Quagga

Later morphological studies came to different conclusions. A 1999 analysis of cranial measurements found that the quagga was as different from the plains zebra as the latter is from the mountain zebra.[18] A 2004 study of skins and skulls instead suggested that the quagga was not a distinct species, but a subspecies of the plains zebra.^[8] In spite of these findings, many authors subsequently kept the plains zebra and the quagga as separate species.^[5]

A

The simplified cladogram below is based on the 2005 analysis (some taxa shared haplotypes and could, therefore, not be differentiated):^[18]

A 2018 genetic study of plains zebras populations confirmed the quagga as a member of that species. They found no evidence for subspecific differentiation based on morphological differences between southern populations of zebras, including the quagga. Modern plains zebra populations may have originated from southern Africa, and the quagga appears to be less divergent from neighbouring populations than the northernmost living population in northeastern Uganda. Instead, the study supported a north–south genetic continuum for plains zebras, with the Ugandan population being the most distinct. Zebras from Namibia appear to be the closest genetically to the quagga.^[21]

Description

Four of the five known photos of the London mare, 1863–1870 (the best-known is at the start of this article)

The quagga is believed to have been 257 cm (8 ft 5 in) long and 125–135 cm (4 ft 1 in – 4 ft 5 in) tall at the shoulders.

The only quagga to have been photographed alive was a mare at the Zoological Society of London's Zoo. Five photographs of this specimen are known, taken between 1863 and 1870.^[23] On the basis of photographs and written descriptions, many observers suggest that the stripes on the quagga were light on a dark background, unlike other zebras. The German naturalist Reinhold Rau, pioneer of the Quagga Project, claimed that this is an optical illusion: that the base colour is a creamy white and that the stripes are thick and dark.^[11]

Living in the very southern end of the plains zebra's range, the quagga had a thick

Little is known about the behaviour of quaggas in the wild, and it is sometimes unclear what exact species of zebra is referred to in old reports.[11] The only source that unequivocally describes the quagga in the Free State is that of the British military engineer and hunter William Cornwallis Harris.^[8] His 1840 account reads as follows:

The geographical range of the quagga does not appear to extend to the northward of the river Vaal. The animal was formerly extremely common within the colony; but, vanishing before the strides of civilisation, is now to be found in very limited numbers and on the borders only. Beyond, on those sultry plains which are completely taken possession of by wild beasts, and may with strict propriety be termed the domains of savage nature, it occurs in interminable herds; and, although never intermixing with its more elegant congeners, it is almost invariably to be found ranging with the white-tailed gnu and with the ostrich, for the society of which bird especially it evinces the most singular predilection. Moving slowly across the profile of the ocean-like horizon, uttering a shrill, barking neigh, of which its name forms a correct imitation, long files of quaggas continually remind the early traveller of a rival caravan on its march. Bands of many hundreds are thus frequently seen doing their migration from the dreary and desolate plains of some portion of the interior, which has formed their secluded abode, seeking for those more luxuriant pastures where, during the summer months, various herbs thrust forth their

leaves and flowers to form a green carpet, spangled with hues the most brilliant and diversified.^[27]

The practical

A 2020 study suggested that the sexual dimorphism in size, with quagga mares being larger than stallions, could be due to the cold and droughts that affects the Karoo plateau, conditions that were even more severe in prehistoric times, such as during ice ages (other plains zebras live in warmer areas). Isolation, cold, and aridity could thereby have affected quagga evolution, including coat colour and size dimorphism. Since plains zebra mares are pregnant or lactate for much of their lives, larger size could have been a selective advantage for quagga mares, as they would therefore have more food reserves when food was scarce. Dimorphism and coat colour could also have evolved through genetic drift due to isolation, but these influences are not mutually exclusive, and could have worked together.^[22]

Relationship with humans

Lord Morton's quagga stallion (left) and Lord Morton's mare, its hybrid offspring with a horse mare, by Jacques-Laurent Agasse

, 1821

Quaggas have been identified in

cave art attributed to the indigenous San people of Southern Africa.^[31] As it was easy to find and kill, the quagga was hunted by early Dutch settlers and later by Afrikaners to provide meat or for their skins. The skins were traded or exploited. The quagga was probably vulnerable to extinction due to its restricted range.^[32] Local farmers used them as guards for their livestock, as they were likely to attack intruders.^[32] Quaggas were said to be lively and highly strung, especially the stallions. Quaggas were brought to European zoos, and an attempt at captive breeding at London Zoo, but was halted when a lone stallion killed itself by bashing itself against a wall after losing its temper.^[33] On the other hand, captive quaggas in European zoos were said to be tamer and more docile than Burchell's zebra.^[11] One specimen was reported to have lived in captivity for 21 years and 4 months, dying in 1872.^[11]

The quagga was long regarded a suitable candidate for domestication, as it counted as the most docile of the zebras. The Dutch colonists in South Africa had considered this possibility, because their imported work horses did not perform very well in the extreme climate and regularly fell prey to the feared African horse sickness.^[34][35] In 1843, the English naturalist Charles Hamilton Smith wrote that the quagga was 'unquestionably best calculated for domestication, both as regards strength and docility'. Some mentions have been given of tame or domesticated quaggas in South Africa. In Europe, two stallions were used to drive a phaeton by the sheriff of London in the early 19th century.^[36][37]

In an attempt at domesticating the quagga, the British lord

atavistic trait at any time.^[40][41]

There are 23 known stuffed and mounted quagga specimens throughout the world, including a juvenile, two foals, and a foetus. In addition, a mounted head and neck, a foot, seven complete skeletons, and samples of various tissues remain. A 24th mounted specimen was destroyed in Königsberg, Germany, during World War II, and various skeletons and bones have also been lost.^[42][43]

