United States or Samoa ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
This is the true zebra, an animal that inhabits the mountainous regions of South Africa, and which differs altogether from the dauw or Burchell's zebra, also found upon the great plains or karoos of the same region. The latter has the stripes only over the body; while the head and legs are very faintly streaked, or altogether of a plain brownish colour.
We thus have a case of mutual dislike between the quagga and the dauw which cannot be explained by competition for food. The fact that the quagga lives together with ruminants feeding on the same grass as itself excludes that hypothesis, and we must look for some incompatibility of character, as in the case of the hare and the rabbit.
The habitat of the zebra is said to extend as far north as Abyssinia; but, perhaps, the "congo dauw," which certainly inhabits Abyssinia, has been mistaken for the true zebra. Of the four species in South Africa, the zebra is a mountain animal, and dwells among the cliffs, while the dauw and quagga rove over the plains and wild karoo deserts.
Third, the "congo dauw," closely resembling the dauw. Fourth, the "quagga"; and fifth, the undetermined species known as the "white zebra," so called from its pale yellow, or Isabella colour.
For the rest, all these three species are much alike; and it is more than probable that either "Burchell's" or the "congo dauw", was the species to which the name of "zebra" was first applied; for that which is now called the "true zebra" inhabits those parts of Africa where it was less likely to have been the first observed of that genus.
There is much difference in the nature and disposition of the different species. The mountain zebra is very shy and wild; the dauw is almost untameable; while the quagga is of a timid docile nature, and may be trained to harness with as much facility as a horse.
There is much difference in the nature and disposition of the different species. The mountain zebra is very shy and wild; the dauw is almost untameable; while the quagga is of a timid docile nature, and may be trained to harness with as much facility as a horse.
In similar situations to these has the "white zebra" been observed though only by the traveller Le Vaillant and hence the doubt about its existence as a distinct species. None of the kinds associate together, though each herds with other animals! The quagga keeps company with the gnoo, the "dauw" with the "brindled gnoo," while the tall ostrich stalks in the midst of the herds of both!
At all events, the "congo dauw" is the "hippotigris," or tiger-horse, of the Romans; and this we infer from its inhabiting a more northerly part of Africa than the others, all of which belong to the southern half of that continent.
In similar situations to these has the "white zebra" been observed though only by the traveller Le Vaillant and hence the doubt about its existence as a distinct species. None of the kinds associate together, though each herds with other animals! The quagga keeps company with the gnoo, the "dauw" with the "brindled gnoo," while the tall ostrich stalks in the midst of the herds of both!
Word Of The Day