Author(s): Jan Latta

Reference

To create Ziggy the Zebra book, I travelled to Africa nine times. I lived in a small tent in the Maasi Mara and every day I photographed and wrote about the zebras. Then I went to the mountains of Samburu, where I saw a spectacular fight between two Grevy zebras who were fighting to be the dominant stallion. The fight lasted 15 minutes with loud braying, barking and snorting sounds. Finally they calmed down, and with their tails in the air, they galloped away. Later I travelled to Nanyuki where a herd of Burchell zebras were spooked and they came thundering past my jeep. I was covered in dust and mud and only managed to take a photograph of their striped bottoms disappearing across the grassy plains. It was interesting to see the difference between the Burchell, Grevy and Mountain zebras. I had to check the shape of their ears and the different pattern of their stripes. There are fewer than 2,500 Grevy zebras and 2,700 Mountain zebras left in the wild, so it was important to create the book. Zebras talk to children about their life in the wild where they live, what they eat and how they survive. There is information about where I created the book, and maps, facts and fun activities.