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2 - Quaggas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 April 2022

Peter Heywood
Affiliation:
Brown University, Rhode Island
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Summary

The morphology of quaggas, their taxonomy, habitats, and behaviors are described. Photographs, illustrations, and taxidermy specimens are employed to examine representations and descriptions critically, for example, did quaggas have horse-like tails, and were Daniell and Harris correct in their illustrations of body striping? My analysis of taxidermy specimens shows sexual dimorphism: stallions were slightly smaller than mares, which is unlike the situation in other subspecies of plains zebras. Quaggas, named Equus quagga by both Boddaert and Gmelin, lived in a variety of habitats in the Cape Colony and Orange Free State (areas that are now part of the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, and the Free State provinces) including: the nama Karoo, succulent Karoo, fynbos, Albany thicket, savanna, and grassland biomes. A quagga breeding group consisting of a stallion, several mares, and their foals often joined other breeding groups to form a herd. Quaggas often grazed with wildebeests (gnus) and ostriches, and all three species probably benefitted from this association; these animals often migrated together in large numbers seeking grazing and water.

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The Life, Extinction, and Rebreeding of Quagga Zebras
Significance for Conservation
, pp. 22 - 50
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Quaggas
  • Peter Heywood, Brown University, Rhode Island
  • Book: The Life, Extinction, and Rebreeding of Quagga Zebras
  • Online publication: 30 April 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108917735.003
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  • Quaggas
  • Peter Heywood, Brown University, Rhode Island
  • Book: The Life, Extinction, and Rebreeding of Quagga Zebras
  • Online publication: 30 April 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108917735.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Quaggas
  • Peter Heywood, Brown University, Rhode Island
  • Book: The Life, Extinction, and Rebreeding of Quagga Zebras
  • Online publication: 30 April 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108917735.003
Available formats
×