Editing Plains zebra (section)

===In popular culture===
[[File:Coat of arms of Botswana.svg|thumb|right|upright|Zebras on the [[Coat of arms of Botswana|Botswana coat of arms]]]]
Zebras have been featured in [[African art]] and [[African culture|culture]] for millennia. They have been depicted in [[rock art]] in Southern Africa (modern Botswana, Namibia and South Africa) dating from 20,000–28,000 years ago, though not as commonly as antelope species like [[Common eland|eland]]. How the zebra got its stripes has been the subject of [[Traditional African religions|folk tales]], some of which involve it being scorched by fire. The [[San people]] associated zebra stripes with water, rain and lighting due to its dazzling pattern.<ref name="reaktion"/>

[[File:Flag of Botswana.svg|thumb|left|upright|Black and white stripes on the [[Flag of Botswana|Botswana flag]] represent the stripes of a zebra.]]
The plains zebra is the [[national animal]] of the [[Botswana|Republic of Botswana]] and its stripes are depicted on the country's flag. The flag stripes also represent racial harmony in the country.<ref>{{cite web | title = Introducing the flag of Botswana | url = https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/flag-of-botswana-facts-history-and-design | date = 19 August 2020 | publisher = [[Lonely Planet]] | access-date = 9 August 2021 | archive-date = 9 August 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210809220239/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/flag-of-botswana-facts-history-and-design | url-status = dead }}</ref> The zebra has also been associated with beauty and the women of various societies would paint much of their bodies in stripes. For the [[Shona people]] of Zimbabwe, the zebra is a [[totem]] animal, along with the eland, buffalo, lion and monkey. The zebra is praised in a poem as an "iridescent and glittering creature". Its stripes have symbolised the joining of male and female and at [[Great Zimbabwe]], zebra stripes decorate what is believed to be a ''domba'', a premarital school meant to initiate women into adulthood. In the [[Shona language]], the name "madhuve" means "woman/women of the zebra totem" and is a given name for girls in Zimbabwe.<ref name="reaktion">{{cite book|author1=Plumb, C. |author2=Shaw, S. |year=2018|title=Zebra|publisher=Reaktion Books|pages=37–46, 192–201|isbn=978-1780239354}}</ref>

Zebras have also been represented in Western culture. They have been thought of as a more exotic alternative to horse; the comic book character [[Sheena, Queen of the Jungle]] is depicted riding a zebra. The film ''[[Racing Stripes]]'' features a captive zebra ostracised from the horses and end up being ridden by a rebellious girl.<ref name="reaktion"/> In the film ''[[Fantasia (1940 film)|Fantasia]]'', two [[centaur]]s are depicted being half human and half zebra, instead of the typical half human and half horse.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.filmsite.org/fant.html|title= ''Fantasia'' (1940)|first= Tim|last= Dirks|date= n.d.|publisher= [[Filmsite.org]]|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140823181529/http://www.filmsite.org/fant.html|archive-date= 2014-08-23|url-status= live}}</ref> Zebras have been featured as characters in other animated films like ''[[Khumba]]'', ''[[The Lion King]]'' and the [[Madagascar (franchise)|''Madagascar'' films]].<ref name="reaktion"/>