When an English aristocrat rode through London in a zebra-drawn carriage, he embodied a dream decades in the making, born from European efforts to dominate the African continent.
But 19th-century European colonists faced big problems as they tried to control the sprawling African territories they'd claimed, one of which was biting flies.
These pests could extract half a liter of horse blood daily while transmitting fatal diseases that devastated domestic horses, leaving colonial powers reliant on thousands of humans to transport goods.
Zebras, however, appeared immune to the same pitfalls as horses.
The German Empire deemed them predestined for the use of military needs and undertook the task of domesticating them.
Around 1900, former German Colonial Army officer Fritz Bronsart von Schellendorf placed himself at the mission's helm.
But he severely underestimated the project.
And soon enough, the question of why domesticating zebras was proving so difficult joined another longstanding mystery— namely, why zebras had such conspicuously striped coats— a matter that perplexed prominent scientists, and went on to fuel decades of debate.
To understand zebras' more distinctive qualities, we should start with the big picture.
Zebras belong to the same family as horses and donkeys.
