NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK HOLLISTER. 547 



cities. The record of births from this pair is as follows: May 15, 

 1903, male; November 7, 1904, female; June 27, 1906, male; October 

 13, 1907, male; February 28, 1909, male; July 11, 1911, female; May 

 24, 1913, male; August 4, 1915, male; February 22, 1918, female. 



Young tapirs are pretty little creatures with stripes and spots of 

 yellowish white which gradually disappear during the first eight 

 months after birth. 



Other species of tapir are found in the forests of western South 

 America, in Central America, and in the Malay region. The Bra- 

 zilian species is especially fond of water and spends much of its 

 time in marshy places. 



THE HORSE AND HIS KINDRED. 



The horse family is represented in the park by the wild Mongolian 

 species (Equus przewalskii) called Przewalski's horse, and two 

 species of zebra. There are also interesting hybrids between the 

 zebra and horse, and the zebra and ass. 



The Przewalski's horse is the only living species of truly wild horse. 

 It inhabits the Gobi Desert region of central Asia where living speci- 

 mens were captured by an expedition organized by Hagenbeck in 

 1900. The descendants of this stock are now exhibited in zoological 

 gardens in many parts of the world. In his long shaggy winter coat 

 this horse is a creature of striking appearance. On the outlying 

 borders of the Gobi many of the horses owned by the Kirghiz tribes 

 are apparently mixed with the blood of wild^ stock. 



The specimen of the common East African zebra (Equus burchelli 

 granti) was brought from Nairobi, British East Africa, in 1909 by 

 Mr. A. B. Baker. He was then a young animal about 18 months old. 

 Zebras are found over much of southern and eastern Africa and in 

 certain localities are very abundant, living in great herds and min- 

 gling freely with various species of antelopes and other game. They 

 are much preyed upon by the lion and are a favorite food of the 

 natives. 



Grevy's zebra {Equus grevyi), a considerably larger and more 

 closely striped species than the common zebra, is confined to the more 

 arid parts of northeastern Africa, especially Abyssinia, Somaliland, 

 and northern British East Africa. It has a much longer and nar- 

 rower head than the common zebra and is a more handsome animal. 

 The two males in the park weigh 850 and 880 pounds. The first 

 specimen to reach the park was presented to President Roosevelt by 

 Emperor Menelik of Abyssinia in 1904. 



Experiments in breeding the Grevy's zebra with the horse and ass 

 have been conducted by the United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture. Fine examples of each of these interesting crosses have been 



