THE ZEBRA HOUSES, No. 14.
Although the main building of this installation has not yet been erected, the plan for the various buildings and corrals has been approved, and the main building was begun in 1911 and completed in 1912. The three buildings, and the extensive corrals connecting with them, as a whole, do justice to the important and picturesque Family Equidae, which includes all the zebras, wild asses and wild horses of the world.
GRANT ZEBRA.
The Prjevalsky Horses, (Equus prjevalskii).—Of all the wild equines which either now or hereafter may be seen in the Zoological Park, the strange little wild horses from western Mongolia are, and probably will remain, the most interesting, from a zoological point of view. Broadly speaking, they are the connecting link between the many-striped zebras, the little-striped quaggas and the wild asses on one side, and the domestic, unstriped horse on the other. These wild horses possess a narrow, dark dorsal stripe, which, in the winter pelage is scarcely visible, but in summer is plainly evident. A perfect specimen has an erect mane, no long forelock and no “chestnuts” on its legs. On the upper half of its tail the hair is short, and mule-like, but on the lower, or terminal half, it is long and horse-like. The winter coat of this animal is very long and shaggy.
Mountain Zebra, (Equus zebra).—This species has been nearly exterminated by man, and is rarely seen in captivity. It inhabits the mountains of Cape Colony, and it is estimated that only 400 individuals remain, which now are carefully protected.
PRJEVALSKY HORSES.
Grevy Zebra, (Equus grevyi).—This picturesque species was discovered in Abyssinia, when Jules Grevy was president of France, and it was named in his honor. It is of large size, covered with very narrow stripes all over its body, head and limbs, and its huge ears are of remarkable form. This species is limited to southern Abyssinia and British East Africa southward to the Tana River.
Grant Zebra, (Equus burchelli granti).—Of all the zebras now seen in captivity, the great majority belong to what very properly may be designated as the group of Burchell Zebras. This group contains, besides the type species, which has practically no stripes on its legs, four subspecies, whose legs are more or less striped, and which may or may not possess “shadow stripes” on the hind-quarters. A “shadow stripe” is a faint, dark stripe in the middle of a wide white or pale yellow stripe which lies between two broad black stripes.
Grant Zebra is the most heavily striped of the subspecies composing the Burchell group. The visitor will observe that its horizontal leg-stripes are very pronounced, and so numerous that they are carried quite down to the hoofs. The ground-color of the animal is a cold white, and the thigh and body stripes are very wide and intense. This fine pair was captured in Masailand, East Africa, in 1902.
Chapman Zebra, (Equus burchelli chapmani), also belongs to the Burchell group, and in its color pattern it approaches quite nearly to the type. The legs of the male bear a few stripes, those of the female almost none. There are visible on the hind-quarters of the female a few faint shadow-stripes.
The Persian Wild Ass, (Equus persicus), is a very satisfactory representative of the wild asses generally. Its dorsal-stripe is very wide and sharply defined, but it bears no shoulder-stripe, and those that are faintly indicated on its legs are nothing more than oblong blotches of dark color. As its name implies, it inhabits Persia, and Syria, and a closely related form, the Onager, (E. onager), is found in Beluchistan and western India. A third species, the Kiang (E. hemionus), is found on the plains of Tibet.