ZEBRAS 37 



was probably fostered and quickly communicated 

 through the comparatively restricted range available, 

 while some antidote, which no doubt is easily found where 

 the area is sufficiently large, may have grown in in- 

 sufficient quantity to meet the requirements of the stock 

 on the ground. I understand that the same trouble is, 

 or was, in less degree, present among the animals in the 

 Duke of Bedford's unique collection at Woburn, and there 

 can be little doubt that this is one of nature's methods 

 of restricting the overgrowth of species within limited 

 areas. 



GREVY'S ZEBRA. Grevy's zebra is an inhabitant of 

 Abyssinia, Somaliland, and the Lake Rudolph district. 

 It is the largest of all the tribe, attaining a shoulder 

 height of nearly fifteen hands, and is very closely striped 

 right down to the hoofs. It seems a beast that might 

 well be worth experimenting with for domestic purposes. 



THE MOUNTAIN ZEBRA. The True or Mountain zebra 

 is the smallest of the group of striped horses, standing 

 some twelve hands at the shoulder. It was always a 

 local animal, never having been found beyond the limits 

 of the Cape Colony and parts of German South-West 

 Africa, though types of the Burchell species, showing 

 a certain likeness, have been noticed elsewhere. The 

 species suffered so much during the past century from 

 shooting at the hands of the colonists, that its range is 

 now restricted to a few isolated districts, and its complete 

 disappearance is possible in the not very remote future ; 

 Its principal safeguard, in addition to the protectior 

 now afforded it, lies in the fact that it confines itself to 

 the more inaccessible portions of the mountain ranges, 

 where it runs in small troops, and is generally extremely 

 wary. It has often been written of as a very fierce and 

 untamable creature, but, as these were qualities which 



