Welcome to the lecture on animals that start with Z., I know you may have concluded that there are not many animals that start with Z but, if I may shock you a little, there are many animals that start with Z out there that you probably have not heard of their name before, or you don’t even know.
Notwithstanding, you might know a few around your environment but we have compiled a list of animals that start with Z, that will catch your fancy.
All you just need to do is to read through our post and you will be very amazed to see the animals that start with Y on our list. They are animals that most people are not familiar with.
Hold your horses for I will be dishing out 10 of them.
| Zebu | Zebra | Zorse |
| Zonkey | Zapata Wren | Zebra Finch |
| ZebraFish | Zebra Shark | Zebra Tarantula |
| Zokor |
Table of Contents
Animals That Start with Z
1. ZEBRA
A zebra is the most widely known among the animals that start with Z thereby merits the first on my list of animals that start with Z.
The distinct white and black stripes on their skin can identify zebras. Each zebra has a distinctive stripe pattern. They are African equine (members of the horse family).
They can be found in southern and eastern Africa. Their habitat includes savannahs, grasslands, woodlands, shrublands, and mountainous areas.
They are wild animals and there is no record of domestication.
Zebras are primarily preyed on by lions. Zebras are not endangered as a whole but 2 out of the 3 known species are endangered. The mountain zebra and the Grevy’s zebra while the plains zebra is not.
Zebras have different behaviors mostly based on their specie. They are all grazers. The mountain and plains zebras live in harems – one stallion, several mares, and their offspring. Zebras ward off predators by kicking or biting them.
2. ZEBU
The second animal on my list of 10 Animals that Start with Z is the zebu cattle. The Zebu Cattle are sometimes known as the humped cattle. Zebus are distinguished by an impressive hump, a large dewlap, and sometimes drooping ears.
Zebus evolved from different species and crossbreeding. They are riding animals and are also used for meat and milk production.
They can be found on all continents mainly in India and Brazil.
Zebu is a domestic cattle. They are not endangered.
They are renowned for being resistant to parasites, and heat tolerant.
They move in large herds led by a single bull (male) and contain both cows (females) and their offspring. The herd is ruled by a hierarchical organization. Each member of the herd must submit to the one above it or it faces an attack.
The humps on their shoulders give them a high tolerance for droughts just like camels and also in cases of food scarcity.
There are several amazing breeds of cows.
3. ZORSE
A zorse is the offspring of Zebra and Horse parents (female horse and male zebra) though it looks more like a Horse than a Zebra. Like a horse that has stripes.
A zorse’s most striking feature is the dark stripes that are boldest on the legs. A fun fact – the stripes of every zorse is different.
A zorse cannot occur without the intervention of humans. This is why a majority of the zorse populations are found either in zoos or animal institutes.
A Zorse is sterile. They cannot produce offspring of their own.
They are mostly used as workhorses, particularly in some parts of North America. They are also used as trekking animals to carry humans in mountainous areas because they are strong and muscular.
Their favored habitats are open grasslands and woodland. They are herbivores fruits, grasses, and herbs.
Zorses move in herds of between 2 to more than 200 zorses.
Their temperaments are patterned after their mother the horse. They spend the majority of their lives grazing and can graze the whole day. The zebra part also provides the zorse with resistance to certain pests and diseases that normally affect both Horses.
4. ZONKEY
The Zonkey is a hybrid animal formed by cross-breeding a male zebra and a female donkey. Just like the zorse, two different animal species belonging to the same genetic group are cross-bred.
A zonkey is also called a Zebroid. Many times, people mistake this term for zedonk or use them anonymously. Meanwhile, a zedonk is created by cross-breeding a male donkey and female zebra.
A zonkey looks more like a donkey than a zebra. Most of them look like a donkey with zebra stripes. Their stripes are most prominent on their legs.
Zonkeys can be found in the wild in Africa. They can also be found in zoos and captive animal establishments or specialized farms worldwide. They eat grasses, fruits, nuts, and vegetation.
There are many in the wild that were created without men’s intervention and humans also cross-breed domestic zonkeys.
Zonkeys are not a species. This is arguable first they are not listed by the IUCN – they have an odd number of chromosomes and cannot reproduce or grow a population.
Zonkeys move in a herd. The Zonkey inherits the wildness of the zebra. One of its most notable characteristics is its sheer power–a combination of the stamina of the Donkey mixed with the speed and strength of the Zebra.
This gives the zonkey skills, making it a valuable work animal that can pull heavy loads.
5. ZAPATA WREN
Zapata Wren is a wild endemic bird to Cuba. It is easily recognized by its upward-pointing tail and quick darting flights. This bird is a poor flyer, with only short fleeting flights over short distances.
The wren has about 88 families. The wren is a difficult bird to spot due to its brown coloring and small size. Among the wren is the type called the Zapata Wren which lives in dense shrubs of the Zapata Swamp, Cuba. Thus, its name is Zapata.
