Zebras

[Arabiansnob]

This may be a dumb question but can a Zebra live in Maine? I would love to own one. Assuming that I would blanket it the whole winter.

 

[SheepGirl]

Assuming you could even get the blanket on them.

Zebras are NOT like horses at all. They are very dangerous, wild animals. I worked at a petting farm and there were two zebras there. They would try to bite everyone, even the lady that raised them (as bottle babies) and she feeds them everyday. There is also a big belgian mare that is in the same area as them and no one would ever go in the zebra pen or field unless Reba the belgian was right next to them. The zebras were scared of her just because of her sheer size.

I work at mcdonalds and we have a regular customer come in every single day. He owbs a huge herd of beef cows and then he has a zebra and a zorse (or maybe a zonkey? ... cant remember) ... anyway, he tells me he hasnt been able to touch the zebra since he loaded her off the trailer and hes never been able to touch her foal. His farm is located right off the main highway and his zebras are the talk of the town lol.

So I guess what im trying to say is rethink the whoke zebra idea...leave them in the wild or leave them in zoos where professionals can handle them, because obviously born and raised farm folk cant even safely handle them, if at all.

 

[Arabiansnob]

Assuming you could even get the blanket on them.

Zebras are NOT like horses at all. They are very dangerous, wild animals. I worked at a petting farm and there were two zebras there. They would try to bite everyone, even the lady that raised them (as bottle babies) and she feeds them everyday. There is also a big belgian mare that is in the same area as them and no one would ever go in the zebra pen or field unless Reba the belgian was right next to them. The zebras were scared of her just because of her sheer size.

I work at mcdonalds and we have a regular customer come in every single day. He owbs a huge herd of beef cows and then he has a zebra and a zorse (or maybe a zonkey? ... cant remember) ... anyway, he tells me he hasnt been able to touch the zebra since he loaded her off the trailer and hes never been able to touch her foal. His farm is located right off the main highway and his zebras are the talk of the town lol.

So I guess what im trying to say is rethink the whoke zebra idea...leave them in the wild or leave them in zoos where professionals can handle them, because obviously born and raised farm folk cant even safely handle them, if at all.

Thank you for commenting. I have done a lot a reading about them and I have read that they can become fairly aggressive. I have always dreamed of owning one.

 

[Godsgrl]

Assuming you could even get the blanket on them.

Zebras are NOT like horses at all. They are very dangerous, wild animals. I worked at a petting farm and there were two zebras there. They would try to bite everyone, even the lady that raised them (as bottle babies) and she feeds them everyday. There is also a big belgian mare that is in the same area as them and no one would ever go in the zebra pen or field unless Reba the belgian was right next to them. The zebras were scared of her just because of her sheer size.

I work at mcdonalds and we have a regular customer come in every single day. He owbs a huge herd of beef cows and then he has a zebra and a zorse (or maybe a zonkey? ... cant remember) ... anyway, he tells me he hasnt been able to touch the zebra since he loaded her off the trailer and hes never been able to touch her foal. His farm is located right off the main highway and his zebras are the talk of the town lol.

So I guess what im trying to say is rethink the whoke zebra idea...leave them in the wild or leave them in zoos where professionals can handle them, because obviously born and raised farm folk cant even safely handle them, if at all.

Very well said, SheepGirl. Zebras are crazy. That's a fact. They have never been domesticated like horses. I work at a zoo, on our safari ride exhibit. One day our female zebra, Phoebe, was acting up because our Wildebeest was soon to calve. She kept charging our trailer. The zoo shut down the ride and sent us home. When the wildebeest calf was born, Phoebe tried to kill it. You just can't take chances with something so unpredictable.Sorry.

 

[bonbean01]

Zebras are really neat looking...but yes...agree with Sheepgirl...they are wild animals. Imagine trying to give vaccinations or trimming their hooves

 

[CritterZone]

I agree with the intent of what everyone here has said - Zebras are wild animals and should be left as such. But I disagree entirely with the idea that zebras are crazy or that in any way not being domesticated is a bad thing that we should try to change.

 

[secuono]

Some people train them to be able to ride them, but those people must have balls of steel or very nice zebra....

 

[goodhors]

The Zoo folks I know, say Zebras are on the top 5, of the MOST DANGEROUS animals in the entire
zoo. Zoos shut EVERYTHING DOWN and use tranq guns to recapture Zebras if they get loose. Zebra
temperament is VERY undependable, so with teeth and hooves, the animal is dangerous from any
direction. They can bite like Alligators, and don't let go unless they can get a better hold. Some
Zebras may allow some handling, but can and DO turn on their handlers viciously. They never are
"tame", have hundreds of years as wild animals, with those kind of reactions in situations.

You should check your zoning, insurance for your place, before even considering owning a Zebra. Might
make you uninsurable, as well as illegal in your area to have wild animals. They also need to have
some unique vaccinations on a yearly basis, just because they are "wild animals".

I wouldn't have a Zebra or any of their crossbred offspring as a gift. Just trouble waiting to happen.
Someone is going to get badly hurt trying to handle such animals, because they are NOT domestic
equines.

 

[Godsgrl]

The Zoo folks I know, say Zebras are on the top 5, of the MOST DANGEROUS animals in the entire
zoo. Zoos shut EVERYTHING DOWN and use tranq guns to recapture Zebras if they get loose. Zebra
temperament is VERY undependable, so with teeth and hooves, the animal is dangerous from any
direction. They can bite like Alligators, and don't let go unless they can get a better hold. Some
Zebras may allow some handling, but can and DO turn on their handlers viciously. They never are
"tame", have hundreds of years as wild animals, with those kind of reactions in situations.

You should check your zoning, insurance for your place, before even considering owning a Zebra. Might
make you uninsurable, as well as illegal in your area to have wild animals. They also need to have
some unique vaccinations on a yearly basis, just because they are "wild animals".

I wouldn't have a Zebra or any of their crossbred offspring as a gift. Just trouble waiting to happen.
Someone is going to get badly hurt trying to handle such animals, because they are NOT domestic
equines.

X2

 

[bcnewe2]

Would a cross of a zebra and donk or horse be as unpredictable?
I didn't know that about zebra's I think they are a wonderful animal to observe. Glad I now know that and won't ever be tempted to get one should one ever become available.