BURCHELL’S ZEBRA.
THE WILD ASS OF ABYSSINIA, the parent form from which the domestic animals were derived, is readily distinguishable from the above species by the stripes on its hind legs. ([See figure, p. 312.])
THE ZEBRAS.—Dr. Sclater describes three species of Zebra: the black and white, or true Zebra, which inhabits the mountains; Burchell’s Zebra, or the black and yellow Zebra, which inhabits the plains; and the Quagga. The true Zebra inhabits the hilly districts of Southern Africa, and is remarkable for its beauty and its fierce and untamable nature. It is by far the most conspicuous and most beautiful of the Ass tribe. The stripes which define it from the ordinary Asses are remarkably like those of the Tiger in their arrangement. Those on its legs are horizontal, while those of its body are for the most part vertical.
BURCHELL’S ZEBRA is found in great numbers north of the Orange River; and, according to Sir Cornwallis Harris, “seldom congregating in herds of fewer than eighty or a hundred, it abounds to a great extent in all the districts included between that noble stream and the southern tropic. Occupying the same regions and delighting in the same pastures as the Brindled Gnu, rarely is it to be seen unless in the companionship of that fantastic animal, whose presence would seem to be almost indispensable to its happiness. It is singular enough that the members of two families so perfectly foreign to each other should display so great a predilection for each other’s society, uniformly intermixing as they do, and herding in bonds of the closest friendship. Fierce, strong, fleet, and surpassingly beautiful, there is, perhaps, no quadruped in the creation, not even excepting the Mountain Zebra, more splendidly attired, or presenting a picture of more singularly attractive beauty, than this free-born child of the desert.”
QUAGGA.
The QUAGGA, which is less attractively coloured, and inhabits a different tract of country, is also described by Sir Cornwallis Harris, as follows:—“The geographical range of the Quagga does not appear to extend to the northward of the river Vaal. The animal was formerly extremely common within the colony; but, vanishing before the strides of civilisation, is now to be found in very limited numbers, and on the borders only. Beyond, on those sultry plains which are completely taken possession of by wild beasts, and may with strict propriety be termed the domains of savage nature, it occurs in interminable herds; and, although never intermixing with its more elegant congeners, it is almost invariably to be found ranging with the White-tailed Gnu and with the Ostrich, for the society of which bird especially it evinces the most singular predilection. Moving slowly across the profile of the ocean-like horizon, uttering a shrill, barking neigh, of which its name forms a correct imitation, long files of Quaggas continually remind the early traveller of a rival caravan on its march.... Bands of many hundreds are thus frequently seen during their migration from the dreary and desolate plains of some portion of the interior, which has formed their secluded abode, seeking for those more luxuriant pastures where, during the summer months, various herbs thrust forth their leaves and flowers to form a green carpet, spangled with hues the most brilliant and diversified.”
THE FOSSIL EQUIDÆ.
The living members of the family of Horses are, as we have seen, restricted to the region of the Old World, and were unknown in the Americas and in Australia, when those countries were first discovered. From an examination, however, of their fossil remains, it is evident that in the Pliocene and Pleistocene times Horses were widely distributed in both North and South America. The bones and teeth in caves and river deposits of Europe also show that Wild Horses were very numerous in Europe in the latter age. We are even able to form an accurate idea of the European Wild Horse from the engravings which the ancient hunters of Reindeer have left behind in caves of Auvergne, Switzerland, and Derbyshire. The outline engraved on a bit of bone or a fragment of antler shows us an animal with a large head, thick neck, and big mane, coarse and clumsy in its points, as might be expected from an aboriginal wild breed not subject to the care and selection of man. The Horse, like the Bison and the Reindeer, formed a large part of the food of these ancient men of the caves, and was not domesticated. The true Horses begin to appear in Europe in the later Pliocene strata.
In the early Pliocene and late Miocene ages the family of Horses is represented by the HIPPARION, a small, slender, graceful animal, possessed of three well-defined toes, bearing hoofs, on each limb: one strong and large in the middle, while the two lateral toes are so small that they do not extend beyond the fetlock. They may be compared to dew-claws. The teeth are like those of the Horse, but shorter, and the pattern of the enamel on the grinding surface is more complicated. In the early Miocene and late Eocene the ANCHITHERIUM appears. Its orbit is not so completely encircled with bone as in the Horses and Hipparion.