The answer to how long zebras’ lives is circumstantial. It depends on their environment, food diet, and health. Even though they are part of the horse family, their habits and social organization affects their life span.
Life Span in Captivity
Zebras can often be seen in zoos and most of them have no reproductive problems while in captivity. They also outlive their counterparts from the wild due to several factors. In captivity, zebras have the luxury of benefiting from healthcare provided by the keepers.
Also, food scarcity becomes a non-existent problem. Predators as well are out of the question. These three factors lead to an extended life span which can be as high as 40 years.
Caring for Zebras
On the other hand, zebras require very little care. They rarely get sick in captivity and can eat almost anything. They are safe from parasites and predators that would shorten their lifespan.
The only problem that zebras have in captivity is the fact that they are aggressive. When they require medical attention, they are much more difficult to deal with than horses and tranquilizers are used whenever they are injured or sick.
Lifespan in The Wild
In their natural habitat, zebras can live up to 25 years. This number can vary depending on food scarcity and predators. Also, they can be affected by various diseases that shorten their lifespan.
In some cases, they can even live up to 30 years. However, the real number is much lower than that. The average lifespan of a zebra is about nine years in the wild. This number is seemingly low because of predators and the fact that 50% of the foals die in their first year.
Also, water can be contaminated by parasites and they can contact various diseases that would require medical attention. In is quite common to see zebras with infected wounds that can incapacitate them and turn them into vulnerable targets for predators.
斑馬的壽命長短取決於牠們的環境、飲食及健康狀況。即使他們屬於馬科馬屬動物，他們的習慣及社會環境也會影響他們的壽命。
圈養
我們經常在動物園裡見到的斑馬，由於一直被圈養，所以沒有繁殖問題。多種因素亦令他們比野外生活的斑馬壽命更長。由於被圈養，牠們能受益於飼養員提供的醫療保健，而且亦不會出現食物短缺的問題，也不會被捕食者獵殺，使牠們的壽命更長，最長可達40年。
照顧
斑馬只需要很少的照顧。牠們很少因被囚禁而生病，幾乎可以吃任何東西，亦不會受寄生蟲和天敵的傷害而縮短它們的壽命。斑馬被囚禁的唯一問題是它們具有攻擊性，當需要醫療護理時，它們比馬匹更難處理，每當受傷或生病時都需要使用鎮靜劑。
野外生活
在斑馬的自然棲息地中，牠們的壽命可達25年。這個數字可根據食物的短缺及掠食者捕殺而改變。而且，它們亦可能會受到各種疾病的影響而縮短壽命。在某些情況下，它們甚至可以存活30年。但是，實際數字要低得多，在野外生活的斑馬的平均壽命約為9年。由於掠食者和50％的小斑馬在第一年死亡，這一數字似乎很低。此外，野外的水源可能會被寄生蟲污染，並且可能因為各種疾病感染而傷亡，帶有被感染的傷口會使其喪失覓食能力，並令牠們變成捕食者的目標，這是很常見的。
