Going to Namibia and have the opportunity to take either (or at least I think I do).

What is the difference between the two? Is one a LOT more expensive to take, or better looking? Harder/easier?

The wife told me that if I go to Africa, I HAVE to bring back a zebra skin/rug/wall hanging. Whicch zebra should I go after?

The Hartmann's, or mountain, zebra, are a different species than the plains zebra, which are generally but erroneously referred to as Burchell's zebra. The Hartmann's inhabit different habitat - not surprisingly, mountains or kopjes. Their stripe patterns are completely different. I have also found that the Hartmann's dark stripes are more brownish in color, although that can vary.

Namibia is the only place you can get the Hartmann's in their natural habitat, i.e., where they are indigenous, whereas plains zebra are indigenous throughout southern Africa.

The Hartmann's generally costs a bit more, but not that much. If you are hunting Namibia, the Hartmann's has got to be on the agenda, IMHO.

Also and finally, the Hartmann's are white with black stripes, and the plains zebra are black with white stripes.

I agree with MR. If you are going to Namibia, you have to go for the Hartmann's zebra.

I've never hunted the plains zebra, but I get the impression the Hartmann's is a bit larger. The Hartmann's is also very tasty.

Hartmans had long ears like a donkey, no shadow stripes, the stripes don't go clear around their belly either. They also can commonly have a dewlap, I don't believe the Burchell's do. They are also IMO quite a bit more fun to hunt, spotted from high, long stalks, and are very sporting, also both are notorious for being hard to kill.

Why not take both? You'll eventually end up doing that anyway. Make one a flatskin and the other one a shoulder or pedestal mount.

The Hartman's and the plains zebras are as different as donkeys and horses; they are not "subspecies", but entirely separate species. Most places charge a higher trophy fee for Hartman's than the plains, however the wonderful place we hunted in southern Namibia, the huge Nomtsas Farm, charges the same, very reasonable fee for both. Check them out at http://www.namhunt.de/en/huntstart.html. On Nomtsas, the Hartman's is indigenous. I like the idea of hunting truly wild game in its natural habitat. However, having taken a huge Hartman stallion, I'll go for a plains zebra on my next trip (always leave something to go back for!)



Below you can see the Hartman's skin laid out and how the stripes stop, leaving the belly white. The stipes of the plains variety fully encircle the belly.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:

And don't forget, the Hartmann's has a reddish nose...

IMHO, in its mountain habitat, the Hartmann's is one of the finest hunts in Southern Africa.

- mike

Apart from being very fine, challenging hunting, the Hartmann's in my opinion, makes a much more beautiful trophy

Stonecreek is correct re: the Hartmann's and the plains zebra being different species, not just different sub-species. I have corrected my post.

John,

Good advice here. Go for a Hartmann's while in Namibia and take a Burchell's if you can find one on offer. The Hartmann's requires a CITES permit to export from Namibia and import to the U.S. that your outfitter can organize.

Key is no shadow stripes, stripes down the leg to the hoof. Seem to recall that the size of stripes on the rump also distinguish the male from the female, something not always obvious if grass is high.

Take a look at http://www.safarilist.com but when you click on the Burchell's zebra I believe the second photo is of a Hartmann's. All the other species you have expressed interest in are also on that site.

Regards, Tim

My Hartman's Zebra

Here's my mountain zebra taken in May near Kamanjab, Namibia. Love the root-beer fade on the facial stripes. We hunted these guys in thick mopane scrub in very small groups of four or five, and the fact they were feeding among dozens of gemsbok made the hunting complex.

Adult male Hartmann's mountain zebra
Equus zebra hartmannae

http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Images/Equus_zebra/E_zebra1.jpg

sorry, but I had to remove the picture, as I discovered it was copy righted, but there is a link to it!

If you will notice, the mountain zebra has a promintant lump on the throat like a Adam's apple, the shape of the head is much like a mule, and in the stripes, most suround the belly, but not always!

