 After the Dutch settlement of South Africa began , the quagga was heavily hunted as it competed with domesticated animals for forage . While some individuals were taken to zoos in Europe , breeding programs were unsuccessful . The last wild population lived in the Orange Free State , and the quagga was extinct in the wild by 1878 . The last captive specimen died in Amsterdam on 12 August 1883 . Only one quagga was ever photographed alive and only 23 skins are preserved today . In 1984 , the quagga was the first extinct animal to have its DNA analysed , and the Quagga Project is trying to recreate the phenotype of hair coat pattern and related characteristics by selectively breeding Burchell 's zebras . 
