Gallery 4
Rhinoceroses, tapirs, wild asses and zebras
This gallery houses the odd-hoofed mammals. The horses (including zebras) which have only one toe and the tapirs and rhinoceroses, which have three on each foot. Tapirs do actually have four toes, but one isn’t functional.
This extinct quagga originated in South Africa. The last one died in Amsterdam in 1883.
The Malayan tapir is the largest of the four tapir species. This vegetarian has a long, flexible nose, a small, stubby tail and a broad light-coloured band around the middle of its otherwise dark body.
Examples of all five species of rhinoceros are on display here.
The legs of the Somali wild ass are horizontally striped black. The domestic donkey is descended from the African wild ass. Donkeys also often have a dark cross mark on their shoulders and sometimes striped lower legs.
Lord Rothschild was fascinated by zebras. He kept several at Tring Park and even harnessed them to a carriage. All known species of zebra are represented at Tring.