Zebras.
The Zebras have many points in common with the asses, from which latter group of animals they are principally distinguished by their beautifully striped skins. Both asses and zebras carry short, erect manes, and in both the upper portion of the tail is free from long hair. In both groups there are naked callosities on the fore legs only, whilst the head is larger in proportion to the size of the animal, and the ears longer than in the horse. In Burchell's and Grevy's Zebras the hoof is intermediate between that of the horse and the ass; for although narrower than the hoof of the horse, it is broader and more rounded than that of the ass. In the True Zebra, however, the hoof is thoroughly asinine in character, and the ears very long.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.] [Aberdeen.
MOUNTAIN-ZEBRA.
The true or mountain zebra is now becoming scarcer than formerly. At one time it was to be seen in great numbers on the mountains of Cape Colony.
The True or Mountain Zebra appears never to have had a very extended range. It was once an inhabitant of all the mountainous regions of the Cape Colony as well as of the great Drakensberg Range, and fifty years ago was also found amongst the rugged hills of Great Namaqualand. The mountain-zebra is the smallest of the group, standing only from 12 to 12½ hands at the shoulder. It is a most beautiful animal, the whole of the head, body, and limbs, with the exception of the under-parts and the insides of the thighs, being striped. The ground-colour of the body is white, the stripes being black and the muzzle bright brown. Both hind and fore legs are banded down to the hoofs. The stripes on the neck and body are narrower and more numerous than in Burchell's zebra, and on the hindquarters the median stripe, which runs down the centre of the back from the mane to the tail, is connected with the uppermost of the oblique longitudinal stripes by a series of short horizontal bars. The ears in this species are much larger than in Burchell's zebra.
Photo by W. P. Dando] [Regent's Park.