50 Zebra Quotes For Earning Your Stripes

By Clifton Sankofa | Published July 28, 2023

Zebra Quotes For Earning Your Stripes

Earn your stripes with our amazing zebra quotes!

Zebras are one of the most interesting animals on planet earth.

We can learn much from the life of a Zebra.

Check out these fun zebra facts below:

What is a zebra?

A zebra is an African equine known for their distinctive black and white striped coats.

They are of the family Equidae and are related to horses and donkeys.

There are three types of zebras: the plains zebra, the mountain zebra, and the Grevy’s zebra.

Zebras live in eastern and central Africa, occupying safaris and grazing in the grasslands.

Are zebras black or white?

People have debated whether zebras are black with white stripes or white with black stripes for generations.

However, biologists and zoologists have ended the debate.

Zebras are animals with black skin and white stripes.

If you were to shave a zebra’s fur down, you might not even recognize it.

When a zebra’s fur is shaved, it is entirely black; its white stripes form when its hair grows.

What makes the zebra special?

Zebras are capable of all sorts of cool things.

Did you know that zebras can sleep standing up?

Over generations, they developed this skill to protect themselves from predators better.

This was a valuable skill set to develop, considering that the number one predator of the zebra is the lion, which loves to sneak up on zebras while hunting.

A group of zebras is called a dazzle, as in “Look at that beautiful dazzle of zebras over there.”

Dazzle is an appropriate word because that is precisely what zebras do when congregating as a herd.

Zebra stripes are more than just fabulous fashion.

When a dazzle of zebras gets together as a collective, their stripes create an optical illusion.

Predators have difficulty making out one zebra for the other, giving the zebra the advantage if it needs to run away to escape.

Zebras are magic like that!

Check out our zebra quotes below to learn more about this fun and mystic animal.

Short zebra quotes that will dazzle you

These quotes are short and sweet, like a baby zebra!

1. “Zebras dream of polka dots.” — Phil Caruso

2. “Somewhere, the zebra is dancing.” — Garth Stein

3. “A zebra does not change its spots.” — Al Gore

4. “But trust me when I tell you that the zebra is real.” — Garth Stein

5. “Pulling off a zebra-print dress can be challenging for some.” — Iman Abdulmajid

6. “When you shoot a zebra in the black stripe, the white dies too.” — South African Proverb

7. “I secretly want to be a zebra. That is why I always wear stripes.” — Louis Tomlinson

“Behold the zebra on the plains, and shudder at his mighty manes!” — Ogden Nash

8. “I turned around, stepped over the Zebra, and threw myself overboard.” — Yann Martel

9. “I finally got around to reading the dictionary. Turns out the zebra did it.” — Steven Wright

10. “I’m saying let’s go see if we can find some horses or zebras before we start a unicorn hunt.” — James S.A. Corey

Funny zebra quotes that will make you chuckle

Who doesn’t love a nice zebra joke?

11. “A Polish man bought a zebra for a pet. What does he call the zebra? Spot!” — Henny Youngman

12. “Leo’s pride rarely leaves the plains. What are they supposed to mate? The zebras?” — Lora Leigh

13. “Scientists think they can now clone an all-white zebra. Now, I’m no expert, but isn’t that a horse?” — Jay Leno

14. “Zebra babies can flat-out run within an hour of being born because if they can’t, they’re dead.” — Willie Parker

15. “Anything was possible. When you hear hooves, you look for horses, but you can’t discount zebras.” — Paula Hawkins

16. “But now that I know it’s possible for a couple of zebras to outsmart a crocodile, life is starting to look up.” — Sarah Weeks

17. “It’s a wonder you don’t see the zebra being trotted out as a metaphor for racial harmony more often.” — Dov Davidoff

18. “Give me a black man, a white woman, a giraffe, a zebra—anything but another white man! That last one fucked up my roof!” — Chris Rock

19. “We were like zebras, so poor we didn’t know how poor we were, and tough and independent because there wasn’t any other way to be.” — Willie Parker

20. “I played soccer, and I was the kid who ran the wrong way, or I was pretending to be some sort of zebra, and I would flail my arms and kick up my legs.” — Johnny Weir

The best zebras don’t change their stripes quotes about staying true to who you are

Zebras are known for their unique pattern, which reminds us to be ourselves and be unique.

21. “Zebras don’t change their stripes, and war criminals don’t repent.” — Jodi Picoult

22. “My scars were reflecting the mist in your headlights. I looked like a neon zebra, shaking rain off her stripes.” — Fiona Apple

23. “God must’ve had a blast painting the stripes on the zebra, hanging the stars in the sky, putting the gold in the sunset. What creativity!” — Max Lucado

24. “I almost choke on my popcorn when I hear film stars, who walk on red carpets as much as the rest of us do on zebra crossings, criticizing youngsters who crave fame.” — Julie Burchill

25. “There is a famous Russian cartoon in which a hippopotamus, in the bush, points out a zebra to another hippopotamus. ‘You see,’ he says, ‘Now that’s formalism.’” — Alain Robbe-Grillet

Unique zebra quotes

These quotes highlight uniqueness of animals like zebras.

