Plains Zebra - Lesotho

Of the three countries in the world completely surrounded by another country; Lesotho, surrounded by South Africa, is the largest. The other two countries, San Marino and the Vatican City, are surrounded by Italy. Being an enclave to South Africa has brought Lesotho into close economic and political ties with its host.

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Equus quagga - The plains zebra is one of three extant zebra species; all are native to Africa. It is the more abundant of the three species and can be found along a narrow region extending from Southern Ethiopia to Lesotho. Striping on a plains zebra is vertical along the forward part of the body and horizontal on the hind quarters. Male and female adults are about equal in height, but males have heavier bodies. Born with a brown and white color pattern, the striping pattern of a foal gradually changes to black and white as it matures.

Zebras

Zebras belong to the Equidae family, the horse family. There are three extant species of zebras, all limited to Africa. A fourth species, the quagga zebra became extinct in the wild in 1878 and the last captive individual died in 1883.

The plains and mountain zebra have an appearance similar to a horse and the Grevy’s zebra resembles a donkey. Zebras are genetically closer to donkeys than horses, but unlike donkeys and horses, they have never been domesticated.

The black and white striping of zebras is as unique to each individual as are human fingerprints; no two patterns are alike. In most animals the striping pattern is vertical along the head, neck, shoulders, fore quarters, and main body; the pattern becomes horizontal towards the hind quarters. The quagga striping pattern was brown and white in color and limited to the front of the animal; it gradually faded to a brownish color as it moved to towards the hind quarters. The contrast of black and white stripes serves as a form of dazzle camouflage. A potential predator could become confused when trying to focus or chase down one specific individual from a large herd of zebras. This technique was used extensively in camouflaging ships during World War I.

The three depicted species are the Grevy’s zebra (Equus grevyi), the plains zebra (Equus quagga), and the mountain zebra (Equus zebra).

Equus Species of Afrcia

Equidae, more commonly referred to as the horse family, consists of 22 species; most are extinct. The number of living species currently stands at 7, all belonging to the genus Equus. The genus is divided into the non-caballoid and caballoid groups. Donkeys and zebras belong to the former, horses to the latter. The Equidae family evolved about 54 million years ago during the early Eocene. Africa hosts 4 of the extant species of Equidae; a fifth species, also native to Africa, the quagga zebra, fell into extinction in 1883.

Horse - Nevada

In 1859, Nevada caught the nation’s attention when gold and silver was discovered; the Comstock Lode. A stampede more vigorous than anything seen during the 1849 rush to the California gold fields drew thousands of eager prospectors to Northern Nevada and created the boomtown of Virginia City.

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Equus ferus caballus - There are two extant subspecies of Equus ferus: the Przewalski's horse and the domesticated horse. The domesticated horse was reintroduced into the western hemisphere by the Spanish. Lost or escaped horses formed feral herds and quickly multiplied in the ideal settings of the American plains. Although referred to as wild, the many herds of horses found roaming the open spaces of Nevada are derived from domesticated horses having severed their relationship with humans; they are not truly wild.

Przewalski's Horse - Mongolia

Not including the Arctic and Antarctica regions, the Gobi Desert, with an area of over 1,300,000 square kilometers, is the world’s third largest desert. It is expanding at an alarming rate through a process called desertification. Overgrazing, depletion of ground water, and deforestation contribute to desertification. 

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Equus ferus - As its scientific name suggests, the Przewalski's horse is the only true wild horse in the world; it has not been domesticated. The Przewalski's horse is endemic to Mongolia and had been on the brink of extinction. The last wild sighting occurred in the 1960’s. A breeding program was established using the last handful of remaining Przewalski's horses, less than 15, in an attempt to rescue the animal from extinction. The number of free ranging animals has steadily climbed in population and now numbers over 300 horses.

Hipparion Concudense - Spain

The Spanish language originated in the Castile region of Spain; it is a member of the Romance languages along with French, Italian, and Portuguese. There are over 400 million people speaking Spanish as their first language. Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world; Mandarin, spoken in China, is first. 

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Hipparion concudense - Fossilized bone fragments of Hipparion concudense were found in an upper miocene site near Segovia, Spain. The fossils provide evidence of an early version of the modern horse. These animals existed in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America for over 20 million years. Each leg had a small, but functional hoof with a vestigal toe, a toe making no contact with the ground; on modern horses these toes are absent. The height of Hipparion concudense was about 1.4 meters, small in comparison to the modern horse.