THE DOMESTICATION OF WILD ANIMALS 43 



its kind that has been domesticated in modern times in its 

 native land. This animal was captured out of a herd of 

 twenty, when apparently five or six years of age ; and 

 when the account was sent home had already become 

 perfectly tame and docile. It was trained to draw a 

 waggon for carrying agricultural produce, and also a brake 

 for passengers. As Dr. Trouessart observes, this individual 

 renders the domestication of the African elephant practically 

 an accomplished fact. 



There remains the question of breeding in captivity ; but 

 British experiences in Burma indicate that this is merely 

 a matter of expense in the case of the Asiatic species. 

 And it is worth considering whether domestication is not 

 the only chance of saving the African elephant from 

 ultimate extermination. 



Perhaps even more has been written of late years with 

 regard to the possibility of domesticating zebras than has 

 been devoted to the case of the elephant. The general 

 opinion seems to be that individuals caught wild and trained 

 to harness are too " soft " to be of any great permanent 

 value for draught purposes, and that either the stamina 

 and staying powers of these animals will have to be im- 

 proved by judicious breeding in captivity, or that mules 

 between zebras and ponies will be found more efficacious 

 for the needs of African transport. In either event it will 

 be essential to domesticate a large stock of zebras, as other- 

 wise in the course of a few years these handsome animals 

 might become so scarce as to be practically unobtainable. 

 Whether, however, " zebroids," as it is proposed to call the 

 hybrids, will maintain the immunity against tsetse attack 

 characteristic of pure-bred zebras, remains to be proved. 

 There is also the question as to the fertility or otherwise of 

 these hybrids, and the consideration that if they produced 



