FFacts On Tap Editorial Team Fact-checkedUpdated May 18, 20254 min read
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The quagga was a striking subspecies of the plains zebra, famous for stripes that faded into a plain brown rear half. It once roamed the grassy plains of South Africa in large herds, but overhunting and habitat competition with livestock drove it to extinction in the 1800s.
Today, scientists are using selective breeding to bring back its distinctive look, making the quagga one of the most well-known cases of a species vanishing at human hands, and one of the first the world tried to partially restore.
The quagga (Equus quagga quagga) was a subspecies of the plains zebra, native to South Africa.
It had bold zebra stripes only on its head, neck, and front half of its body, which faded into a solid brown or grayish-brown rear and legs.
Quaggas lived in the grassy plains and semi-arid Karoo region of South Africa's Cape Province and southern Free State.
As herbivores, quaggas grazed mainly on grasses, similar to other zebras and wild equids.
Like other zebras, quaggas were social animals that lived in herds, likely led by a dominant stallion alongside mares and foals.
Quaggas were hunted extensively for their meat and distinctive hides after Dutch and later British settlers colonized the region.
Competition with domestic livestock for grazing land also contributed heavily to the quagga's decline.
The last wild quaggas are believed to have died out in the late 1870s, with some estimates pointing to around 1878.
The last known quagga died in captivity at the Natura Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam on August 12, 1883.
For decades, no one realized the quagga was extinct until it was too late; the species was only formally recognized as gone well after the last individual died.
In 1984, researchers extracted and sequenced DNA from a preserved quagga skin, one of the first times DNA from an extinct species had ever been studied.
That genetic research confirmed the quagga was not a separate species but a subspecies of the plains zebra (Equus quagga), closely related to living plains zebra populations.
The word "quagga" comes from the Khoikhoi name for the animal, likely imitating the sound of its call.
In 1987, South African taxidermist and conservationist Reinhold Rau founded the Quagga Project to selectively breed plains zebras that carry quagga-like traits, an approach known as "breeding back."
The project uses plains zebras from populations with reduced striping and browner coloring on the hindquarters as breeding stock.
By the mid-2000s, the project had produced foals showing markedly reduced striping and quagga-like coloring, demonstrating that the traits could be reintroduced through selective breeding.
Animals bred to resemble quaggas are sometimes called "Rau quaggas" to distinguish them from the original, now-extinct subspecies, since they are genetically plains zebras rather than true quaggas.
Only about 23 quagga skins are known to survive in museums worldwide today, along with a small number of skeletons and mounted specimens.
No complete quagga skeleton with an associated skin is known to exist, making museum specimens especially valuable for research.
The quagga is frequently cited as a cautionary example in conservation biology of how quickly overhunting can eliminate a species once thought abundant.
Frequently asked questions
What is the primary difference between a quagga and other zebras?
Unlike other zebras, which are striped over their entire bodies, quaggas had bold stripes only on the head, neck, and front half, fading into a plain brown rear and legs.
Why did quaggas go extinct?
Quaggas were hunted heavily for meat and hides by settlers, and they lost grazing land to competition with domestic livestock, driving the wild population to extinction by the late 1870s.
Can quaggas be brought back to life?
The Quagga Project selectively breeds plains zebras with reduced striping and brownish coloring to recreate the quagga's look. These animals are genetically plains zebras, so they resemble quaggas in appearance but are not true quaggas.
Was the quagga a separate species from the zebra?
No. A landmark 1984 DNA study showed the quagga was a subspecies of the plains zebra rather than a distinct species, closely related to plains zebra populations that survive today.
How successful has the Quagga Project been?
The project has produced several generations of zebras with noticeably reduced striping and browner hindquarters, showing that the quagga's coloring pattern can be reintroduced through selective breeding, though the results are not genetically identical to the original quagga.
How many quagga specimens still exist?
Roughly 23 quagga skins are preserved in museums around the world, along with a handful of skeletons, making it one of the better-documented extinct large mammals.
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