Hi all! A burning curiosity I’ve had for years - what happened to the zebras that used to live on the banks of Table Mountain? If memory serves correct they must have been active up until roughly the end of the 2000s.
I also want to know this! I always got so excited when I saw them.
I recall these zebra’s were part of an attempt to recreate the Quagga through selective breeding. If memory serves, they were relocated to Mountain Zebra National Park? It would be interesting to be reminded of the project, over what time period it took place, and if there were any “results”.
Good question! I recall seeing them when I was younger.
Can confirm they were on the mountain as recently as 2015. Went up there with some friends in November 2015 for my birthday and they were definitely still there. I suspect they may have been moved when all those massive fires happened around UCT.
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There were also a small number of wildebeest I remember from the 1960s through to the 1990s - maybe later.
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I was involved with a request to sample an endangered frog tadpole from Table Mountain in 2018. The SANParks representative likened the request to us asking to take one of the zebra foals from Table Mountain, so I assume that they were still around at that point. Perhaps best to contact SANParks?
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There is a website Quaggaproject.org that answers many of these questions. They would not have been moved to Mountain Zebra NP because the quagga was a variant of the plains or Burchell’s zebra and putting them in the same location as Mountain zebras could lead to interbreeding which would be artificial
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I’d also be keen to know, my assumption was that they retreated to more remote parts of the mountain to avoid increase traffic noise or human movement.