THE ZEBRA. 



When passing through the zoological 

 garden one summer afternoon, my atten- 

 tion was called to the antics of the fun- 

 loving, shy and graceful Zebra which 

 was delighting the children with his or- 

 iginal performance. There was no ring- 

 master to indicate the various evolutions, 

 but Zebra Joe was furnishing a sort of 

 circus all by himself. He seemed to have 

 forgotten that he was a stranger in a 

 strange land, and could he have been 

 transported to his own country in South 

 Africa, I hardly imagine he would have 

 seemed gayer or more free. 



The Zebra is of all things a freedom- 

 loving animal. He will go like the wind 

 and, if pursued singly, cannot be caught. 

 It is true that large herds are overtaken, 

 as they impede each other's progress, 

 but it is a shame that these beautiful 

 creatures should be hunted at all. The 

 European will try to kill them with bul- 

 lets, the natives with javelins, but more 

 frequently these dainty animals are 

 caught in pitfalls and then captured or 

 slain according to the will of the pursuer. 



They live gregariously and are found 

 in groups of from ten to twenty, though 

 there are accounts of large herds. Prob- 

 ably these were migrating. When run- 

 ning, they usually go in single file, the 

 stallions leading. They are not very fas- 

 tidious in regard to their food, but if the 

 supply fails in one place they seek an- 

 other locality. The Zebra defends itself 

 from other animals by biting and kicking, 

 and the lion is about the only foe which 

 can overcome it. 



Of the three species, the mountain 

 Zebra or true Zebra lives farthest south. 

 It ranges over the mountainous country 

 of Cape Colony. It is the smallest of the 

 three varieties, and is distinguished from 

 the others, not only by the peculiar mark- 

 ings, but by the large ears, short mane 

 and scantily haired tail. It is the only va- 

 riety where the transverse markings of 

 the legs extend to the hoofs. 



It is a very curious fact that the dif- 



ferent species of Zebra are never found 

 together. Perhaps they fear each other, 

 but they do not fear other animals, for 

 all agree that in the herds of quagga 

 (which is grouped with the Zebra) are 

 nearly always found spring-boks, gnus, 

 ostriches and also buftalos. Ostriches, 

 especially, are the companions of this 

 species of wild horse, which takes advan- 

 tage of the vigilance and sagacity of these 

 great birds. Some species of the Zebra 

 follow the horses of traveling parties and 

 graze among them, seeming to have a cer- 

 tain friendship for the one-hoofed do- 

 mestic animals. 



The Burchell's Zebra is the largest and 

 noblest appearing of the species. It is 

 a rover of the plains and does not seek 

 the mountainous districts where the true 

 Zebra is found. It stands about four and 

 one-half feet in height at the shoulders. 

 The general ground color of the hair 

 varies from white to yellowish brown 

 and the stripes are brown or black. The 

 hoofs are more like those of a pony than 

 the other species. It is not found south 

 of the Orange river and it is not known 

 how far north its range extends. 



Our illustration shows an example of 

 Chapman's Zebra. This, in reality, is a 

 variety of Burchell's Zebra and should 

 not be considered apart from it. 



The third species is called Grevy's Ze- 

 bra. More slender than the true Zebra, 

 it is somewhat like it in its markings. 

 "Colonel J. A. Grant, who first met these 

 Zebras in the mountains north of Victoria 

 Xyanza, writes that they were found in 

 herds comprising from two to nine in- 

 dividuals." He says that ''one of their 

 number, probably the largest male, takes 

 general charge of the herd : and it was 

 noticed that a large antelope kept watch 

 and gave the alarm on our appearance. 

 They are rarely found outside the forest, 

 preferring it to the open plain, which is 

 geneally bare of grass ; or they frequent a 

 country with clumps of dense brush- 

 wood, or with outcrops of granite, around 



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