CH. IT] ZEBRAS AND GAZELLES 45 



which it has also been somewhat the fashion of recent 

 years to hold up as an example of " protective colora- 

 tion." As a matter of fact, the zebra's coloration is 

 not protective at all : on the contrary, it is exceedingly 

 conspicuous, and under the actual conditions of the 

 zebra's life, probably ne\'er hides it from its foes ; the 

 instances to the contrary beintr due to conditions so 

 exceptional that they may be disregarded. Tf any man 

 seriously regards the zebra's coloration as " protectiv^e," 

 let liim try the experiment of wearing a hunting-suit of 

 the zebra pattern ; he will speedily be imdeceived. 

 The zebra is peculiarly a beast of the open plains, and 

 makes no effort ever to hide from the observation of its 

 foes. It is occasionally found in open forest, and may 

 there now and then escape observation simply as any 

 animal of any colour — a dun hartebeest or a nearly 

 black bushbuck — may escape observation. At a dis- 

 tance of over a few hundred yards the zebra's colora- 

 I tion ceases to be conspicuous simply because the 

 [ distance has caused it to lose all its distinctive character 

 I — that is, all the quality which could possibly make it 

 I protective. Near by it is always very conspicuous, and 

 I if the conditions are such that any animal can be seen at 

 I all, a zebra will catch the eye much more quickly than 

 a Grant's gazelle, for instance. These gazelles, by the 

 I way, altiiough mucli less conspicuously coloured than 

 the zebra, l)ear when young, and the females even when 

 J adult, the dark side stripe which characterizes all sexes and 

 ages of the smaller gazelle, the " tommy "; it is a very 

 conspicuous marking, quite inexplicable on any theory 

 of protective coloration. The truth is that no game of 

 the plains is helped in any way by its coloration in 

 evading its foes, and none seeks to escape the vision of 

 its foes. The larger game animals of the plains are 



