Equus quagga burchellii
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Burchell's zebra (''Equus quagga burchellii'') is a southern subspecies of the
plains zebra The plains zebra (''Equus quagga'', formerly ''Equus burchellii''), also known as the common zebra, is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. Its range is fragmented, but spans much of southern and eastern Africa south o ...
. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist
William John Burchell __NOTOC__ William John Burchell (23 July 1781 – 23 March 1863) was an English explorer, naturalist, traveller, artist, and author. His thousands of plant specimens, as well as field journals from his South African expedition, are held by Ke ...
. Common names include bontequagga, Damaraland zebra, and Zululand zebra (
Gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...
, 1824). Burchell's zebra is the only subspecies of zebra which may be legally farmed for human consumption.


Physical characteristics

Like most plains zebras, females and males are about the same size, standing at the shoulder. They weigh between . Year-round reproduction observed in this subspecies in
Etosha National Park Etosha National Park is a national park in northwestern Namibia and one of the largest national parks in Africa. It was proclaimed a game reserve in March 1907 in Ordinance 88 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. ...
, Namibia, concludes synchronization of a time budget between males and females, possibly explaining the lack of
sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...
. Burchell's zebras are described as being striped on the head, the neck, and the flanks, and sparsely down the upper segments of the limbs then fading to white. One or two shadow stripes rest between the bold, broad stripes on the
haunch Squatting is a versatile posture where the weight of the body is on the feet but the knees and hips are bent. In contrast, sitting involves taking the weight of the body, at least in part, on the buttocks against the ground or a horizontal object. ...
. This main distinguishing characteristic sets the Burchell's zebra apart from the other subspecies. Gray (1824) observed a distinct
dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...
line, the tail only bristly at the end, and the body distinctly white. The dorsal line is narrow and becomes gradually broader toward the rear, distinctly margined with white on each side.


Behavior

Like most plains zebras, Burchell's live in small family groups. These can be either harem or bachelor groups, with harem groups consisting of one stallion and one to six mares and their most recent foals, and bachelor groups containing two to eight unattached stallions. The males in bachelor herds are often the younger or older stallions of the population, as they are most likely not experienced enough or strong enough to defend breeding rights to a group of females from challengers. These small groups often congregate in larger herds around water and food sources, but still maintain their identity as family units while in the population gatherings.


Range and adaptation

Formerly, the Burchell's zebra range was centered north of the Vaal/Orange river system, extending northwest via southern
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...
to
Etosha Etosha National Park is a national park in northwestern Namibia and one of the largest national parks in Africa. It was proclaimed a game reserve in March 1907 in Ordinance 88 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. ...
and the
Kaokoveld The Kaokoveld Desert is a coastal desert of northern Namibia and southern Angola. Setting The Kaokoveld Desert occupies a coastal strip covering , from 13° to 21°S and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Namibian savanna woodl ...
, and southeast to Eswatini and KwaZulu-Natal. Now extirpated in the middle portion, it survives at the northwestern and southeastern ends of the distribution. Burchell's zebra migrates the longest distance of any terrestrial animal in Africa, making a round trip of . They migrate from the Chobe River in
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
to
Nxai Pan National Park Nxai Pan National Park is a national park in north-eastern Botswana, consisting of Nxai Pan, which is one of the Makgadikgadi Pan salt flats. Nxai Pan National Park lies just north of the Maun-Nata main road and adjoins Makgadikgadi Pans Nation ...
in
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...
. Their migration follows a straight north–south route almost entirely within the
Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) is the second-largest nature and landscape conservation area in the world, spanning the international borders of five countries in Southern Africa. It includes a major part of the Upper Z ...
(KAZA).