It is classified as Endangered. It is threatened by the loss of habitat through drainage, dry-season burning, and agriculture expansion thus, declining the population.
It is found in the wild which is its natural habitat. However, humans have been recorded to keep them as pets.
It may be interesting to note that what this bird miss in flight, it made up in singing. They are reported to be one of the best singers in the West Indies. The Zapata Wren is also a sedentary bird.
6. ZEBRA FINCH
Zebra finches are mostly found in Australia and Indonesia. They are seed-eaters that travel in large flocks of 100 or more birds.
They are found in the wild though many are owned as pets by humans. They can be domesticated although they don’t like to be handled especially those trained domestically from birth may perch on your hand.
We are glad to announce that the zebra finch is not an endangered specie. Currently, it is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
Zebra finches are omnivorous – seeds, types of vegetables, ants, flowers, nuts, and termites.
The lifespan of this bird in its natural habitat is 2 to 3 years, howbeit in captivity, it can be increased to 5 to 7 years.
They are one of the bird species that are able to learn new vocalizations making them a dominant model species in the study of vocal learning. The male specie is quite gifted at singing. Zebra finches breed readily.
7. ZEBRAFISH
The zebrafish (zebra danio) is a freshwater fish native to South Asia. It is a popular fish that is wildly sold.
Zebrafish favor shallow water and water without pressure. They can be found in lightly flowing water or the stagnant clear water of shallow places such as streams, canals, ditches, oxbow lakes, ponds, and rice paddies.
It is a popular fact that zebrafish are a widely used vertebrate species in research in different fields. In a wide range of fields such as genetics, pharmacology, developmental biology, and neuroscience, among others.
Zebrafish can be wild and domesticated. Zebrafish aren’t endangered.
A notable behavior among the zebrafish is the behavior called shoaling. This has become a subject of research. Zebrafish form shoals for different reasons. One of the currently discovered reasons includes the attraction to each other.
The benefits of being in one include communal protection from predators and more supply of food and mates. Research on zebrafish groups has focused mainly on what makes a group attractive to an individual.
8. ZEBRA SHARK
Another unpopular animal in the list of animals that start with Z is the Zebra Shark. The zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) is a species of carpet shark.
It is found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, frequenting coral reefs. They live on sand, rock reefs, and coral bottoms, 0-62 m (0-207 ft.) deep
It is a distinctive shark.
Zebra sharks are nocturnal foragers, sluggish and sedentary by day and active at night. Hunting for small fish, snails, sea urchins, crabs, and other small invertebrates that hide out in crevices though they feed primarily on gastropods, small bony fish, and bivalve mollusks.
Adult zebra sharks are surprisingly non-aggressive. Their predators are larger shark species.
During the day, they can often be seen resting on the sea floor, propped up on their pectoral fins, mouth open, facing the current.
9. ZEBRA TARANTULA
The Costa Rican zebra tarantula (Aphonopelma seemanni), is also known as the striped-knee tarantula.
It is a type of tarantula native to Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and other parts of Central America.
They are distinguished by white or cream and black-colored stripes that run vertically down their knee and legs which helps them stay camouflaged.
They are a type of jumping spider. Jumping spiders are common throughout Europe, North America, Britain, and, northern Asia. They achieve high velocity in jumps. This group of spiders does not use webs to catch their prey or build webs.
They have large eyes and ambush their prey by pouncing on them like big cats.
Zebra tarantulas are not listed by the IUCN as a threatened species. They are eaten in China because they are very proteinous and can also be domesticated sometimes as a pet.
Their acute eyesight is one of their captivating and distinctive features:
- This spider is believed to have the best eyesight in the insect world, with eight eyes. Four large eyes facing forward. The remaining four eyes are arranged in such a way that allows the spider to see around its body. If you waggle a finger behind them, they will spin around to take a closer look.
- Their acute eyesight helps them to accurately judge the distances they need to jump and escape predators.
Undeniably an amazing creature among the animals that start with Z.
10. ZOKOR
Last but not least animal among my list of 10 animals that start with Z is the zokor. Zokors are rodents native to Asia. They resemble the mole rat. They have tiny eyes, long, sharp claws, and long incisors.
An amazing fact is, they have no external ears. The limbs are short, but the feet are very wide.
The Zokor is listed as the Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Zokors feed on seeds, tubers, bulbs, roots, grains, and rhizomes.
Zokors live in burrows and under tunnels. They are expert diggers. They burrow tunnels hundreds of feet long.
They are aggressive. They are endemic to China and can be found in Kazakhstan, Siberia, Russia, Mongolia, and Eurasia.
Watch a video on the animals that start with Z
Conclusion
These are the 10 Animals that Start with Z and some of their best captivating features. Which of them did you just discover now? Join the conversation in the comments below.
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