Why would someone own a Zebra?

Brief：
There is a ranch out near my house that has a Zebra in the pasture. Why would someone own a Zebra except for a novelty? I know you can ride them but d.. 

There is a ranch out near my house that has a Zebra in the pasture. Why would someone own a Zebra except for a novelty? I know you can ride them but do they serve a purpose that a horse or donkey wouldn't? Thanks!

I think the novelty of owning a zebra is one of the main reasons but you actually can ride them and I've heard of some shows geared towards them. They are pretty cool looking if i might add :] hey, if you have a passion for zebras why not? Horses don't always* serve a purpose either like they used to-- they used to be mainly for transportation and plow-- now they are mainly used for showing and pleasure... Which seems to attract a lot of people anyways- like me :] (im in no way saying horses are useless, they certaininly arent they are amazing healers as well!) no not really haha Zebras won't get eaten by lions because of their they have good camouflage. Would you want your pet to be eaten by lions? no. So the obvious answer would be Zebra or Elephant, but elephants eat 300-600 pounds of food a day, leaving zebra to be the only remaining possibility. if i could, i would own a zebra. zebras are cute and exotic. Probably just the novelty of a unusual animal on the premises. It is quite hard to ride a zebra. You might be seeing a zebra-mule cross, or a zebra-horse cross, if you are seeing them ride the zebra. Most crosses look pretty different, though. The zebra's unpredictable nature and tendency to panic under stress make them poor candidates for domestication.