192 THE STORY OF THE ZEBRA. 
That night they had a great feast. I tasted the zebra flesh, but found 
it unpalatable. I had shot two fine antelopes, and although I offered my 
men one of the carcasses, they declined it and ate the zebra instead. 
The alternating yellowish-white and brown-black stripes of the zebra, 
which markings of the skin and hair are more pronounced than in any 
other of the wild animals, not excepting the tiger, give the name to the 
animal. Zebraed means banded, and the name is appropriate to the horse- 
tiger, as the zebra is sometimes called. The haunts of the animal in its 
natural state are among the mountainous and almost inaccessible regions of 
Southern and Eastern Africa. Shy by nature, and endowed with wonderful 
powers of sight, few zebras have been captured alive. The animal is rarely 
found alone, preferring to travel in large troops. 
The three known species of zebra, together with the quagga, form a 
group agreeing in essential character with the asses, but distinguished 
by their more or less completely striped heads and bodies. In both these 
groups the mane is erect, and the upper part of the tail is free from long 
hairs; while there are naked callosities on the fore limbs only, and the ears 
A FAMILY OF ZEBRAS. 
