86 



THE HORSE 



frontier of the colony. A second species, Burchell's 

 zebra (JEquus burchelli. Gray), still roams in large herds 

 over the plains to the north of the Orange River, but in 

 yearly-diminishing numbers. Both species are subject 

 to considerable individual variations in marking, but the 

 following are the principal characters by which they 

 can be distinguished. 



Equus zebra is the smaller of the two (about 4 

 feet high at the shoulders), and has longer ears, a tail 

 more scantily clothed with hair, and a shorter mane. 

 The general ground-colour is white, and the stripes are 

 black ; the lower part of the face is bright brown. 

 With the exception of the abdomen and the inside of 

 the thighs, the whole of the surface is covered with 

 stripes, the legs having narrow, transverse bars reach- 

 ing quite to the hoofs, and the base of the tail being also 

 barred. The outsides of the ears have a white tip, and 

 a broad, black mark occupying the greater part of the 

 surface, but are white at the base. Perhaps the most 

 constant and obvious distinction between this species 

 and the next is the arrangement of the stripes on the 

 hinder part of the back, where there are a number of 

 short, transverse bands passing between the median 

 longitudinal, dorsal stripe and the uppermost of the 

 broad stripes which pass obliquely across the haunch from 

 the flanks towards the root of the tail. There is often 

 a median longitudinal stripe under the chest. 



