THE GREVY ZEBRA 
703 
was thin thorn scrub, the kangani were met with in small 
parties and troops of half a dozen to thirty or forty indi¬ 
viduals. Once we came on a plain where the troops had 
gathered into a loose herd of several hundred individuals. 
The big zebras mix freely not only with the oryx herds but 
also with the herds of the smaller zebra. It is curious that 
they should associate continually and on such good terms 
with the smaller zebra, and yet never breed with them. 
Apparently they treat their smaller cousins precisely as 
they do the various species of antelope. Sometimes the 
mixed herds of kanganis, bonte-quaggas, and oryxes are 
divided almost equally among the three species; more often 
one or two individuals of one species are found with a herd 
of another; and often, of course, the herd is composed exclu¬ 
sively of one species. The kangani herds usually contain 
one master stallion. The stallions fight viciously with one 
another. In several instances we killed stallions whose 
testicles had not come down, and were concealed within the 
belly wall. 
The gaits of the big zebra are a slashing trot and a 
gallop, whereas the small zebra canters. It has a peculiar 
screaming whinny, utterly unlike the barking cry of the 
common zebra. Its very long ears, thrown forward in curi¬ 
ous interest, enable it to be recognized at a distance. Its 
stripes, being narrow and uniform, fade into a general gray 
at a distance at which the stripes of the ordinary zebra, 
especially those on the rump, are still plainly visible; afar 
off the zebras look like wild asses. We found the big zebra 
much more wary than the common zebra, but in their habits 
of grazing, drinking, and resting the two species were not 
distinguishable; indeed in these respects they behaved much 
