 After the very close relationship between the quagga and surviving zebras was discovered , Reinhold Rau started the Quagga Project in 1987 in South Africa to create a quagga @-@ like zebra population by selective breeding for a reduced stripe pattern from plains zebra stock , with the eventual aim of introducing them to the quagga 's former range . To differentiate between the quagga and the zebras of the project , they refer to it as " Rau quaggas " . The founding population consisted of 19 individuals from Namibia and South Africa , chosen because they had reduced striping on the rear body and legs . The first foal of the project was born in 1988 . Once a sufficiently quagga @-@ like population has been created , it will be released in the Western Cape . 
