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Quaggas were beautiful pony-sized zebras in southern Africa that
had fewer stripes on their bodies and legs, and a browner body
coloration than other zebras. Indigenous people hunted quaggas,
portrayed them in rock art, and told stories about them. Settlers
used quaggas to pull wagons and to protect livestock against
predators. Taken to Europe, they were admired, exhibited, harnessed
to carriages, illustrated by famous artists and written about by
scientists. Excessive hunting led to quaggas' extinction in the
1880s but DNA from museum specimens showed rebreeding was feasible
and now zebras resembling quaggas live in their former habitats.
This rebreeding is compared with other de-extinction and rewilding
ventures and its appropriateness discussed against the backdrop of
conservation challenges-including those facing other zebras. In an
Anthropocene of species extinction, climate change and habitat loss
which organisms and habitats should be saved, and should attempts
be made to restore extinct species?
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger
Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain
imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed
pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we
have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting,
preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger
Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and
hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!
Peter Heywood (1772 1831) became known for his involvement in the
1789 mutiny aboard the Bounty. After evading a death sentence
thanks to a royal pardon, he was able to advance himself in a
distinguished naval career, achieving the rank of post-captain. The
question of the North-West Passage, a sea route through the Arctic
that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, remained an
obsession for the British for much of the nineteenth century.
Drawing on his experience as a naval hydrographer and writing under
the pseudonym 'Scrutator', Heywood considers the question of the
North-West Passage in this 1824 publication by surveying accounts
of recent expeditions to the Arctic. While he does not dispute the
existence of the much-sought route, he argues that the icy waters
would not be navigable for ships. It was not until the early
twentieth century that Roald Amundsen and his crew achieved the
seemingly impossible."
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