Despite the quagga having been assumed extinct for over 100 years, molecular genetic studies confirm that despite its phenotypic differences,the quagga is conspecific with the common Plains zebra, Equus quagga. The quagga project, therefore, is attempting to restore the characteristic pelage of the quagga by selective breeding from selected Plains zebra individuals. The programme has been in progress for 24 years and is now into its fourth generation of progeny, and is producing individuals with a degree of striping reduction shown by none of the original founders and which approximate the striping pattern typical of some museum specimens of quagga … [ + continue reading ] E.H.Harley, C.Lardner, M.Gregor, B.Wooding, and M. H. Knight. 2010. The Restoration of the Quagga – 24 years of Selective Breeding. In “Restoration of Endangered and Extinct Animals” Ed. Ryszard Slomski, Poznan University of Life Sciences Press.
