THE MOUNTAIN ZEBRA 



and in his hurry to escape dashed into a wire fence, 

 turned a somersauh over it and broke his neck. 



Old stalHons when captured often refuse to eat, 

 and die of exhaustion, or what is commonly known 

 as a " broken heart." How could it be otherwise 

 with an animal which all its life had been as free as 

 the birds of the air up in the mountain fastnesses, 

 and leader of a troop, to be suddenly captured, 

 tethered and confined in a stable ? 



The mare Zebras breed freely with donkey stal- 

 lions, but the hybrids are not fertile. Donkey mares 

 also breed from Zebra stallions. 



I once saw a troop of Mountain Zebra mares, 

 donkey mares and hybrid foals led by a Zebra 

 stallion which had been captured young and reared 

 in captivity. 



A year or two ago as much as ^^300 each was 

 obtained for Mountain Zebras from Zoological 

 Garden authorities in Europe by an animal dealer. 



The period of gestation of this Zebra is about 

 twelve months. The foal is similar in shape and 

 size to that of an ordinary donkey, and is covered at 

 birth with rather long, woolly fur. 



For many months after capture it is necessary to 

 feed and look after the Mountain Zebras with the 

 greatest care, and the diet should consist of hay, 

 dry lucerne and forage principally. A sudden change 

 to green, succulent diet often proves fatal. They 

 suffer considerably from bots, and many in the wild 

 condition die of exhaustion from this cause. Bots 



187 



