Is this not a beautiful thing? Are they white with black stripes or black with white stripes? Actually they are black with white stripes. When they are born the stripes are brown and gradually turn black. Their bellies are white and some zebras have a brown stripe in between the black and white ones. Every zebra's stripes are different, and the newborn and the mother memorize each other's stripe at birth. A zebra's stripes are designed for camouflage. Their biggest predator, the lion, is color blind. Therefore, a series of vertical black and white stripes moving up and down as they run away is hard for the lion to focus on. A zebra standing still in tall grass will hardly be noticed.
Zebras have excellent vision...can see color, and have night vision. His eyes are on the side of his head so he has a greater field of vision. He also has extremely good hearing. His ears can turn in any direction. You usually see several zebra acting as lookouts when the pack is grazing.
When my Pop was in Africa with missionaries years ago, they were allowed to go on a sanctioned hunt for zebra. The herd needed to be thinned, for survival purposes. Pop shot one and had the hide tanned and gave it to me. It is the most amazing thing. Can you see how the stripes continue through it's mohawk like mane? I take it to school every year and show it to the kids during their zoo animal unit. They are fascinated. It is illegal to take the skins out of the country now, so I am very fortunate to have this one...one of my most prized possessions.
The more I look at pictures of these animals, the more majestic and beautiful they become. I feel compelled to show you some of the more beautiful pictures of them in their natural habitat. Isn't God amazing?
And, in honor of the season, a little ZEBRA LOVE!
"For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the fields are mine....For the world is mine, and all its fullness." Psalm 50:10-12
3 comments:
Those are truly beautiful creatures! And beautifully painted by God. and speaking of rust, yours is beautiful, but I on the other hand left a metal strainer sitting in my sink, and now have a lovely bit of rust in the sink.....not too pretty....but I thankfully have rust out! :)
Beautiful!! Thanks for sharing all those interesting facts!
Zebras have always fascinated me. Truly beautiful!
Hugs!
Kat
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