Ms. Barrett said...
Questions from Maya H. (HMS pd. 1)
1) How do you make sure you don't count a zebra twice?
2) How do you tell a male from a female?
3) You mentioned the zebras coming to the waterhole at 8:30. Do they stay all day or just the morning?
4) How are zebras adapted for such a hot environment?
5) Are you noticing any zebras where the pigments are heavier or lighter (ex. light, blackish gray stripes vs. dark, bold, black stripes)?
Maya,
1. Researchers are fairly familiar with the zebra that live in the area because they have been studying the zebra for some time, so they rarely count the same animal twice in a day. They are also careful to visit areas each day that are far a part from one another so that the same animal would not likely be seen again.
2. The best way to tell a male and female a part is to look under them or at them from the rear end. It sounds easy but it wasn't. I found it easy to confuse the sexes. Note, there is no size or color difference between males and females.
3. Zebras will visit the waterhole for about 5 to 15 minutes. Plains zebra tend to drink more and stay longer, while Grevy's usually drink a bit and then wander off. The time can also vary if there are other animals around or the smell of a predator in the air.
4. Zebra's colors are their warm weather adaptation. The white reflects the sun and the black absorbs the heat which will help in the evening when it gets cooler. If it gets too hot they will seek the shade of a tree. The tail also is an adaptation because it keeps the flies off.
5. Based on our observations, once a zebra passes a year their colors are black on white with no variation. It is only when they are young that you see brown on the zebra. Though zebras do like to roll in the dirt and in some areas the dirt is reddish so after rolling the zebra tends to be a bit red.
--Michael - LA ZOO
Questions from Maya H. (HMS pd. 1)
1) How do you make sure you don't count a zebra twice?
2) How do you tell a male from a female?
3) You mentioned the zebras coming to the waterhole at 8:30. Do they stay all day or just the morning?
4) How are zebras adapted for such a hot environment?
5) Are you noticing any zebras where the pigments are heavier or lighter (ex. light, blackish gray stripes vs. dark, bold, black stripes)?
Maya,
1. Researchers are fairly familiar with the zebra that live in the area because they have been studying the zebra for some time, so they rarely count the same animal twice in a day. They are also careful to visit areas each day that are far a part from one another so that the same animal would not likely be seen again.
2. The best way to tell a male and female a part is to look under them or at them from the rear end. It sounds easy but it wasn't. I found it easy to confuse the sexes. Note, there is no size or color difference between males and females.
3. Zebras will visit the waterhole for about 5 to 15 minutes. Plains zebra tend to drink more and stay longer, while Grevy's usually drink a bit and then wander off. The time can also vary if there are other animals around or the smell of a predator in the air.
4. Zebra's colors are their warm weather adaptation. The white reflects the sun and the black absorbs the heat which will help in the evening when it gets cooler. If it gets too hot they will seek the shade of a tree. The tail also is an adaptation because it keeps the flies off.
5. Based on our observations, once a zebra passes a year their colors are black on white with no variation. It is only when they are young that you see brown on the zebra. Though zebras do like to roll in the dirt and in some areas the dirt is reddish so after rolling the zebra tends to be a bit red.
--Michael - LA ZOO
posted by Ms. Russell at 4:07 PM
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