# Can zebras be domesticated?

- Source: Everyday Mysteries (everyday-mysteries.loc.gov), Public domain, Science Reference Section, Library of Congress, Everyday Mysteries
- Reading level: Grade 5
- Subjects: Pets, Animals
- Topics: zebra, domesticated, zebras, attack, domestication, good
- Length: 106 words, about 1 min
- By: Science Reference Section, Library of Congress
- Original: <https://web.archive.org/web/20250207002231id_/https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/browse-all-questions/item/can-zebras-be-domesticated/>
- Page: <https://sprout.rootsofreason.org/r/loc-everyday-mysteries/can-zebras-be-domesticated>
- Open in Sprouts: <https://sprout.rootsofreason.org/?read=loc-everyday-mysteries/can-zebras-be-domesticated>

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No, zebras cannot be domesticated.

They are unpredictable and are known to attack people. To be domesticated, animals must meet certain criteria. For example, they must have a good disposition and should not panic under pressure. Zebras’ unpredictable nature and tendency to attack preclude them from being good candidates for domestication.

While attempts at domestication have failed, some individuals have had success training and even hybridizing zebras! Common zebra hybrids: Zorse (horse + zebra) and Zonkey (donkey + zebra). Zebra hybridization has actually been in existence at least a century. One of the pioneers in the field was J.C. Ewart, author of *The Penycuik Experiments* in 1899.

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## Picture credits

- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Digital Gallery, Public domain (US government work) (<https://digitalmedia.fws.gov/digital/collection/natdiglib/id/4305/rec/13>)
- Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Public domain (<https://www.loc.gov/item/2001705552/>)
- Ruth boraggina from Belleville, USA, CC BY 2.0 (<https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_zonky.jpg>)