They only kill babies they think belong to a rival. Male zebras do not kill their babies intentionally. This might sound vicious, but that’s how the toughest genes get to survive. And she does succeed in giving birth to the foal the male will likely kick it to death. In this case, he might rape her in order to get her to have a miscarriage (abortion). Sometimes the new dominant male might find the females pregnant when he takes over the harem.
This is how he gets to transfer his genes and ensure continuity.
So, what he does is to kill any foal he finds in the harem, so the females can come into heat, and then he can get her pregnant with his own baby. If the female is nursing another foal that is not his, she won’t be able to carry his own baby. During this time, he has to establish his genetic legacy. One explanation for this is that the male animals have a limited time leading a harem. This is commonly referred to as infanticide. A male lion will kill other cubs that are not his when taking over a group. This event is not only peculiar to horses but also lions. He does this to ensure his own offspring has the best chance at survival. The new leader of the harem typically kills any foal that belonged to his predecessor, thereby eliminating his bloodline. This happens whenever the zebra takes over a harem that belonged to an older male he defeated. Male zebras commonly attack baby zebras that are not their offspring. This is often done to establish a hierarchy so that all males will fight with only males in their rank or class and avoid any encounter with a much stronger competitor, which could lead to death. Interestingly, zebra fights can also be playful, whereby the two males practice their techniques and test each other. When this happens, it means that the stronger male kicked the other zebra to death. Sometimes, the fight between zebras can be so fierce, and one of them might not make it out alive. In this case, they can fight over females to steal them for their own harem. On the other hand, if he’s a competitor, the stronger male will retain his harem while the defeated male will rejoin a bachelor herd.įights can also breakout between two zebras who already have a harem. In the end, if the defeated zebra is the owner of a harem, he will relinquish it to the stronger male. When this happens, the tired zebra will probably fall to the ground while the winning male continues kicking it until he’s badly injured. The tussle can last for hours until one of them succumbs. This often results in fierce fights involving a lot of kicking and biting. Why Do Zebras Kill Each Other?īachelor zebras grow up to challenge dominant males for their harems. In fact, the females will remain together even after the death or defeat of the dominant male. For this reason, the only consistent relationship is the one between the mares in the harem and their offspring. However, he can get killed or muscled out by a stronger male. Sometimes, these bachelor herds may coexist with other harems.Īs earlier indicated, the male directs the activities of the harem. They would continue to move together until they become old enough to compete for their own harems. Younger males without a harem would join herds of other bachelors and ousted males. Zebras in a harem move together, graze together, and even protect each other.Įach harem is dominated by a male who has breeding access to all the females in the group. Small harems of plains zebras typically consist of six females. They commonly live in family groups made up of a male, several females, and their foals. Most zebras (if not all) are social animals. In this article, we are going to look at some of the possible reasons why zebras kill foals, as well as other survival strategies they often adopt.
The killing of baby zebras by the older males is called infanticide and is not only common among zebras but also in primates, rodents, and even mammals. Secondly, they do this to ensure the foals don’t grow up to become a rival in the future. First, they do so to eliminate any foal that is not theirs when taking over a herd. There are two major reasons male zebras attack baby zebras. If you’re here, then you are probably asking the same questions on everyone’s mind – why do zebras attack baby zebras? They might be your favorite horse with strips, but that is until you discover the dark truth about them. From a visual perspective, zebras look quite harmless, with a striking pajamas color that makes them even more endearing.
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