26. “Humans were the only creatures in the world that ate their food cooked. You’d never find a Gorilla frying up some bananas for dinner or a lion charcoal-broiling a zebra steak.” — Dick Gregory

27. “There is more difference between a zebra and a horse, or between a dolphin and a porpoise than there is between you and the furry creatures your distant ancestors left behind when they set out to take over the world.” — Bill Bryson

28. “One wants to move through life with elegance and grace, blossoming infrequently, but with exquisite taste, and perfect timing, like a rare bloom, a zebra orchid. One wants, but one so seldom gets what one wants, does one?” — Tony Kushner

29. “In the world of animation, you can be anything you wanna be… If you’re a white man, you can play an Arabian prince. And if you’re a black man, you can play a donkey or a zebra.” — Chris Rock

30. “I suddenly realized. The zebra—it is not something outside of us. The zebra is something inside of us. Our fears. Our own self-destructive nature. The zebra is the worst part of us when we are face-to-face with our worst times. The demon is us!” — Garth Stein

Zebra quotes and sayings

Learn more about the animals through these quotes and sayings.

31. “Zebras were a rare legendary creature that had finally been decided to be mythical.” — Eliezer Yudkowsky

32. “I love a wild animal print. Not just a leopard print—I’m talking about a tiger or zebra print, too.” — Tan France

33. “I’ve eaten sheep’s eyes, the still hot meat from a zebra killed by a lion, and maggots which give you 70 calories to the ounce.” — Bear Grylls

34. “Then there’s a certain sort of person who would ignore dragons, who would never bother to look at dragons, and chase after rumors of zebras.” — Eliezer Yudkowsky

35. “Most of us are animal lovers. We insist that we love all animals equally, the hamster, the weasel, and the zebra—but if pressed, we will admit to being either a cat person or a dog person.” — Nicole Hollander

Additional Zebra quotes and sayings

Enjoy a few more quotes and sayings about the mammal.

36. “In my experience, nobody gets to lead a totally charmed existence. Nobody escapes the pitfalls of being a human being. It’s what separates us from the zebras. Or that’s my theory anyway.” — Sarah Kate Lynch

37. “I’m not fighting with myself. Oh, my God. That’s how I am. You know the story of the hippo? The hippo comes to the monkey and said, ‘Listen, I’m not a hippo.’ So, he painted himself like a zebra. He said, ‘But he’s still a hippo.’” — Marat Safin

38. “Prey animals such as zebras and antelope have eyes at the sides of their heads, but a predator’s eyes face forward. Always show the cat your face. Let her see where your eyes are, and she’ll know you’re a predator, too. She’ll think twice before attacking.” — Tess Gerritsen

39. “Has it ever struck you as odd that humans are the only creatures on the planet who wear clothes? Everything else, from aardvarks to zebras, is running around in its birthday suit, blissfully unclear of the concept of underpants. Why don’t people do the same?” — Linda Bender

40. “Maybe our best family trip started at Victoria Falls, which drenches you with spray and is so vast that it makes Niagara Falls seem like a backyard creek. Then we rented a car and made our way to Hwange National Park, which was empty of people but crowded with zebras, giraffes, elephants and more.” — Nicholas Kristof

The top black and white stripes zebra quotes

Zebras are known for a lot of cool things, but their stripes are the most iconic part about them.

41. “How fast does a zebra have to run before it looks gray.” — Demetri Martin

42. “If black and white are too different and separate calories, zebras wouldn’t have both.” — Mohamed Nur Hashi

43. “Zebras may bite people and not let go. They injure more people in zoos than the tigers do.” — Temple Grandin

44. “I very much like Kenya. A great part for the children is you can ride horses with the giraffes and the zebra.” — Mark Burnett

45. “For example, the main reason zebras never got domesticated is that they’re ultra-high-fear.” — Temple Grandin

46. “Butterflies, and zebras, and moonbeams, and fairy tales, that’s all she ever thinks about riding with the wind.” — Jimi Hendrix

47. “Every time I look at a zebra, I can’t figure out whether it’s black with white stripes or white with black stripes, and that frustrates me.” — Jodi Picoult

48. “Elephants, it turns out, are surprisingly stealthy. As the sunlight fades, other species declare their presence. Throngs of zebras and wildebeests thunder by in the distance, trailing dust clouds.” — Thomas French

49. “I can give or take elephants; I never can find the cheetah, but the zebras captivate me. They’d be one of the few things that would fit if we were lucky enough to live in a world that’s black or white.” — Jodi Picoult

50. “When you see a lion tearing apart a zebra, what sort of divine order do you see there? What we see there is nothing but savagery, injustice, and chaos. In short, we see a primitive disorder. We see an evolutionary cruelty and a primitive disturbance deprived of any kind of ethics!” — Mehmet Murat ildan

What does the zebra have to teach us?

Zebras are some of nature’s most knowledgeable teachers.

There are not many natural environments in the wild that are black and white, so zebras remind us that it’s okay to look different from the world around you.

In a world where many people feel the pressure of looking a certain way just to fit in, the zebra encourages us to stand tall in our uniqueness.

At the same time, zebras unify their stripes to throw off the gaze of predators, reminding us that sometimes we are more powerful when we unify all of our unique traits to work together.

Humans have had polarized relationships that result in many people not getting along.

Zebras are black and white and symbolize that even the most different elements can coexist together as one.