THE ASSES AND ZEBRAS 85 



THE ZEBRAS 



Zebras, despite their near relationship to the horse, 

 have always been included among African game 

 animals, and probably always will be. Their meat, a 

 favourite food among Africans, is often necessary to 

 the hunter's camp ; the very handsomeness of their 

 appearance attracts the sportsman, especially in his 

 earlier days in Africa ; the native gunner is always 

 on their heels ; and so, year in year out, the zebra 

 especially of the species known as Burchell's, continues 

 to be shot. Happily these animals, and the Grant's 

 and Grevy's zebras are still abundant in various parts 

 of South, Central, and East Africa, and are likely to 

 withstand the assaults of gunners for a good many 

 years to come. 



Excluding the Quagga, which has now been for 

 many years extinct, there are at the present time four 

 well-defined groups of zebras to be found in Africa, 

 viz. the true or mountain zebra (Equus zebra] y 

 Burchell's zebra (Equus burchellf), Grevy's zebra 

 (Equus grevy'i], and Grant's zebra (Equus granti}. 

 The quagga (Equus quagga}, which formerly abounded 

 in very large numbers on the karroos of Cape Colony 

 and the plains of the Orange Free State, was seldom 

 found north of the Vaal River. This animal, which 

 was mainly shot out by the skin -hunting Boers, 

 became completely exterminated towards 1870, or at 

 latest 1873. It differed from all the other members 

 of the zebra race in being only striped upon the head 



