At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is - we believe - the largest professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. Since 2009 we have been running the increasingly popular CFZ Blog Network, and although there has been an American branch of the CFZ for over ten years now, it is only now that it has a dedicated blog.

Friday 19 June 2015

WHAT WAS A ZEBRO?

The origin of the word zebra is obscure.  Some say it comes from an Italian word, some favor Portuguese cebra.  Generally it is ascribed an African origin.  But it may owe its name to another creature altogether.

 In medieval and Renaissance Spanish works, mention is made of a creature called the zebro.  Gray in color, its muzzle was dark and it had a black stripe on its back.  In the name of this creature do do we have the origin of zebra?

 If so, we may ask what this now extinct creature actually was.  A recent theory is that it may represent a population of Equus hydruntis, which is thought to have become existed 12,000 years ago.  Perhaps it didn't.
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