Wildcast

Zebras are a force to be reckoned with.
People have tried to domesticate them but they never tame down completely and can turn on you any day. And when a zebra comes charging at you with its mouth open you can be guaranteed to lose some chunk of your body.
They have been used as cart horses in the past because of their resistance to disease but they just don’t have the stamina.
And in the wild they’re not easy prey for any predator.

Lions prefer to attack zebra from the front avoiding those lethal hooves that have often stopped them in their tracks. But if lions can get high enough up on the animals rump then the kick has little effect and many zebras bear the scars of these attacks once they get away.
The next time you see zebras living in lion country you only have to look for an irregularity in their stripes to know that was probably caused by an old lion wound that healed.
In Botswana on dried out Savuti marsh we filmed hyaenas killing new born zebra foals. But this was no easy task for them. The stallion wouldn’t leave the foal as it lashed out with front and back legs at the hyaenas approaching. But with numbers on their side, the hyaenas eventually won. Once having got hold of the foal the hyaena would hang on holding the foal close to it. And in defence the stallion at times mistakenly kicked the foal.
One thing’s for sure the zebra don’t give up easily and are very protective of their families.

Earlier last year one of the guides came across this very young zebra foal on its own. He stopped the vehicle, and seeing fresh lion tracks in the area, waited. But there was no further sign on the lions. Then as he drove off the foal followed his vehicle and followed him all the way back to base, about a kilometre.
When he got out the car the foal followed him and was nudging him for milk. I arrived there at the same time and the foal then tried the same from me. It was so sad to watch this cutest of cute little animals so desperate for milk and showing no fear for man. It was obviously so young it hadn’t even had a chance to imprint on its mother.
The foal was looked after at camp and fed but it was already so far gone and so hungry we just couldn’t save it.