African elephant vs plains zebra

Loxodonta africana compared with Equus quagga

Key Differences

• African elephant is Vulnerable while plains zebra is Near Threatened.
• African elephant is 17.1x heavier than plains zebra.
• African elephant lives longer (65 years vs 25 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	plains zebra
Kingdom same	Animalia (动物界)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum same	Chordata (脊索动物门)	Chordata (脊索动物门)
Class same	Mammalia (哺乳動物)	Mammalia (哺乳動物)
Order	Proboscidea (长鼻目)	Perissodactyla (奇蹄目)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Equidae (Horses & Zebras)
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Equus (Horses & Zebras)
Species	Loxodonta africana	Equus quagga

Evolutionary Relationship

African elephant and plains zebra share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (哺乳動物)

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

plains zebra

NT — Near Threatened

Population: ~750.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	plains zebra
Diet	Herbivore	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	65 years	25 years
Average Length	6.0 m	2.3 m
Average Weight	6.0 t	350.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

African elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

plains zebra

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Tanzania. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

African elephant

非洲象是地球上体型最大的陆地动物，体重可达7,000千克，栖息于撒哈拉以南非洲的草原、稀树草原和森林中。作为关键种，它们通过挖掘水源、传播种子和改变植被结构，深刻塑造了其栖息地的生态系统。受栖息地丧失和象牙盗猎威胁，非洲象的保护至关重要。

plains zebra

数量最多的野生马科动物，平原斑马（Equus quagga）栖居于东非和南非的草原和稀树草原，从小型家庭群到大规模聚集均有分布。每个个体独特的黑白条纹图案可能起到迷惑捕食者、驱避吸血昆虫和促进个体识别的作用。斑马是狮子、鬣狗和鳄鱼的主要猎物，支撑着稀树草原食物网。

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇰🇪 Kenya