Das Zebra

Title

Das Zebra

Description

Representation of a Zebra.

ca. 1840

Artist

Brodtmann (1787-1862)

Karl Joseph/Ioseph Brodtmann was an accomplished Swiss artist and lithographer, as well as a printmaker, publisher and bookseller who worked in Zurich and Schaffhausen. Brodtmann's natural history lithographs include Heinrich Rudolf Schinz's works on reptiles and birds, published in the early 1830s. Brodtmann also produced natural history lithographs, as Naturhistorische Bilder Gallerie aus dem Thierreiche.

Historical Description

The zebra is a herbivorous mammal that, like the horse, belongs to the equidae family. Zebras , which are common in the eastern and southern regions of Africa , are clearly distinguished from other members of the family by their black or reddish-brown stripes, which alternate with light, white or yellowish stripes that are vertical on the forequarters and often tend to be horizontal on the hindquarters of the animal. According to some theories, the stripes would help the zebras stay united in a herd and confuse predators such as lions and hyenas, which have limited vision, especially during the day, as they are unable to distinguish all the colors of the savannah. Finally, research from the University of Bristol has succeeded in showing that the function of these stripes is to protect zebras from insects (especially horseflies) that suck blood and transmit deadly diseases such as African horse sickness.