Zebra cousin that went extinct 100 years ago, returns

The animal disappeared off the face of the earth back in 1880's, but now with the help of scientists, the “quagga” could be roaming the world’s plains again.

The quagga, a cousin of the modern-day zebra, has a stripped front half and a soft brown rear half.

The animal used to roam the grasses of South Africa in herds of the thousands but when European hunters got them in their scopes, the quagga quickly began vanishing.

By the 1880’s, the animal was completely extinct.

But a group of Cape Town scientists have been working to bring the horse-like pack animal back, at least sort of.

With the help of DNA and specific cross-breeding, they have created an animal that looks strikingly similar to the quagga.

"There are a lot of detractors who are saying you can't possibly put back the same as what was here," says project leader Mike Gregor.

Though he admits they aren't "genetically the same," he also argues, "you can try and do something or you could just not, and I think us trying to do, trying to remedy something, is better than doing nothing at all."

The creatures, dubbed “Rau quaggas” after one of the project's originators, only number 6 on a reserve currently but when the group reaches 50, they plan on the herd living together.

"If we can retrieve the animals or retrieve at least the appearance of the quagga," comments Eric Harley, another project leader, "then we can say we've righted a wrong."

Mobile users see video here.