The Last Quagga in the Wild

The Quagga (Equus quagga), was a type of zebra (plains zebra), that lived on the savannah and scrublands of southern Africa.  Sadly, with the arrival of European settlers, this animal was hunted as it was thought that it would compete with domestic livestock for grazing.  It was also hunted for its meat and hide.  Within two hundred years of the founding of the first Dutch settlement in what was to become South Africa, the once common and ubiquitous Quagga was a rare sight.  The last population of wild animals lived in Orange Free State, but soon their numbers dwindled and the last known wild Quagga died 140 years ago (1878).

The Last Quagga in the Wild

Everything Dinosaur’s Scale Drawing of a Quagga

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The Quagga was once thought to be a distinct species of zebra, but genetic research, including a study carried out ten years ago (2008), using the few hides and bones that had been retained by museums and zoological collections, revealed that it was the southern-most sub-species of the geographically widespread plains zebra (Equus quagga).

The Mojo Fun Quagga Model

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.

Replicas of this sadly extinct member of the Perissodactyla (odd-toed, hoofed mammals), are few and far between, but fortunately Mojo Fun have produced a figure (see above), it is included within their “Prehistoric and Extinct” range of models.

The Mojo Fun Quagga Model

Measuring around ten centimetres in length and with a head height of nine centimetres (approximately), this figure is a welcome addition to the Mojo Fun model range and joins the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger), as representatives of recently extinct animals within the “Prehistoric and Extinct” portfolio.

To view the Mojo Fun replicas, including the Quagga figure which is available from Everything Dinosaur: Mojo Fun Prehistoric and Extinct Animal Models.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“With so much pressure on megafauna today and with so many iconic, large terrestrial mammals in danger of becoming extinct, it is important to remember animals such as the Quagga, that were driven to extinction due to the behaviour of our own species.  Let us hope that replicas such as the Mojo Fun Quagga can help to educate and to lead to improved conservation policies to help to protect animals endangered today.”