Plains Zebra (Equus quagga) Fact Sheet: Managed Care

History in managed care

• European zoos
  • Long history of zebras (of various species) exhibited in zoological collections
    • As early as 1817 in Germany; the menagerie of Duke Karl (Kisling 2001)
    • Antwerp Zoo constructed an Egyptian "temple" (1856) to house elephant, giraffe, and zebra (Kisling 2001)
• North American zoos
  • 1875: 1st zoological holding of a plains zebra (Their 2013)
    • Among the first animals to be included at the Philadelphia Zoo (DeLeon 1999)
  • 1896: 1st captive birth
• The quagga (subspecies) in managed care
  • Extinct in the wild c.1878; due to extensive hunting (Balouet Alibert 1990; Bryden 1889; Harley et al. 2009; Rau 1974)
    • A few were maintained in zoological collections, including: Amsterdam Zoo, Berlin Zoo, Jardin des Plantes, and London Zoo (Bryden 1889; Rau 1974)
  • Last surviving members of the species
    • A female at the Berlin Zoo died in 1875 (Balouet Alibert 1990; Duncan and Groves 2013; Rau 1974)
    • Final member of the species died at the Amsterdam Zoo in 1883 (Balouet Alibert 1990; Duncan and Groves 2013; Rau 1974)
  • Selective breeding program in South Africa to "re-make" the quagga pelage pattern; recent effort (Harley et al. 2009)

263 individuals, as of Jan. 1, 2015 (from ZIMS 2015; J Register, personal communication)

• 76 males, 185 females, and 2 juveniles
• Distributed among 58 Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) institutions

Historical notes (ISIS 2014)

• First plains zebra on exhibit with SDZG
• 1924, San Diego Zoo
• First birth
• 1943, San Diego Zoo
• Subspecies within historical collection
• Members of 3 subspecies Burchell's, Grant's, and Chapman's zebras

Balouet (1990)
Bryden (1889)
DeLeon (1999)
Duncan and Groves (2013)
Harley et al. (2009)
ISIS (2014)
Kisling (2001)
Rau (1974)
Their (2013)
ZIMS (2015)