Except for the picture above,the pictures presented here is do not fully show the differences between the Burchell's, Chapman's, and Hartman's Cape Mountain zebras. The picture above shows the lump in the throat.

quote:

Originally posted by jstevens:
......no shadow stripes, the stripes don't go clear around their belly either.......

This is how it was explained to me by my host in Namibia who was a retired wildlife biologist.

Mine

Go for it John,
it is not an easy hunt.
mine is an old female zebra.
First we tried to approach the herd climbing a hill, but they live with the nose in the wind and the stallion pushed the group away.
Then I shooted from the side of the hill when the herd were more than 300 meters far away at the bas of the hill.
Then we walked down the hill the fastest possible, difficult because I have the right leg that it is not ok, to get the car and cover 2 km, only to see them 400 meter far away.

We got again to the car and John, you can recognize him in the photo by the white hat, drived like a rally pilot down and up the hills bringing me at about 200 meters from the herd.

Shoot at the last on that normally is the stallion oredered to me and I did, hitting the old female on the right side.

It run forth 50 meters and then back for 80/100 meters and then died. You can see the exit hole on the left shoulder.

Positive fact is that the females have the skin less ruined, because they do not fight for the herd leadership.

quote:

Positive fact is that the females have the skin less ruined, because they do not fight for the herd leadership.

Yes, this is usually the case that the mares make the cleaner finished skin. Stallion skins will exhibit more "character".

There is usually no problem in shooting the females most places. In fact, our host (whose formal educated is in animal biology and husbandry) told us that it is often more upsetting when the dominant male of a group is shot, as the resultant in-fighting in the herd causes various upsets. Typically, the Hartmann's drouthy range is extremely limited in carrying capacity, and a certain number of females have to be removed annually to keep the herd numbers within the limits of their food sources. Our hosts were wanting to kill at least 8 animals in addition to our take at the time we were there.

Besides, it takes a well-trained eye to differentiate the sexes of this wary species at several hundred yards.

The correct spelling is "Hartmann's". Hartmann's zebras have broad black stripes with an off-white, creamy color between them. The black stripes on the animals' sides do not meet on the belly. The leg stripes extend horizontally, all the way down to the top of the hooves. These leg stripes can be thin and wrap around the entire leg. The stripe that covers the spine and top portion of the tail is said to be "zipper-like" in appearance. The most characteristic and interesting feature of both mountain zebra subspecies is a square flap of skin on the throat just below the head. This flap of skin, or dewlap, is larger on the males.

The average adult height at the shoulder is 120 - 130 cm or 4 - 4.3 ft. and the tail length is 50 cm or 20 in. The body length is 220 cm or 7.3 ft. The weight is 260 - 370 kg or 572 - 814 lb. There is no significant size difference between the sexes except the stallions are usually heavier. (http://www.wild-about-you.com/GameHartmannZebra.htm)

One thing you seldom read is that if they are allowed to hang in the cooler for 14-16 days the steaks are extremely tastey!!!


Dave

quote:

One thing you seldom read is that if they are allowed to hang in the cooler for 14-16 days the steaks are extremely tastey!!!

I'm sure that's true. On the farm where we hunted, the meat from the zebras is divided among the farm laborers who make biltong from it, refrigeration being extremely limited.

On our hunt, every bit of flesh (and much of the organs) from every animal (jackal and baboon excepted) was recovered for human consumption.

Mountain zebra backstrap was my second favorite meat while in Namibia (the first was a wonderful rare sprinbok backstrap). My only regret is not getting two so that I could have my rug AND a pedestal mount of one. As shown in the pictures above, their facial coloring is quite striking, and a rug doesn't quite do it justice.

John,

Take the Hartmanns as a first option. Much harder to hunt.......and longer shooting, generally. I took one last year in the Khomas Hochland and the range was 380 yards.......that 300 RUM certainly came in handy!

Cheers,

Namibia 2006 with Dirk Rohrmann. 375 H&H



Here is a pix of the one on the left - a real monster according to Dirk and my taxidermist. It made the one on the right look like a young one when in fact it was normal size!

Burchell's Zebras in the Caprivi: