Have you ever thought about the question, is a zebra a horse? In the traditional impression of many people, zebras are also horses. Or, at least, a kind of horse. But in fact, although zebras and horses look similar and have similar habits, but with more black and white markings all over the body, the two are indeed two different species. In the taxonomy of animals, they and donkeys belong to the same "family", that is, "horse family". Their taxonomic hierarchy is this: the animal kingdom > the phylum Chordata> the vertebrate subphylum> mammals> the order Odd-hoofed > equine. Further down, they belong to different "genera", namely "horse genus", "zebra genus" and "donkey genus".
Since ancient times, then, humans have tamed horses, using them as mounts, or as coolies for pulling carts. But why haven't humans tamed zebras? In fact, this is mainly because the zebra's temperament is too violent to control. Zebras inhabit the savannahs of Africa. There are many species there, which follow the natural laws of natural selection. In order to survive, the zebra not only evolved black and white stripes to act as its protective color, but also practiced a quick reflexes.
As herbivores, zebras are always vigilant when grazing, and can quickly activate to escape when attacked by large predators such as lions, cheetahs, hyenas or crocodiles. Even in danger, zebras will perform their escape stunts - "awkward" to defeat the enemy. The zebra's hind legs were strong and powerful, and when it lifted its hind hooves backwards in a crisis, the impact was enough to kick off the jaw of a lion. This made the beasts who wanted to hunt them also jealous.
In addition to the above reasons, there is another important reason - zebras do not have a sense of family. Although they also live in groups, it is mainly to defend against "foreign enemies". If one zebra unfortunately falls into the mouth of a lion, the other zebras will not pay attention to it, they only care about their own survival. But the herd is different. There is usually a "head horse" in the herd, and as long as you tame the "head horse", the other horses will obediently obey your orders. So from this point of view, it is very difficult to tame zebras.
Historically, it is true that some people have tamed individual zebras, but most of them are still young zebras, their wild nature has not been fully stimulated, and their ability to resist human violence is relatively weak, so they can be tamed by humans. However, the taming of the zebra population as a whole was never achieved. The following set of old photos is a scene of people driving zebras around the world at the end of the 19th or early 20th century.
Figure 1: Somewhere in East Africa in 1910, a German colonial officer rode on a zebra and steered it over a beam of wood raised by two soldiers.
[Fig. 2] In 1913, on the streets of London, England, a zebra and a carriage walked through the street. It is likely to be the personal property of the concert hall artist Mr. Gustav-grais, who often used it to promote his performances.
[Fig. 3] In 1930, in Kolkata, India, a zebra walked down the street in a four-wheeled carriage, causing the driver of the car next to him to turn his head to watch.
In 1935, on a road in Berkshire, England, 18-year-old dwarf Ravin Leslie rode a small zebra named Jimmy, alongside a car. He claimed it to be "the only zebra in the world that can be ridden."
[Fig. 5] In 1923, Mrs. Martin Johnson, dressed in short clothes, rode a domesticated zebra named Broma for a ride in the wild.
[Figure 6] In 1925, a man in Golden Gate Park, California, USA, was driving a four-wheeled vehicle made of two zebras.
In 1933, Dr. James Clark of New York prepared an East African zebra for the University of Nebraska, and a comical criminal tried to escape from prison on the back of a zebra. His prison uniform is matched with the black and white stripes on his zebra to match each other.
Fig. 8 In 1900, in the steppes of Kenya, a zebra was pulling a two-wheeled cart with three people sitting on it.
[Figure 9] In 1989, a man in a suit and leather shoes drove through the streets in a four-horse-drawn carriage. There was also a lady with an umbrella sitting in the car.
Fig. 10 In 1890, in a jungle in Tanzania, a German officer was riding on a spotted horse, and a black soldier next to him was holding the reins. (Text/World History)
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