In my own letter to him, which drew forth these remarks, I had only asked him for the distance at which he saw the zebra, and I did not ask him how it was that he mistook a black and white zebra for a brown baboon on a perfectly clear South African day. At about 500 yards from me it ran on to a little krantz, and mounting the highest rock, drew its body together just as a baboon does when its four feet are all together on the summit of a little rock.” His remark as to the greyishbrown colour of the animal is the more valuable, as I believe this gentleman, Mr. In a letter which I received from him a few days ago, he said, “It galloped like a baboon from me, and I could only see that the colour was greyish-brown. A member of our party, who on another occasion gave proof that he is possessed of excellent eyesight, and who has frequently hunted in similar localities, saw a zebra which was wounded in one of the front legs at a distance of about 400 yards, and strange to say he mistook it for a big baboon. On a recent zebra hunt near Cradock, in which I took part, several members of our party commented on the difficulties of seeing zebras even at moderate distances, although there was nothing to hide them, the black and white stripes blending so completely that the animals assume a dull brown appearance quite in harmony with the general colour of the locality in which they are found, and in which, for instance, Rooi Rehbok ( Pelea capreolata) is also well protected on account of its peculiar brownish coat. ALMOST every writer who treats of the colours of animals refers to Galton's observations that in the bright starlight of an African night zebras are practically invisible even at a short distance but there can be no doubt that their peculiar striped appearance is also of great protective value in broad daylight.
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