The stallion with the best territory, indicated by high quality grass and a close water source, is very attractive to wandering mares and is likely to have greater reproductive success than other local stallions. Females with young stay close to water supplies, while mares without young are drawn to areas with better forage. Zebra Sense Zebras communicate with vocalizations and body language. The Grevy's vocalization is an unusual combination of braying and whistling as the zebra takes in and exhales air. These calls help mares to locate their foals after a long day of searching for water.
Zebras have excellent eyesight and can recognize each other visually.
A newborn spends its first few hours bonding with its mother, learning its mother's voice, stripe pattern, and scent. The dark stripes on the Grevy's body are very narrow and positioned close together in maze-like arches so that each zebra's stripe pattern is an unique as a person's fingerprint. A foal's stripes are tan which gradually darken with maturity. Ethologists use a stripe-pattern identification technique to study zebra populations in the reserves of Ethiopia and Kenya. A zebra's worst enemy is a pride of lions, hunting by starlight.