THE ZEBRAS 



1095 



a light reddish brown, with the head, neck, and front half of the body marked with 

 irregular, chocolate-brown stripes, gradually becoming fainter, until they are quite 

 lost on the hind-quarters. There is a dark stripe running down the back on to the 

 upper part of the tail; but the rest of the tail, together with the under parts, the 

 inner sides of the thighs, and the legs, are white. 



When Sir C. Harris visited the Cape Colony in the year 1839, he 

 described the quagga as existing in immense herds, but it is now, 

 owing to incessant persecution for the sake of its hide, either completely or very 

 nearly exterminated. According to Mr. H. A. Bryden, the quagga always had a 

 very restricted distribution, and, although "formerly so abundant upon the far- 



Distribution 



THE QUAGGA. 



spreading ' karroos ' of the Cape Colony and the plains of the Orange Free State, 

 appears never to have been met with north of the Vaal river. Its actual habitat 

 may be precisely defined as within Cape Colony, the Orange Free State, and Griqua- 

 land West. I do not find that it ever extended to Namaqualand and the Kalahari 

 desert to the west, or beyond the Key river, the ancient eastern limit of the Cape 

 Colony to the east. ' ' 



The name couagga is derived from the shrill bark-like neigh of the 

 animal. In habits this species appears to have been very similar to 

 the other members of this group, and it was formerly much sought after by the 

 Boers in order to supply their native servants with food. It may be added that all 



Habits 



