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Quagga Was Shot Near: The last known wild quagga was shot near the Tygerberg Mountains in the Orange River region in 1858, but it may have persisted in Orange Free State, farther north. The Boers of that territory exploited the large game for hides. They sent to the coast wagonloads of skins, among which those of quagga and BurcheH's zebra were much in demand. Quagga skins were also made into grain sacks.
QUAGGA, kwag'a (Equus quagga}, extinct member of the horse family native to South Africa, with zebra-like markings on the head, neck, and thorax. The general ground color was dark rufous brown or bay, fading off to white behind and beneath. There was a dark stripe along the spine; the legs and the tail were white. The tail was tufted; the ears were short. The height at the shoulder was about four feet and one inch. The name quagga is said to be derived' from Hottentot Khou-khoua, in imitation of its bark-like cry.
The species was sometimes hybridized with the horse and such a mixed race, possessing great beauty of form and retaining many of the characteristic markings of the quagga, is said to have existed in England. The Dutch colonists were said to have kept quaggas to defend their cattle from .the attacks of hyenas and other predators.
Nothing positive is known of the reproductive habits of the quagga, but it may be presumed that, as it was a herd animal, closely related to the zebra and the horse, it normally produced only one foal at a birth.
The range of the quagga seems always to have been rather limited. In general it was the Cape Colony west of the Kei River, parts of West Griqualand, and the plains of the Orange Free State. |
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