Controversial introductions outside its historical range

From 2001 until 2016 the Kissama Foundation reintroduced wildlife in the Quiçama National Park of Angola. The project was dubbed Operation Noah's Ark. Amongst animals such as blue wildebeest, waterbuck, Cape giraffe, bush elephants, gemsbok, eland, nyala and ostrich were also Burchell's zebras. And from 2017 until 2019 Wildlife Vets Namibia exported wildlife to the Democratic Republic of the Congo's capital city Kinshasa to introduce animals into the Parc de la Vallée de la Nsele . Wildlife Vets Namibia in partnership with
Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature The ''Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature'' (English; "Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation") is a Congolese governmental partner tasked with the protection and conservation of the Virunga National Park and Kahuzi-Biega Na ...
also established a Burchell's zebra population on
Île de Mateba Île de Mateba ''(Mateba Island)'' is the major river island close to the river mouth of the great Congo river. The entire island lies within the DR Congo, whereas the southern river shore lies in Angola. There are at least two villages on the ...
, which is originally a rainforest island. Both introductions in west Angola and west DRC are controversial since the park service bodies from both countries did not opt to obtain the native
Grant's zebra Grant's zebra (''Equus quagga boehmi'') is the smallest of the seven subspecies of the plains zebra. This subspecies represents the zebra form of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem and others across central Africa. Distribution This subspecies is dis ...
from for example countries such as Zambia, Tanzania or Kenya.


Extinct subpopulation

Like other plains zebras, Burchell's zebras must have populated the African plains in impressive numbers. Associations of thousands have been reported. The wild herds were thought to have disappeared by 1910, and the last known captive individual died in the Berlin Zoo in 1918. As European settlement spread northward from the Cape to colonial southern Rhodesia, this subspecies was thought to have been hunted to extinction. However, Groves and Bell concluded in their 2004 publication that "the extinct true Burchell's zebra" is a phantom. Careful study of the original zebra populations in Zululand and Swaziland, and of skins harvested on
game farm A game farm is a place where game animals are raised to stock wildlife areas for hunting. The term also includes places where such animals are raised to be sold as food or for photography. Their existence has been exemplified within the South Afr ...
s in Zululand and
Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
, has revealed that a certain small proportion shows similarity to what now is regarded as typical ''burchellii''. The type localities of the two subspecies ''Equus quagga burchellii'' (Burchell's zebra) and ''Equus quagga antiquorum'' (Damaraland zebra) are so close to each other that they suggest that the two are in fact one, and therefore the older of the two names should take precedence over the younger. They therefore say that the correct name for the southernmost subspecies must be ''burchellii'', not ''antiquorum''. The subspecies ''Equus quagga burchellii'' still exists in KwaZulu-Natal and in
Etosha Etosha National Park is a national park in northwestern Namibia and one of the largest national parks in Africa. It was proclaimed a game reserve in March 1907 in Ordinance 88 by the Governor of German South West Africa, Friedrich von Lindequist. ...
. ''Equus quagga burchellii'' can be found in a number of zoos in the United States, including the Cincinnati Zoo,
Columbus Zoo The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a non-profit zoo located near Powell in Liberty Township, Delaware County, Ohio, United States, north of the city of Columbus. The land lies along the eastern banks of the O'Shaughnessy Reservoir on the Sciot ...
,
Naples Zoo Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, Nashville Zoo,
Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo is a wildlife conservation organization and zoological garden located in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the recipient of over 65 awards across multiple categories, and had served appr ...
.


References


Sources

* Duncan, P. (ed.). 1992. ''Zebras, Asses, and Horses: An Action Plan for the Conservation of Wild Equids''. IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. * Maas, P. 2005
"Burchell's Zebra – ''Equus quagga burchellii''"The Extinction Website
Downloaded on 21 January 2006. * Moehlman, P.D. 2002. Equids
Zebras, Asses and Horses. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan
IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland


External links

* {{Authority control Zebras Mammals described in 1824 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Mammals of Angola Mammals of Botswana Mammals of Lesotho Mammals of Namibia Mammals of South Africa Mammals of Eswatini