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Tim May

Quagga; Tring Zoological Museum; 21st March 2010

Quagga; Tring Zoological Museum; 21st March 2010
Tim May, 21 Mar 2010
UngulateNerd92 likes this.
    • Jacobea
      I've wanted to visit this museum for years, particularly to see the quagga(s) :)
    • Tim May

      There is only one quagga in the museum. A visit is thoroughly recommended; it’s a fascinating place.
    • GillP
      It is indeed fascinating - not least because it's so Victorian. The large collection of domestic dogs is a bit disconcerting though ...... not that I can think of a genuine reason why I should find it so ! Guess not what you expect.
    • Jacobea
      I've seen photographs of the dogs, and although they're another display I'm keen to see (being a dog lover, I'm fascinated by extinct breeds and how our current ones have changed over the years), I too find them a bit disconcerting. I think it's because of my mindset; I look at them and class them as "man's best friend" in my head, as loved as a human rellie and up there with being as dear as my granny.

      So, to see them stuffed and on display is more gruesome to me personally than, say, seeing the stuffed quagga :rolleyes:
    • GillP
      Yes, I think that's along the same lines as my feelings. I have cats rather than dogs but wouldn't like to see them stuffed as I'd kind of find it a bit disrespectful ! If I recall correctly - haven't been in around 4-5 years - some of the dogs are in noticeably better condition than others - understandable I suppose due to the age of some of them, but again, find this a bit 'ick'. I also seem to remember that the standard of taxidermy wasn't consistent so that some seemed almost to be caricatures ..... and again, you feel it's a bit disrespectful and perhaps they'd be better not displayed at all.

      Think the famous greyhound Mick the Miller is one of them ......
    • Tim May
      Yes, I think that the greyhound “Mick the Miller” is on display at Tring although, personally, I find the domestic dogs the least interesting exhibit in the Tring Museum and never really pay much attention to them on my visits.

      Returning to the quagga:-

      The Tring specimen is especially noteworthy as being quite heavily striped for a quagga; I’ve seen about a dozen museum quaggas and this one probably has the most stripes of any quaggas that I’ve encountered.
    • Pertinax
    • Pertinax
      That's whats most interesting about many of these Dog breeds in this display, you can see how much simpler in appearance many of them were then compared to their modern counterparts.
    • Tim May
      Yes, I’ve seen the photographs of the museum specimens on the Quagga Project website.

      Of the twenty-three mounted quaggas depicted on the website, I’ve actually seen twelve of them, including the Mainz specimens (one of which is heavily striped too). Anybody seriously interested in quaggas should visit this museum.

      I’ve never seen the Weisbaden quagga; this is one I’m keen to see; according to the late Reinhold Rau it is the London Zoo stallion that was destroyed in 1864 after sustaining a serious injury.
    • Pertinax
      Tim- Something I picked up on from that museum postcard you sent me.. and now I can see it again on the Tring Quagga's head too.

      There is a faint horizontal line running midway down the jawline from under the eye to the nostril- below is more heavily striped while above is slightly fainter/more brownish, except for the forehead. From a distance it forms quite a distinct marking. Look on your postcard or photos and you will see it on all of the Quaggas, even the foal. No modern zebras have this.

      I recently found a modern painting of 'Quaggas in the Bushveld' on the internet and the artist has obviously noticed this marking and featured it on all the Quaggas in the painting too. (But its not apparent on the London Quagga photos).

      I'm pretty sure their mane was shorter too than in other South African Plains zebras- the ones in the Quagga project all have very tall 'crest-like' manes.
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  • Category:
    Tring Natural History Museum
    Uploaded By:
    Tim May
    Date:
    21 Mar 2010
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