What do zebras eat?

Zebras live on the savannah, so they need to find food that can be found easily on the savannahs. Zebras are known to be herbivores. Herbivores are animals that only eat plants. Therefore, zebras are not predators. They do not eat meat and they do not prey on other animals. Zebras eat grass, but they have certain preferences. They will not eat just any grass. They prefer to eat the short grass that is fine and green.

These blades of grass are thin. If they are hungry enough, they will eat other kinds of grass instead of going hungry. This coarser longer grass will be eaten by zebras if shorter, finer grass can’t be found. So, you probably will see zebras bending over often to eat grass.

Unlike other ungulates, zebras eat 90% grass for their diet. They are wholly herbivorous (luckily for the surrounding small mammals) and primarily eat a variety of grasses. They also eat shrubs, herbs, twigs, leaves and bark.

The reason why grass plays such a huge part in zebras' diet, at least the plains zebra which is more horse-like than the Grevy's zebra (more like an ass) is that originally they spread right through the grasslands of Africa from Ethiopia down to Eastern South Africa. Grass was probably all that was available for hundreds of those miles, so the species developed accordingly.

Zebras are herbivores and they primarily eat different types of grasses. They prefer to eat full green grass that is short and close to the ground. They eat green grass mostly in the wet season when greenery plants come to life and are abundant.

Zebra can also eat dry and rough grass. They are also known to eat bark, twigs, shrubs, leaves and herbs when grass plants are not available. Certain types of Zebras can eat fruit, shoots, buds, roots and corn stems.

Zebras need a lot of water to survive. They take a lot of water. They are known to drink up to a gallon of water at a time.