Jessica Paster The Future is Green
Animals that start with Z – This world is full of unique creatures. Many of them can just be simply found around, like the cat, dog, ant, mosquito, and even cockroach. However, many others can only be seen in the zoo or the places quite far from us.
Sure, there are also some animals that are considered rare or even extinct. On this page, anyway, you are let learn some types of animals in which the names are begun by the letter Z.
Uniquely, some of those animals are considered the rare ones. So, what are they?
1. Zebra
Zebra is an animal from the horse family with a unique feature. It is that the body skin is striped in black and white. The habitat of this animal is spreading around the areas of South, West, and East Africa.
Besides, some of them are also found in Asia. In general, there are 3 types of zebra; they are mountain, land, and primitive zebra.
The stripes on the zebra’s skin help this animal to protect themselves from predators. This feature tends to break the flat contour of its body, and it can just be simply disguised.
More than that, when zebra moves, the predator’s vision is disturbed. Meanwhile, zebra lives in groups in the meadows, and it is categorized as an herbivore.
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2. Zonkey
The mating between donkey and zebra produces a new species; it is namely zonkey. Uniquely, in some cases, the donkey involved in the breeding comes from the rare sub-species, namely Amiata.
Although this even can be said rare, and there are only a few of them in the world, all the species produced through this breed tend to have similar characteristic features.
The body shape is very similar to the donkey; small and quite short. Meanwhile, it has the zebra’s stripes.
Other characteristics are that the fur tends to be brown, just like the donkey. Even the ears are long anyway. Sure, just like the parents, zonkey is also classified as an herbivore, and it is considered a worker animal.
3. Zebra Shark
This animal is discovered by an Australian scientist, Dr. William White, from an organization known as CSIRO in Hobart, Tasmania.
It is known as the zebra shark for the striped skin pattern that is very similar to zebra; it is black and white.
When it enters the first month, the stripes turn into the spots, or it is known as the leopard phase. Based on some research, the zebra shark is named as the animal with the most drastic change in the skin pattern.
One of the factors of the change is due to how zebra shark moves. Meanwhile, it is also functions to avoid the predator.
4. Zebu
Zebu is a type of ruminant that looks very similar to the cow. The difference is that zebu has humps of the back, and the size is quite bigger.
The habitat of zebu is in the area of South Asia like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
This animal is a kind of herbivore with the main foods of plant materials like grass, flowers, and leaves. Just like the cow also, people also farm this animal so that the meat and milk can be taken.
Meanwhile, the dung can be processed into fertilizer. This natural fertilizer is indeed able to improve the plants’ growth like they can grow faster or produce more fruits.
5. Zorro
Zorro is better known as a fictional character that was good at playing swords and fighting. However, do you know that this word actually refers to the fox?
Yes, there are many opinions regarding this term. Some people said that zorro is indeed the Spanish of the fox.
On the other hand, there are also some others who refer to the word zorro only in a certain sub-species of the fox.
The so-called zorro itself is described as a mammal of medium size with brown and light brown fur in gradients. It has a snout with medium-sized earlobes.
It is able to run fast and is classified into carnivores. Sure, it is because zorro or fox loves eating smaller and tamer animals like ferrets, squirrels, birds, and more.
6. Zorilla (Striped Polecat)
Zorilla is a member of the ferret family with the fur of black with 4 white lines starting from the head to tail. Slightly, this animal looks like a skunk.
Other physical characteristics are the long and sharp claws, but the teeth are smaller than any other ferrets. Meanwhile, there are white spots on the face with a pair of big dots on the cheek.
Zorilla is a solitaire animal that loves to live alone. They live on the cavities of the big rocks as well as under them.
This animal is considered a carnivore by eating smaller animals like rats, rabbits, frogs, lizards, bees, birds, and more.
7. Zebrafish
Zebrafish, just from the name, you may have imagined what this fish looks like. Yes, this decorative fish is striped in black and white so that it indeed looks like a zebra on the land.
It is also a native animal from the Himalayan area, and its habitat is freshwater.
Although most types of zebrafish are in black and white, there are some sub-species with other colors. As an example, there is a unique zebrafish in gold and purple.
The length of this animal is only around 5 cm, and the lifespan is up to 5 years old. To feed this animal, the owners may pour the worms or shrimps into the water.
8. Zebra Duiker
Zebra duiker is a unique antelope that can be found mainly in Liberia and Ivory Coast. There is “zebra” in the name due to the lines of black on the brown body surface.
Many scientists believe that this animal is one of the earliest duiker species that has been evolved.
Zebra duiker is also a rare animal since it cannot live easily in many places. Sadly, it is also included in the list of endangered animals by IUCN for the habit of some people who hunt them for meat and skin.
9. Zorse
Zorse is the name of a species formed from the breeding of zebra and horse. Commonly, it is when the female is a zebra, and the male is a horse.
Physically, a zebra and a horse are indeed very similar. The most visible difference is probably only about the zebra’s skin which is in the stripes, black and white.
Consequently, the stripes still remain in a zhorse, although it is not as clear as the real zebra. Meanwhile, the color of the horse is also seen.
As an example, if the zhorse’s dad has a brown skin color, the zhorse may have brown as the basis skin tone before the stripes. Sure, zhorse is in the category of mammals and herbivores.
10. Zebra Finch
Zebra finch is indeed a very active and attractive animal with a stunning appearance. It is called zebra finch due to the strips all over the body that indeed looks like a zebra.
The animal is included in the genus of Taenopygia from the family of Estrildidae. The other species is the double-barred finch with a physical appearance that is almost similar to the zebra finch unless in some parts.
The bird is a native animal of Timor Island and Australia. For its uniqueness, it breeds widely all over the world, particularly in some countries in America like the USA, Brazil, and Puerto Rico.
Many people love to keep zebra finch as a pet. The primary foods are the seeds, and it needs enough pure water every day.
11. Zapata Rail
Zapata Rail is one of the almost-flightless birds endemic in the area of Zapata Peninsula, Cuba. The bird has medium size with a dark rail and with feathers of brown and grey.
Although there is a prediction that this animal may be found in the future, nowadays, it is proclaimed to be very rare or even extinct, although there was a witness in 2016 to see the bird.
Whether Zapata Rail has still been existed or not, there is a conservation area in Zapata Peninsula. Meanwhile, the bird is also listed as critically endangered.
Meanwhile, there are also future threats by seeing the fact that Cuba has many tourists including in the area of Zapata. This way, research and conservation are still improved for the sake of the bird’s life sustainability.
12. Zapata Sparrow
Zapata Sparrow is a kind of sparrow found in the area of Zapata Swamp and any other areas of Cuba.
It has grey and yellow feathers with a length of around 6,5 inches. Despite its physical appearance, the bird is also well-known as the high pitch voice.
This bird is classified into the group of omnivores. It is seen from the foods, including the seeds and flowers, but also some tiny animals like insects, spiders, snails, and eggs.
The breeding season of this bird is between March and June. Although it is said that Zapata Sparrow is an endemic of Zapata Swamp, the groups can be found in some wetlands in Cuba.