Mountain Zebra inhabit rugged, broken mountainous and escarpment areas up to around 2,000 m with a rich diversity of grass species and perennial water sources. Mountain zebra are specialist grazers and browse only when forced to do so (Penzhorn 2013). Like most equids they are bulk, roughage feeders and so need to consume large daily quantities. They show seasonal movements with some individuals moving between summer and winter ranges and others staying in the same area. At the start of the annual summer rains, usually in November or December, mountain zebra sometimes move in large numbers to lower altitude green flushes (e.g., Joubert 1972). A physiological study suggest that their digestive efficiency and water requirements are similar to those of horses (Joubert and Louw 1976). Grobler (1983) showed that Cape Mountain Zebra are specialist grazers that select only a subset of the grass species available and that they prefer to feed at higher levels in the sward, sometimes selecting seed heads. Penzhorn (1982) reported that Cape Mountain Zebra make use of dwarf shrub foliage in the winter months but this was not seen by Grobler in the Mountain Zebra National Park. There are no studies of Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra comparable to those on Cape Mountain Zebra. Gosling (pers ob) observed Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra browsing the leaves of Catophractes alexandri in Etosha NP even though grass was available nearby.

The typical social structure of Mountain Zebra is one of small harems comprising an adult stallion and one to three mares and their dependent foals and juvenile offspring; non-breeding groups consist primarily of bachelors, but sometimes include young fillies (Penzhorn 2013).

Movements between spatially separate ranges in different seasons have been recorded in some areas in Namibia, and in others seasonal movements without a clear separation of seasonal ranges have been seen. The fact that some animals move long distances to separate ranges under particular ecological circumstances means that Mountain Zebra should be regarded as a migratory species. Due to fences and other restrictions animals are not always free to migrate, however.

See the subspecies Red List assessments for more details on Habitats and Ecology.

The Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra) is currently found in South Africa, Namibia, and Angola. The Cape Mountain Zebra (E. z. zebra) is endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, while Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae) is found mainly in Namibia, with small populations in Angola and South Africa. It is postulated that in historical times the two subspecies were separated by an area devoid of mountainous habitat, the Knersvlakte, which separates the Kamiesberg in the north from the Roggeveldberge in the south (Novellie et al. 2002). However there are no historical (pre-1920) records of Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra south of the Orange River (Skead 2011).

Cape Mountain Zebra's historical distribution extended throughout the great escarpment range in the Cape, south of the Orange River, including the Cape Fold Belt Mountains (the southern parts of the current eastern Western Cape Province), and the southern extent of the Northern Cape province. Thus, although once widely distributed throughout the mountainous regions of the Cape, over-hunting and agricultural expansion reduced the population to fewer than 80 individuals located in just five areas of the former Cape province by the 1950s (Millar 1970). Only three remnant subpopulations from the former natural distribution survived: Mountain Zebra National Park, Kammanassie and Gamkaberg Nature Reserves (Smith et al. 2008).

The current distribution of Cape Mountain Zebra is limited to (at least) 75 fenced and isolated subpopulations spread throughout the former range. Subpopulations have been reintroduced to, amongst others, Karoo, Addo Elephant, Bontebok, Tankwa Karoo and Camdeboo national parks, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Commando Drift Nature Reserve, Baviaanskloof Wilderness Area and Tsolwana Nature Reserve (Hrabar and Kerley 2015). Two of these reserve populations (Commando Drift and Tsolwana) are possibly extralimital, as there are no historical records of the species east of the Great Fish River (Skead 2007). The subpopulation at Gariep Dam Nature Reserve in the Free State Province is significantly extra-limital (Boshoff and Kerley 2013) and not included in this assessment. Novellie et al. (2002) regarded the West Coast National Park as being within the historical range but there is some doubt about this given that it is on the coast and 70 km from the closest historically-recorded subpopulation in Picketburg (Skead 2011). The issue of whether to include West Coast National Park to be within the subspecies’ range has not been resolved. The subpopulation at Oorlogskloof Nature Reserve in the Northern Cape lies in a historical range of Cape Mountain Zebra.

Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra primarily occupy the escarpment region of western Namibia that runs north-south along the entire length of the country and which form the boundary between an arid coastal plain (which includes the Namib Desert in the south and the Skeleton Coast in the north) and a wetter inland plateau. The current range of Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra differs from the historical range in Namibia, partly because of the widespread establishment of artificial water sources which allow this water-dependent sub-species to occupy habitat that was previously unsuitable (Novellie et al. 2002).

Published accounts of Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra distribution (Joubert 1973, Penzhorn 2013) refer to four subpopulations: (1) from Kunene Region southwards to the Ugab River and eastward to the Outjo District; (2) the Erongo Mountains; (3) the escarpment from the Swakop River southwards to the Naukluft Mountains and eastward along the Kuiseb and Gaub drainages into the Khomas Hochland; and (4) the Fish River canyon and Huns Mountains near the Orange River in the south.  There is some evidence for these distinctions in the distribution map in Novellie et al. (2002). However current information suggests that the three northern ‘subpopulations’ are essentially continuous. This may be due to significant population expansion or from under-sampling in some areas (especially where there are low levels of commercial farm questionnaire returns). The extent to which the Hunsberg/Fish River sub-population in the south is separated needs further investigation.

At the southern end of its distribution Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra extends into northern South Africa and are found in three conservation areas: Richtersveld and Augrabies National Parks and Goegap Provincial Nature Reserve (Novellie et al. 2002). They have also been introduced outside of their natural distribution range in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, North West and Free State provinces. At its northern end, the sub-species distribution extends into southern Angola and 263 were estimated in the Iona National Park in a 2003 survey (Kolberg and Kilian 2003).

Formally protected areas, and areas of good habitat (Lea et al. 206), are crucial for the conservation of Mountain Zebra, particularly in South Africa. Since Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra need to move flexibly over very large distances in response to spatial and temporal variation in rainfall and primary production, very large areas that are connected and support suitable habitat are needed if viable populations are to survive.

For details on specific conservation actions needed for the two subspecies see their Red List accounts. In summary, crucial actions needed for Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra include better surveys of population numbers, a regional perspective to land use planning, research on zebra ecology, hybridization and human-zebra relationships. For Cape Mountain Zebra key conservation actions are development and implementation of a metapopulation management strategy and a biodiversity management plan (also see Novellie et al. 2017).