Extinction

Grant Museum

The quagga had disappeared from much of its range by the 1850s. The last population in the wild, in the

Natura Artis Magistra zoo, lived there from 9 May 1867 until it died on 12 August 1883, but its origin and cause of death are unclear.^[13] Its death was not recognised as signifying the extinction of its kind at the time, and the zoo requested another specimen; hunters believed it could still be found "closer to the interior" in the Cape Colony. Since locals used the term quagga to refer to all zebras, this may have led to the confusion. The extinction of the quagga was internationally accepted by the 1900 Convention for the Preservation of Wild Animals, Birds and Fish in Africa. The last specimen was featured on a Dutch stamp in 1988.^[44] The specimen itself was mounted and is kept in the collection of Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden. It has been on display for special occasions.^[45]

In 1889, the naturalist Henry Bryden wrote: "That an animal so beautiful, so capable of domestication and use, and to be found not long since in so great abundance, should have been allowed to be swept from the face of the earth, is surely a disgrace to our latter-day civilization."[46]

Breeding back project

Main article: Quagga Project

Quagga Project zebras along with regular plains zebras (right) in Mokala National Park, South Africa

After the very close relationship between the quagga and extant plains zebras was discovered, Rau started the Quagga Project in 1987 in South Africa to create a quagga-like zebra population by

selectively breeding for a reduced stripe pattern from plains zebra stock, with the eventual aim of introducing them to the quagga's former range. To differentiate between the quagga and the zebras of the project, they refer to it as "Rau quaggas".^[25] The founding population consisted of 19 individuals from Namibia and South Africa, chosen because they had reduced striping on the rear body and legs. The first foal of the project was born in 1988. Once a sufficiently quagga-like population has been created, participants in the project plan to release them in the Western Cape.^[16][47]

Introduction of these quagga-like zebras could be part of a comprehensive restoration programme, including such ongoing efforts as eradication of non-native trees. Quaggas, wildebeest, and ostriches, which occurred together during historical times in a mutually beneficial association, could be kept together in areas where the indigenous vegetation has to be maintained by grazing. In early 2006, the third- and fourth-generation animals produced by the project were considered looking much like the depictions and preserved specimens of the quagga. This type of selective breeding is called breeding back. The practice is controversial, since the resulting zebras will resemble the quaggas only in external appearance, but will be genetically different. The technology to use recovered DNA for cloning has not yet been developed.^[2][48]

See also

• Holocene extinction
• Lists of extinct animals

References

1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T7957A12876306.en
   . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Max, D. T. (1 January 2006). "Can You Revive an Extinct Animal?". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
3. ^ "Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
4. ISBN 978-1-928424-02-4
   .
5. ^
   ISBN 978-0-521-84418-5
   .
6. ^ ^{a b}  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Quagga". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
7. ISBN 978-1-4214-0093-8
   .
8. ^
   doi:10.1078/1616-5047-00133
   .
9. ^
   S2CID 87344101
   .
10. S2CID 83546368
    .
11. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8018-5789-8
    .
12. doi:10.1080/00222933208673614
    .
13. ^
    hdl:10520/AJA00382353_1382
    .
14. ^ Schlawe, L.; Wozniak, W. (2010). "Über die ausgerotteten Steppenzebras von Südafrika QUAGGA und DAUW, Equus quagga quagga". Zeitschrift des Kölner Zoos (in German). 2: 97–128.
15. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.21334
    .
16. ^
    S2CID 31506168
    .
17. ^
    S2CID 4313241
    .
18. ^
    PMID 17148190
    .
19. S2CID 27281662
    .
20. S2CID 28973189
    .
21. S2CID 3333849
    .
22. ^
    S2CID 216402084
    .
23. ^ Huber, W. (1994). "Dokumentation der fünf bekannten Lebendaufnahmen vom Quagga, Equus quagga quagga Gmelin, 1788 (Mammalia, Perissodactyla, Equidae)". Spixiana (in German). 17: 193–199.
24. ^
    ISBN 978-0-226-43722-4
    .
25. ^
    S2CID 7991775
    .
26. ^
    ISBN 978-2-8317-0647-4
    .
27. ^ Sir Cornwallis Harris, quoted in Duncan, F. M. (1913). Cassell's natural history. London: Cassell. pp. 350–351. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
28. PMID 26064590
    .
29. ^
    doi:10.1046/j.1365-2907.2002.00108.x
    .
30. PMID 24691390
    .
31. S2CID 162218561
    .
32. ^
    ISBN 978-0-521-78812-0
    .
33. ISBN 978-0-313-34987-4
    . Retrieved 23 June 2013.
34. ISBN 9780691157061
    .
35. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.24156
    .
36. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.21334
    .
37. doi:10.1038/063252e0
    .
38. JSTOR 107600
    .
39. ISBN 978-0-465-00665-6
    .
40. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.25674
    .
41. PMID 11037310
    .
42. ^ Rau, R. E. (1974). "Revised list of the preserved material of the extinct Cape colony quagga, Equus quagga quagga (Gmelin)". Annals of the South African Museum. Annale van die Suid-Afrikaanse Museum. 65: 41–87.
43. ISSN 0303-2515
    .
44. ISSN 2201-3008
    .
45. ^ "Naturalis Topstukken". topstukken.naturalis.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 8 April 2021.
46. ASIN B00CNE0EZC
    .
47. ^ Page, T.; Hancock, C. (25 January 2016). "Zebra cousin became extinct 100 years ago. Now, it's back". CNN.
48. ISBN 978-90-481-2478-7
    .

External links

• Media related to Quagga at Wikimedia Commons