Zebras - Life on the Run

It’s the greatest horse race on earth. One mother zebra will travel 300 miles across East Africa. She’ll give birth, evade predators, and swim crocodile-infested rivers – all on the run. The stakes are as high as can be. Winning or losing means life or death... literally.

Our zebra mother is heavily pregnant as she roams the short grass plains of the southern Serengeti. Hungry eyes are watching, but she gives birth to her youngster safely, along with thousands of wildebeest calves. Hiding within the crowd is a great strategy.

On these plains, however, you can’t hide forever. Cheetahs, lions, and clans of hyenas range across the flat open landscape. Zebras are intelligent, and they know the trick is to keep moving – along with the massive herds of wildebeest. Shielding her calf, the mother uses the wildebeest as decoys – she runs with them, but a little behind, so she can see what predators are lying in wait.