A shy creature that roams widely, the cheetah is not seen as easily as some other cats. Never numerous, cheetahs have become extinct in many areas, principally due to shrinking habitat, loss of species to prey upon, disease and a high rate of cub mortality. In some areas 50 to 75 percent of all cheetah cubs die before 3 months. Zebras, horses and wild asses are all equids, long-lived animals that move quickly for their large size and have teeth built for grinding and cropping grass. Zebras have horse like bodies, but their manes are made of short, erect hair, their tails are tufted at the tip and their coats are striped. Three species of zebra still occur in Africa, two of which are found in East Africa. The most numerous and widespread species in the east is Burchell''s, also known sunvalleyandidahoandmaps as the common or plains sunvalleyandidahoandmaps zebra.

The sunvalleyandidahoandmaps stripes on Grevy''s zebras are more numerous and narrow than those sunvalleyandidahoandmaps of the plains zebra and do not extend to the belly. In all zebra species, the stripes on the forequarters form a triangular pattern; Grevy''s have a similar pattern on the hindquarters, sunvalleyandidahoandmaps while others have a slanted or horizontal pattern. Burchell''s zebras inhabit savannas, from treeless grasslands to open woodlands; sunvalleyandidahoandmaps they sometimes occur in tens of thousands in migratory herds on the Serengeti plains. Grevy''s zebras are now mainly restricted to parts of northern Kenya. Although they are adapted to semi-arid conditions and require less water than other zebra species, these zebras compete with domestic livestock for water and have suffered heavy poaching for their meat and skins. sunvalleyandidahoandmaps Family groups are stable members maintaining strong bonds over many years. Mutual grooming, where zebras stand together and nibble the hair on each other''s neck and back, helps develop and preserve these bonds.

When a foal is born the mother keeps all other zebras (even the members of her family) away from it for 2 or 3 days, until it learns to recognize her by sight, voice and smell. While all foals have a close association with their mothers, the sunvalleyandidahoandmaps male foals are also close to their fathers. They leave their group on their own accord between the ages of 1 and 4 years to join an all-male bachelor group until they are strong enough to head a family. Zebras are important prey for lions and hyenas, and to a lesser extent for hunting dogs, leopards and cheetahs. When a family group is attacked, the members form a semicircle, face the predator and watch sunvalleyandidahoandmaps it, ready to bite or strike should the attack continue. If one of the family is injured the rest will often encircle it to protect it from further attack.

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