very soon after they are born — usually within an hour!
9. Zebras live mostly in Africa, on grassy land called the savanna.
10. Zebras eat grass. They are herbivores, which means plant-eaters.
11. Zebras can run really fast to escape danger — faster than many people can run.
12. Zebras often sleep standing up so they can wake and run quickly.
13. Sometimes they lie down for a little deep sleep, but not for long.
14. A group of zebras is sometimes called a "dazzle" or simply a herd.
15. Zebras make sounds like barking or braying (a noisy sound like a donkey).
16. Zebras use their ears to show feelings — ears forward can mean happy or curious, ears back can mean angry or scared.
17. Zebras groom each other by nibbling and rubbing to stay clean and to be friends.
18. They have very strong kicks and can kick away a lion if they need to.
19. Zebras have hard hooves that help them run on rocky or rough ground.
20. There are three main kinds of zebras: plains zebra, mountain zebra, and Grevy's zebra.
21. Grevy's zebra is the biggest kind and has very thin stripes.
22. Mountain zebras live on steep, rocky hills and are good at climbing.
23. Plains zebras are the most common and live in big groups.
24. Zebras can sometimes crossbreed with horses or donkeys. Those mixes get funny names like "zorse" or "zonkey."
25. Zebras like to travel to find fresh grass and water. Sometimes they move in big groups for long trips called migrations.
26. Zebras can see well when it is dark, which helps them stay safe at night.
27. Baby zebras often have brownish stripes when they are born; the stripes get darker as they grow.
28. Zebras roll in dust to protect their skin from bugs and the sun, and sometimes to smell like their herd.
29. Some zebras need help because there are fewer of them in the wild, so people work to protect them.

Which fact did you like best? Ask me to draw a zebra, tell a silly zebra story, or show a picture next!