The Quagga is an extinct zebra form. It is a subspecies of the famous plains zebra. Typical for the Quagga is, that on its body and on its legs are almost no stripes anymore, instead of it there is a yellow-brownish primary color. The Quagga lived in South Africa. Mainly in dry Prairie areas, from the Oranje-lake and the Vaal-lake up to the Great-Kei-River. It was exterminated by the humans in the end of the 19th century.
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Drawing of a Quagga
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Genetic investigations confirmed, that the Quagga is closely related to the plains Zebra. DNA-investigations, which were published in 1984, prompted to a rebreeding project of the Quagga out of the southern plains zebra. At a few representative of the south subspecies of the south plains Zebra you can see a reduction of the stripes what reminds to the Quagga. The “Quagga Project” tries to build a plains-zebra-breeding-line by selective breed and they should look like the Quaggas. At selective breed will two animals with equal appearance crossbred with each other so they can reproduce themselves. A few offspring of the third generation have a substantially stripes reduction.
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Picture of zebras
from the „Quagga project“
Picture:
CC-BY-SA 3.0, Oggmus, |
The aim of the project is an animal which looks very similar like the Quagga and may be reintroduced in the former habitats of the Quagga.
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