194 



THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



MARE AND FOAL OF BURCHELL'S ZEBRA 



These animals breed regularly in captivity 



far distant, and it is my experience 

 that these animals require to drink 

 daily, and never wander more than 

 a few miles away from the pool or 

 river they frequent. 



This species of zebra may often 

 be seen in Southern Africa in 

 company with other animals, such 

 as buffaloes, blue wildebeests, elands, 

 gemsbucks, roan and sassaby ante- 

 lopes, and ostriches, and I have upon 

 several occasions seen them come up 

 to domestic cattle and horses. They 

 are naturally not very wary, and in 

 parts of the country where they 

 have not been much molested are 

 often very inquisitive, and will come 

 trotting quite close up to a caravan, 

 provided they do not get the scent 

 of human beings. Foals of this 



species are easily caught, and become at once very tame and confiding; nor do I believe that 



adult Burchell's zebras are such vicious animals as is generally supposed, since I have seen 



several which were very quiet and well broken, whilst even the half-broken animals, which 



were at one time used on one of the coach-lines in the Transvaal, did not appear very vicious. 

 As with Grevy's zebra, the flesh of the species under consideration is much appreciated 



both by natives and lions. I have often seen the fat on the quarters of the mares quite an 



inch thick. It is of a dark yellow colour, and too rich to suit the stomach of a European. 



The meat is rather sweet in taste, but if fried with bacon not at all unpalatable. 

 Professor Ewart has lately carried out a very 



interesting series of experiments on the hybrid- 

 ising of zebras and horses. The results were very 



satisfactory. The zebra cross proved to be very 



hardy creatures, capable of wintering in the open 



on the hills of Scotland. The scientific data 



obtained were of singular value, as showing the 



effect of crossbreeding on subsequent generations 



of foals of the same mother. It has long been 



believed that the influence of the first sire was seen 



in foals cf which other animals were subsequently 



the fathers. Thus, if a white mare threw a foal 



to a black stallion, it was considered that her 



subsequent progeny would occasionally be black, 



and instances were freely quoted to support this 



theory The scientific name of " telegony " was 



given to this supposed influence of previous sires 



on futureoffspring. Professor Ewart's experiments, 



in which pony mares were first mated with a 



zebra and afterwards with horses, show that this 



theory of telegony is erroneous. The foals sired 



afterwards by ponies and horses showed no trace 



whatever of zebra stripes, but were normal pony 



foals, and not altered either in shape or disposition. 



fhote by Korman B. Smith, Elf. 



BURCHELL'S ZEBRA 



Thii tfecies it occasionally domesticated and driven in South 

 Africa, at it it not injured by the tsetse fly 



