GLEN VAUDREY: Quaggas in `The Savage Land`

Having spent the last two visits to the pages of The Savage World looking at birds that tripped off this mortal coil, it is time to turn our attention to subspecies of the Plains zebra, the Quagga.

'The Quagga (Equus quagga, or Asinus quagga) is said to have derived its name from its peculiar cry. The ground – colour is black-brown above and white fore belly, hindquarters and legs, the Quagga wears lateral stripes from its head well back upon its body. It is about four and a half feet high and its head well back upon it body. It is about four and a half feet high, and about five and a half feet in length. The head and ears are horse like and white, long flowing tail is white. It lives in herds and is found most frequently in company with the ostrich and the gnu. It is peaceful in its habit, but when hunted is quite fearless in its charging. It has been domesticated, but for the most part is hunted for sport or killed for its flesh. Its habitat is southern Africa, and most African travelers speak of having enjoyed the sport of shooting the quagga.’

Sadly it appears that one too many travellers to Africa enjoyed hunting the Quagga and once again it appears that the author missed the fact that the animal was extinct long before publication. The last wild Quagga was shot in the late 1870s while the last captive animal died on 12 August 1883 in Artis Magistra Zoo in Amsterdam.
Since 1992 The Quagga Project in South Africa has been trying to recreate the breed by selective breeding of zebra. Whether, if successful in their aims, the animal will be a Quagga or just a funny-marked zebra is still open to question.