Rarest zebra species

Found only on the plains and scrubland of Kenya and Ethiopia and with a population of around 2,680 individuals (as of 2016), the Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi) is the rarest species of zebra, currently listed as Endangered by the IUCN. Its range formerly covered a lot more of East Africa, but this species is now considered extirpated in Djibouti and Somalia, while its presence in South Sudan is unknown.

Also known as the imperial zebra, this species was named after French president François Paul Jules Grévy (1807–91).

As well as being the largest zebra species – standing 140–160 centimetres (4 feet 7 inches–5 feet 2 inches) tall at the shoulder and weighing 350–450 kilograms (771–992 pounds) – other physical characteristics that distinguish it from other zebras are thinner, more closely set stripes, a white belly and large, rounded ears.

It's worth noting that the Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) – a subspecies of mountain zebra – has an estimated population of fewer than 1,500 individuals. However, there are ~30,000 Hartmann's mountain zebras (Equus zebra hartmannae) in the wild, rendering mountain zebras as a species more populous. However, some scientists have suggested splitting the two mountain zebras into separate species; if this were to happen, then this record would need to be reassessed.

At the other end of the spectrum, the most common species of zebra is the plains zebra (Equus quagga) with more than 500,000 individuals estimated across its total range across eastern and southern Africa.