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Zebra classification
Chapman's
Zebras in Botswana
- Plains Zebra, Equus
quagga
- Quagga, Equus
quagga quagga (extinct)
- Burchell's Zebra, Equus quagga
burchellii
- Grant's Zebra, Equus quagga boehmi
- Selous' zebra, Equus quagga borensis
- Chapman's Zebra, Equus quagga chapmani
- Crawshay's Zebra, Equus quagga
crawshayi
- Cape Mountain Zebra, Equus zebra
- Hartmann's Mountain Zebra, Equus
hartmannae
- Grevy's Zebra, Equus grevyi
For the remaining species
of the genus and family see Equidae.
Domestication
Zebras
drinking water in the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
Attempts have been made to
train zebras either for riding or to pull freight draft use. They have better
resistance than horses to diseases in Africa. Unfortunately, although their
will can easily be broken, they are highly strung. For this reason, zebra-mules
or zebroids (crosses between any species of zebra and a horse, pony, donkey or
ass) are preferred over pure-bred zebras.
In England, Lord Rothschild
frequently used zebras for drawing carriages. In 1907, Rosendo Ribeiro, the
first doctor in Nairobi, Kenya, used a riding zebra for doing house-calls. Captain
Horace Hayes, in "Points of the Horse" (circa 1899) compared the use
of different zebra species.
Hayes saddled and bridled a
Mountain Zebra in less than one hour, but was unable to give it a
"mouth" during the two days it was in his possession. He noted that
the zebra's neck was so stiff and strong that he was unable to bend it in any
direction. Although he taught it to do what he wanted in a circus ring, when he
took it outdoors he was unable to control it. He found the Burchell's Zebra
easy to break in and considered it ideal for domestication as it was also
immune to the tsetse fly bite. He considered the quagga well-suited to
domestication due to being stronger, more docile and more horse-like than other
zebras.
References
- ^ Gould, S. J. (1983) Hen's Teeth and
Horse's Toes: Further Reflections in Natural History. New York: W. W.
Norton and Company.
In particular refer to Chapter 29: How the
Zebra Gets Its Stripes. One of the strongest pieces of evidence for black
with white stripes, rather than white with black stripes comes from abnormal
zebras where the 'stripes' form as dots and blotches rather than lines. These
appear as white blotches on a black background, which is only understandable if
it is normally a black animal with white stripes. An interesting picture of
this phenomenon can be found here.
- ^ How do a zebra's stripes act as
camouflage?. How Stuff Works. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
- McClintock, Dorcas. "A Natural
History Of Zebras" September 1976. Scribner's, New York. ISBN
0-684-14621-5
- Hayes, Horace. "Points of the
Horse" (circa 1899)
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