52 BURCHELrS ZEBRA. 



Mr. Layard compared it with the mountain zebra, and said 

 it was distinguished by the union of all the black stripes, 

 with a median one on the belly. 



" The new animal (he wrote) also differs from the other zebras 

 in having the callosities on the legs far larger and of a more 

 rounded shape, in having shorter and more equine earsr 

 measuring only 6fin. instead of ll|in., and in having a shorter 

 and more equine head and tail. The hoofs are also flatter than 

 in the common zebra, and not adapted for mountain work. The 

 mane grows several inches down on the forehead, and stands up 

 between the ears, so that when seen in full face it stands far 

 higher than them. They roam in large herds, and are first met 

 with about 200 miles from the coast inwards on leaving Walwich 

 Bay, where Equus zebra (or, rather, a variety of that animal) 

 prevails. The height of a young male shot in 1862, at the 

 shoulder, was 4|ft. ; at the rump, 5ft." 



This animal was also described in the same communica- 

 tion by Mr. Baines, and figured by Mr. Wolf. The 

 distinction between Burchel?s and Chapman's zebras — if 

 the latter is allowed to stand as a true species, which is 

 very doubtful — is merely that of marking, and it has not 

 affected apparently the character of the animal. This sub- 

 species, E. chapmani, has a very wide range. The skin 

 which is represented in the engraving was forwarded ta 

 Mr. P. L. Sclater (who exhibited it at the meeting of the 

 Zoological Society) from Masailand, East Africa, which is 

 between the Lake Victoria Nyanza and the east coast. 



BurchelFs zebra is not only a larger, but, from a utili- 

 tarian point of view, a much better-formed animal than the 

 mountain zebra, which may be described as far more asinine 

 in form. It is also more easily broken to harness, and 

 readily becomes a domesticated animal. Some years since 

 I visited Theobalds, the seat of Sir H. Meux, to see a 



