152 NATURE AND SPORT IN SOUTH AFRICA 



weapons of the various tribes within its habitat, or 

 even by the ravages of its incessant foe, the lion. 

 Unhappily there are incontestable signs that the 

 immemorial reign of this striking group of quadru- 

 peds is approaching a close. One form — the quagga 

 — has vanished completely; another — the true or 

 mountain zebra — is measurably approaching ex- 

 tinction : even the most prolific of the group — 

 Burchell's zebra — is being exterminated from 

 Southern Africa at an alarming rate. It may be 

 no great waste of time, therefore, to consider briefly 

 some of the main features of the life history of 

 these striking examples of Africa's disappearing 

 fauna. 



I have had the opportunity of observing in their 

 own wild haunts two of the species ; the mountain 

 zebra, and Burchell's zebra — the zebra of the 

 plains ; and my conclusion is, that no form of animal 

 life was ever more adapted to enliven and adorn a 

 savage landscape. Grazing; at rest; fleeting over 

 the plains ; standing statue-like, sentinel among the 

 most rugged mountain scenery; or climbing or 

 descending at the trot or gallop with equal ease the 

 most rocky and formidable hill-sides, I have watched 

 with infinite delight Burchell's and the true zebra 

 in their own chosen haunts. In their captive state, 

 also, I have closely observed these creatures ; and I 

 can safely assert that, whether free or captive, the 



