Zebra behaviour.. I didn't expect this. video.

[Fools Motto]

Odd video to watch, and it isn't pleasant.
Thought I'd share, and see what you all say about it.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0IOcha_wdw

 

[PonyclubmumZ]

That is actually quite distressing, I had no idea they did that. I always thought they are related to horses, is that behaviour common in stallions present at foalings too?

 

[GirlFriday]

Really hard to say without knowing the history of the two adults/anything about the health of the dam/foal (is it usual for them to lie down to foal?).

Once saw a film where an adult female elephant 'kidnapped' a young baby, which nearly died becasue it needed it mother's milk and the other wasn't lactating... turned out the kidnapping one had been raised in some kind of 'rescue' centre where the elephants were segregated by age and so it had never experienced other/infant relations and just didn't understand them. There could all sorts of reasons for this we'll never know from that snapshot.

Edited to add: now watched a few more similar ones (*questions own choices*) which are claiming to be where foal is not stallion's/is a colt/... so, apparently common enough...

 

[horselady]

That made me feel sick. I don't know how any animal could do that to any young. Can't comment o what caused it though the mother looked like she was trying to protect the foal.

 

[Lintel]

Oh god... that's awful.

 

[cobgoblin]

Can only assume that this male took over the herd and the foal was not his.

 

[chillipup]

Couldn't watch all of it but wanted to know is it a stallion doing the attacking? I couldn't be sure from the amount of footage I watched.

 

[npage123]

Awful awful to watch. Not clear whether it was another mare or a stallion doing the attacking. Maybe another reason why the Grevy's zebras are nearly extinct?

 

[Rollin]

Very very upsetting.

When I first looked for a CB stallion, I purchased one who would not cover my mares when in season and actually attacked one of my mares. I was alone and had to separate them. He was returned to his previous owner and later castrated, I learned that even gelded he could be quite aggressive. I know of another case where a CB stallion killed a mare and was shot by the vet that day. A case in the USA where a rare mare from India (those with the curled ears) was killed by a stallion who escaped.

There are some great videos on the internet following wild horses in the Rocky Mountains, USA, the stallion was called Cloud it was a 7 year study. One mare gave brith to a foal which would not stand. It was killed shortly after birth by a stallion.

We know that male lions will kill cubs of other males in order to bring the females back into season.

Perhaps what we saw in this video is more common than we believe.

 

[shortstuff99]

It's a strange video as the mare has not given birth yet, but if this is a new stallion then it's very common for them to kill offspring that's not theirs. Happens with lots of animals, lions, Dolphins, primates etc. Why do they want a female to spend precious resources raising a baby that is not their genetics?

 

[tallyho!]

I was going to say about Cloud the Stallion... apparently it's all equines but some stallions are nicer than others... that one is particularly horrible

Happens to most animals in the wild it depends on the alpha male.

 

[Tyssandi]

That is so sad and horrific poor little foal, wish I had not watched it now, I am hoping on miracles the end may not have been what we expect

 

[ester]

Fairly normal behaviour for a lot of species. A mare with foal at foot is no good, especially if a colt foal, a mare in season is.

 

[AmyMay]

Dear God! 😔😔😔

 

[fburton]

A monumental waste of 12 months' (or more) gestation and extra nutrition. :frown3:

 

[ameeyal]

couldnt watch it, but ive gathered what happened.

 

[Peter7917]

Horses do the same. A local stallion to me was gelded because he killed a foal.

 

[Fools Motto]

I knew lions would kill young that wasn't sired by them, but was genuinely surprised to see this behaviour in an ''Equine'' species.
How do they know it isn't theirs (if indeed it was a stallion??) and how would they know if it was a colt foal, if it hadn't even been born yet? Why attack the mare??

Sad all round, although it is perhaps nature.

 

[stencilface]

Don't need to watch it from the comments! Nature is cruel, I'm still not over seeing the footage of chimps ripping apart a smaller monkey and eating it.

 

[Hoof_Prints]

I have seen another video of a horse doing the same thing, It wasn't his foal so it was killed. Poor thing

 

[Shantara]

I didn't watch, but I have seen a zebra stallion kill a wildebeest calf because it was making noise and attracting predators. Could have been that?

Poor thing, the life of a zebra is not an easy one!

 

[DanceswithCows]

It's an interesting phenomena. (for geeks like me anyway)

I'm guessing that it's down to the fact that among the types of equids that build small bands of mares which they 'own' (donkeys own territories rather than individuals for example) the males expend a lot of energy on protecting and caring for THEIR mares, so they know that if somebody else's offspring is in the group, that energy is wasted. It's more akin to female prioprities in a way; they put so much of themselves into their offspring, they're often loathe to waste that on anything that didn't come out of THEIR vagina So, zebra mares enjoy the benefits of having a full time male to defend them, but the downside is they have to be faithful!

This behaviour can't have much to do with seasons, as the mares would cycle with a foal at foot anyway, BUT, a mare who's NOT feeding a foal would have more resources available for the foal about to go in her, so presumably stallions that know they have't served their mares yet will 'cleanse' any foals at foot to ensure his new crop get ALL the energy available.

In cows it's a bit more relaxed, males own territories rather than females so all calves are allowed to live, and the females are allosucklers which means they share feeding duties. Yes, they are wasting energy on others' offspring, but they know that in general, the favour will be passed on and if anything were to happen to them, the other females in the herd would take up the slack and their offspring may be saved...

 

[DanceswithCows]

horrific though, very hard to watch imagine being born and thats your experience of the world, instant violence and pain and then blipped out again

 

[varkie]

For those asking about whether it's the same in horses/ponies, the answer is yes and no.

Many stallions are safe around foals, even if not their own, but some are not - some even if it is their own foal.

My own stallion is perfect around young foals from birth (even during birth), whether they are his or not - so much so he even let a foal chew his mane/tail almost completely off! However. Once they reach weaning age, he knows if they are his own or not. He does not like young colts who are not his own bloodline, but accepts those who are. Having said all that, he can live with other entire males not related to him, in the right circumstances. But when mares are nearby he draws differences.