The quagga (Equus quagga quagga) is a subspecies of the plain zebra. Quagga could once be found in large numbers in South Africa. It could be easily distinguished from zebras by having stripes only on the front of the body.
The Only Living Quagga photographed was at the London Zoo in 1870. It lived in the dry parts of South Africa in pasture areas. They were bounded to the north by the Orange River(Orange), to the West the Vaal River, and to the southeast the Great Kei River. Quagga was hunted for meat. She is one of many victims of the extinction of the modern human race.
It was originally classified as an individual species, Equus Quagga, in 1778. As with zebras, due to the large variation of each individual's "coat", there are no two identical animals. The last wild Quagga was shot in the late 1870s and the last specimen in captivity, a mare, died on august 12, 1883 at the Artis Natura Magistra Zoo in Amsterdam.
Quagga was the first animal to study DNA. Research confirms that the Quagga was not a separate species, but a subspecies of the plain zebra. According to corms in nomenclature, if there are two or more names assigned to the same animal, the first assigned name is used.
After discovering the close relationship between Quagga and zebras the Quagga project was initiated by Reinhold Rau (1932-2006) in South africa to recreate the quagga with the help of the lowland zebra to reintroduce it into the wild. On January 20, 2005, a baby named Henry was born. In early 2006 the 3rd and 4th generation closely resembled the Quagga.
