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.

Nile Crocodile - Lesotho

Crocodylus niloticus - The Nile crocodile averages between 4 and 5 meters in length and weighs 410 kilos. Able to dedicate hours waiting for an unsuspecting animal to venture close enough to be snatched by its powerful jaw, the crocodile is an ideal ambush predator. It drags the victim into the water and by holding the animal under water, waits until it drowns. Nile crocodiles have a strict hierarchical order granting the largest crocodile primary basking spots and first access to food.

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The rise and expansionist policy of the neighboring Zulu people threatened the Sotho people. Under the leadership of King Moshoeshoe, the Sotho people began a forced migration into the Northern Drakensberg Mountains. Moshoeshoe unified the scattered remnants into a force able to successfully resisted the Zulu onslaught. In 1868, Moshoeshoe convinced Great Britain to establish a protectorate over his kingdom, a colonial system lasting until Lesotho gained its independence in 1966.

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.