The Quagga was a South African zebra with a brown body and a white tail and legs. Unlike other surviving zebra species, the stripes on the Quagga appeared only on its head, neck, and forequarters. The Quagga formerly inhabited the Karoo and southern Free State of South Africa. The Quagga was hunted to extinction by the 1880s because the settlers perceived it as a competitor for the grazing land needed by livestock. The last known living Quagga was a mare who died August 12, 1883 in the Amsterdam zoo. Reported sightings of Quagga in the wild during the 20th century have come from the area of Namibia (formerly South West Africa).
During the 1980s DNA tests conducted on a sample taken from the skin of a stuffed Quagga proved it to be a subspecies of the common plains zebra Equus burchelli and not a separate species. This suggested that the Quagga might be brought back from extinction through selective breeding of Equus burchelli. In 1987 the Quagga Project was established to attempt exactly that: to recreate the Quagga through selective breeding and reintroduce it into its former habitat. To date the project has produced over fifty zebras with significantly reduced striped markings on the body.
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This stamp is part of a seven stamp set featuring wild animals. Here the Quagga's markings appear too similar to those of a regular zebra. |
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This stamp appears on a miniature sheet of 20 depicting extinct and prehistoric animals commemorating Earth Day 1999. |
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This semi-postal stamp is one of a set of three issued for the 150th anniversary of the Natural Artis zoological society. The other two stamps depict a Carribean sea cow and Sam the orangutan. The surtax was collected for social and cultural welfare organizations. |
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Last modified by pib on July 6, 2003.
