What Is a Baby Zebra Called?

Many people love to look at baby animals of all sorts, whether they are large, small, or somewhere in between. Zebras, which are adorable creatures, begin their lives as many others do, but they are different in some ways as well.

A baby zebra is called a foal, which is a name sometimes given to baby horses as well. Since zebras tend to look a bit like horses with a striped pattern, perhaps it is no great surprise that their little ones share a common name.

Just because their babies have the same name, don't start to think that zebras and horses are very much alike. The highest record speed for a zebra was 55 miles per hour, which is much slower than a horse. However, zebras can often run for longer amounts of time than a horse.

Zebra Reproduction

Zebras come to life in a way that is nearly the same as human beings. They experience live births, which means that the baby comes out of the mother's womb as a living being. Animals who don't have live births typically give birth by hatching, which is when the mother lays eggs and, after a period of incubation, the babies come on out of their shells.

Male and female zebras mature at different rates, so you will most likely have an older male reproducing with a younger female. Female zebras are fertile and ready to give birth when they are between two and three years old, while males are not generally ready to reproduce until they are between the ages of five and six.

Once a female starts reproducing, she will generally give birth to one foal per year.

Description of the Foal

When a foal is born, the baby weighs approximately 70 pounds. When the baby is born, the foal actually has brown stripes. As you know from observing zebras, or even just seeing one at some point during your life, those stripes will change to black as the baby matures.

Upon birth, the foal might be susceptible to danger from the other zebras in the herd. They are not necessarily going to eat the baby or anything of that nature, but they might go after it. Therefore, the mother will protect the baby until it is old enough to protect itself and the rest of the herd is fine with the child.

Unlike some other animal mothers, the zebra mother will always stay with her child. The groups of families consist of one male, a few females, and the babies of those females. Eventually, the young zebra may go off and form their own families, but they are with their mother for a long time. Furthermore, not only are they with the mothers, but the babies will demonstrate that they are close to her through zebra signs of affection.

Gentle Mothers Result in Gentle Zebras

Baby animals are interesting to study because we see how they are raised affects who they are as adults. The zebra mother takes gentle care of her baby; therefore, we should not be surprised that the zebra grows into a gentle creature. Observing animals greatly lends itself to the debate between nature and nurture.