AN UNCOMMON ZEBRA 



edge, where, making myself comfortable, I settled 

 down to wait with my rifle in my hand. I was 

 wearing a pair of thick corduroy trousers, but they 

 afforded me no protection from the thorns, and the 

 puggaree of my felt hat was torn to ribbons. 



As I cautiously looked out I saw a most interest- 

 ing scene, five zebra in all were feeding quietly and 

 slowly towards me, now and then looking up but 

 quite unconscious of danger. They were led by an 

 old stallion whose body and ears were much scarred 

 by fighting. At last he left the others, and, ceasing to 

 feed, walked up under a mimosa tree and stood still, 

 not 80 yards off. His appearance, even at that dis- 

 tance, seemed different from the zebra I had shot 

 previously in East Africa. In size he resembled 

 Grant's zebra, so commonly seen on the highlands, 

 but the arrangement of stripes was unfamiliar to me. 

 Moreover, I had expected to find Grevy's zebra in 

 these regions. 



Mr. Lydekker states in his book on The Game- 

 Animals of Africa, that the latter species range from 

 the Tana River into Abyssinia, and the game-ranger 

 in Nairobi, Mr. R. B. Woosnam, had corroborated 

 this statement. As the zebra drew nearer and nearer 

 my excitement grew, till I was afraid I should not 

 be able to hold my rifle steady, but at last, as the 

 foremost was within 70 yards of my hiding-place, and 

 halted for a moment, I raised my rifle cautiously, 

 aiming at his neck. I was too close to hear the 

 bullet strike, but saw him drop like a log. The 

 others seemed to vanish into the bush, so small was 

 the little plain in which they were. I had no time 

 to shoot again, and never saw them more. I ran 

 forward and carefully looked him over. He proved 



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