356 THE STORY OF THE ZEBRA. 



but unsatisfactory trophies, it seems a pity that so many are killed for the 

 mere sake of sport. When standing on sandy ground in full moonlight, a 

 zebra harmonizes so exactly with the color of its surroundings as to be 

 quite invisible at a short distance. 



It is very wild and suspicious, carefully placing sentinels, to look out 

 for danger. Notwithstanding these precautions, several zebras have been 

 taken alive, and some, in spite of their vicious habits, have been trained 

 to draw a carriage. In all probability it might be domesticated like the 

 ass, as the black cross on the back and shoulders of the latter animal prove 

 the afiinity between them. In the Transvaal there are many teams made up 

 partly of zebras and partly of mules. 



The quagga, so far as color is concerned, forms a connecting link be- 

 tween the zebras and the asses; but in its short ears, and the extent to which 

 the tail is haired, approximates to the horse. In height it stands about the 

 same as the true zebra; in color the upper parts are of a light reddish-brown, 

 with the head, neck and front half of the body marked with irregular choco- 

 late-brown stripes, gradually becoming fainter, until they are quite lost on 

 the hind-quarters. There is a dark stripe running down the back on to the 

 upper part of the tail; but the rest of the tail, together with the under-parts, 

 the inner sides of the thighs, and the legs, are white. 



Its actual habitat may be precisely defined as within Cape Colony, the 

 Orange Free State, and Griqualand West. I do not find that it ever ex- 

 tended to Namaqualand and the Kalaharr Desert to the west, or beyond 

 the Kei River, the ancient eastern limit of the Cape Colony to the east. 



