CHAPTER XII. 



THE HORSE TRIBE. 



ZEBRAS AND WILD ASSES. 



BY P. C. SELOUS. 



ZEBRAS. 



r I ^HE ZEBRAS have many points in common with the asses, from which latter group 

 JL of animals they are principally distinguished by their beautifully striped skins. Both 



asses and zebras carry short, 

 erect manes, and in both the upper 

 portion of the tail is free from long 

 hair. In both groups there are 

 naked callosities on the fore legs 

 only, whilst the head is larger in 

 proportion to the size of the animal, 

 and the ears longer than in the horse. 

 In BURCHELL'S and GREVY'S ZEBRAS 

 the hoof is intermediate between 

 that of the horse and the ass ; for 

 although narrower than the hoof of 

 the horse, it is broader and more 

 rounded than that of the ass. In 

 the TRUE ZEBRA, however, the hoof is 

 thoroughly asinine in character, and 

 the ears very long. 



The TRUE or MOUNTAIN ZEBRA 

 appears never to have had a very 

 extended range. It was once an 

 inhabitant of all the mountainous 

 regions of the Cape Colony as well 

 as of the great Drakensberg Eange, 

 and fifty years ago was also found 

 amongst the rugged hills of Great 

 Namaqualand. The mountain-zebra 

 is the smallest of the group, standing 

 only from 12 to 12| hands at the 

 shoulder. It is a most beautiful 

 animal, the whole of the head, body, ?**- 



and limbs, with the exception of the HHHHHiBfc- 

 under-parts and the insides of the fhoto by G ' w ' Wilaon Co " Ltd ^ 



fh' V, Vi f rl TV, rl MOUNTAIN-ZEBRA. 



tmgnS, Deing Striped. ine ground- T b e trae or mountain zebra is now becoming scarcer than formerly. At one time it 



Colour of the body is White, the Stripes was to be seen in great numbers on the mountains of Cape Colony. 



189 



