THE BIRTH OF A ZEBRA HYBRID. 19 



Captain Lugard believed "that their export might 

 prove one of the sources of wealth and revenue in the 

 future ; " for, as he adds, " everyone knows the paucity of 

 mules, both for mountain batteries and for transport 

 purposes, has long been one of the gravest difficulties in 

 our otherwise almost perfect Indian Army corps."* Like 

 Mr. Tegetmeiert, I have been assured that zebra mules 

 would be great favourites with the natives in India, and 

 further, it is supposed they might prove invaluable in the 

 West Indies. I have already mated seven different breeds 

 of mares with the zebra, mares varying in size from 11 to 

 15 hands, and, in fact, enough has been already accom- 

 plished to show that zebra hybrids could be produced, 

 suitable, as far as make and size go, for all kinds of work. 

 Further, I had last summer a Burchell's zebra filly that 

 was perfectly docile, in every way as domesticated as a 

 Shetland pony. Hence from a mental as well as from a 

 physical standpoint I fail to see why zebra hybrids should 

 not, if properly handled, prove as serviceable to man as 

 either mules or horses — in some circumstances even more so. 



Another question of interest is, will the zebra mules 

 breed inter se, or with horses, zebras, or asses, or any of 

 their hybrids ? This is a question which it is impossible to 

 answer until experiments have been made. Because ordi- 

 nary mules have never been known to breed in England it 

 is argued zebra mules must be infertile. But this does not 

 necessarily follow, for as zebras differ from donkeys, so 

 may zebra hybrids (even in the matter of fertility) differ 

 from mules. Darwin writes, " Many years ago I saw in 

 the Zoological Gardens a carious triple hybrid, from a bay 

 mare by a hybrid from a male ass and a female zebra. "J 

 This is a case of an equine hybrid (i. e. a male hybrid 

 obtained by crossing a zebra mare with a jackass) being 

 fertile when mated with a pony mare. G-ranting the infor- 

 mation given Mr. Darwin was correct, this case proves 



* ' Our African Empire.' 



t Live Stock Journal, 25tli Sept., 1896. 



X ' Animals and Plants,' vol. ii, p. 16. 



