204 



TYPES OF ANIMAL LIFE 



are, or till recently were, four wild striped creatures of the 

 horse family in Africa : These were i. The quagga, with 

 stripes only on the head, neck, and fore part of the body. 

 But a few years ago it was to be met with in great 

 herds, ranging the vast plains which stretch between 

 Cape Colony and the Vaal Iliver. Now, however, it is 

 a question whether any exist save in a few menageries. 

 They have been trained to go in harness, although 



FIG. 57. 



THE TRUE OR COMMON ZEBRA. 



never really domesticated. 2. The true zebra, which was 

 the one first discovered by Europeans, and which is 

 figured in Buffon's " Natural History," is the most beauti- 

 fully marked of all, the whole of the body being striped 

 black and white down to the very hoofs. Its natural 

 home was the mountainous country in the vicinity of the 

 Cape of Good Hope, and it has now almost become 

 extinct. 3. The third species is called Burchell's zebra, 

 and used to be highly prized in menageries, as the rarer 

 kind, because of its more distinct home beyond the 



