Does anyone have any experience with Zebra?

Weckles

Tourist
Wild question, I know.

I've been looking at animals for the farm I live on. I'm considering getting a few Zebra as a unique animal to sell down the road. But of course I want them for personal reasons as well.

I have a few sellers lined up that I'm speaking with. But...this is going to cost some cash to start up. They're roughly $2k-3k each for tamed ones. I can get 2 atm, the goal is to get 5 when I actually get them. So I'm a few months away as my money is tied elsewhere.

Almost everything I'm reading is that they are not like a domesticated horse or donkey. But then you occasionally come across people saying they're basically a horse for them and they act practicality no different. I do plan on leaving them with my horses in the works as well.

Anyone here able to speak with experience?
 
All i can say is that while horses and donkeys are domesticated, zebras are still very much wild animals, they can AND will leave you a bleeding pulp on the ground if you try something they don't like... while I understand the attraction I do NOT reccomend personal reasons until you have a few months maybe even a year at least experience with each individual animal...

TLDR: I highly do NOT reccomend going doing so, but if you are going to disregard, work with each animal for several months before you try your personal reasons...
 
Not sure where you'd think this would even be possible.
Outside of Zoo's (controlled environments), the only other place Zebra's are located is in parts of Africa, so safe to say no one has.
 
Zebras are very wild animals. They are never "tame" and I would suspect anyone calling one tame has abused it to create that appearance. If you want to beat one into submission I'm sure you can get there but it will always be one step away from killing you. Regardless they're always going to be one step away from killing you.

Donkeys are well known for being good herd guardians because they'll kill a coyote instead of running from it. Zebras are super intense donkeys. Their idea of a friendly fight will make anything in a domestic horse or donkey look timid. These are animals that kill lions. They'll have no problem killing you, your other horses, your dogs, and anything else that annoys them. Maybe they won't today. Maybe they won't tomorrow. Might be fine for years but they will always be one incident away from disaster.

My main takeaway should be that when people say Zebras are dangerous they don't mean "Oh it bit me really hard look at this bruise." they mean "Oh I slightly annoyed it so it picked my up by the shoulder with its mouth and threw me on the ground. Then it stomped on me while rearing until I stopped moving. Then it dragged me around by my arm for a bit and stomped on me some more before getting bored." Again talking about an animal that kills lions. Not like killing lions 2000 years ago. Like it's parents killed lions until someone shot the whole herd and jammed the foals into a shipping container so some jackass could stroke his ego with a cool pet.

I have in fact interacted with several Zebras before. They were very pleasant. However, the danger they pose is not a joke and the exotic animal trade is filled with VILE people. At the very least make sure you actually know the details of where the animals come from.
 
Zebras are very wild animals. They are never "tame" and I would suspect anyone calling one tame has abused it to create that appearance. If you want to beat one into submission I'm sure you can get there but it will always be one step away from killing you. Regardless they're always going to be one step away from killing you.

Donkeys are well known for being good herd guardians because they'll kill a coyote instead of running from it. Zebras are super intense donkeys. Their idea of a friendly fight will make anything in a domestic horse or donkey look timid. These are animals that kill lions. They'll have no problem killing you, your other horses, your dogs, and anything else that annoys them. Maybe they won't today. Maybe they won't tomorrow. Might be fine for years but they will always be one incident away from disaster.

My main takeaway should be that when people say Zebras are dangerous they don't mean "Oh it bit me really hard look at this bruise." they mean "Oh I slightly annoyed it so it picked my up by the shoulder with its mouth and threw me on the ground. Then it stomped on me while rearing until I stopped moving. Then it dragged me around by my arm for a bit and stomped on me some more before getting bored." Again talking about an animal that kills lions. Not like killing lions 2000 years ago. Like it's parents killed lions until someone shot the whole herd and jammed the foals into a shipping container so some jackass could stroke his ego with a cool pet.

I have in fact interacted with several Zebras before. They were very pleasant. However, the danger they pose is not a joke and the exotic animal trade is filled with VILE people. At the very least make sure you actually know the details of where the animals come from.
This, this very much so... like 100%
 
I knew it was a 'too good to be true'-type thing.

I still would like them for a animal to sell as they are unique and something different to have on the property.

Mini-horses and horses are definitely getting got later down the line though.
 
I heard from South African-woman she tried an zebra and said it was really hard to get him even into it and she needed to be careful but it was actually like donkey-pony feeling 🦓
 
I wouldn't, OP....it sounds great on paper, but they are known to bite and kick viciously. There is a great difference between "Tame" and domesticated. Those animals and plants which CAN be domesticated, over the millions of human years on the planet, HAVE been. You wont find much in the way of new domesticates; the russian strain of fox that's supposedly domesticated has no real track record as yet. Be careful you aren't taking on a problem with no real solution.

That said, in Mexico, there is a strain if Donkey with much of the striped appearance of a zebra, but these ARE domesticates. They show up for gringo turistas to have pics taken with, or as donkey-cart pullers. You'd get the look without most of the troubles. Worth a look....but here too...be wary....Ive seen normal Burros with stripes painted on.😁
 
there is a recent "This year" case where a guys arm was dis articulated by a zebra as usual the male Zebra paid for the persons stupidity.

 
I have. Couldn't do anything with it. They are wild and very disagreeable creatures. You will only get pain in return. Stick to horses. Much more pleasurable and you get basically the same thing.
 
Only $2-3k for a "tamed" Zebra? Even that alone is hard to believe. That's the price of most well-bred purebred dogs. Add a zero to that price price exotics like Zebra and then maybe it'll be more believable.

Adding onto what others have said. You wanting to own and raise these beautiful wild creatures for your own selfish-ness and to later sell them or their offspring makes you no different than the poachers they were originally gotten from. Don't support and don't become part of the sad world of the exotic pet trade. Those poor animals suffer so much.
 
Sounds to me like a lot of you forgot that Texas exists. There are DOZENS of ranches in Texas alone selling Zebras to people under the guise of pet like, friendly stripey donkeys. I have no idea how they haven't been bankrupt by lawsuits... but in case you want to see for yourself.

 
You can buy anything in Texas but good sense. I wouldn't bother....you'll get an animal that was raised to be shot...not conducive to relations, just to rations. No one eats burros.
 
Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Want to look at Zebras being themselves? Go to sanctuaries or better yet Africa. Actually help them, don't condone their suffering as exotic "pets".
 
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