MUCH controversy, speculation and intrigue follow the now extinct quagga (Equus quagga quagga). Was Equus quagga quagga a distinct species, or merely a subspecies of the plains zebra, E. quagga formerly E. quagga burchelli? What did they actually look like, and was their behaviour any different to the plains zebra?
Sadly, most early history of the quagga is lost. The first reliable records of the species only started appearing in the latter half of the 18th century; prior to this, explorers and travellers simply referred to them as wild horses or mules.
Following European settlement in South Africa, a combination of
