Every Zoo Has Its Zebra

Without really meaning to,  I have somehow acquired a tiny, mismatched zebra family consisting of a Schleich male zebra, a CollectA female zebra, and a Safari zebra foal.

I like zebras, but I don't go out of my way to collect them.  Their colour schemes are, after all, a little bit boring, as compared to the range of colours you find in horses, donkeys, or mules.  When they're pointed out to me, I can see the differences between the different varieties of zebras in the world, but on the whole I see them exactly the way they are designed to be viewed in nature, as one indistinguishable array of stripes.

That being said, one of the few models that I do have seller's remorse about is Breyer's Damara Zebra.  I bought her new in 2000 -- it may even have been at Breyerfest -- but she fell victim to one of my periodic collection purges when I decided to collect "only horses."  My original Brighty was also a casualty of that purge, but Brighty was easy to replace -- the zebra, not so much.  I rather expected Breyer to release her in a variety of stripey patterns, and perhaps as a Przewalski horse as well.  But Breyer has been pretty withholding when it comes to the zebra.  Aside from her initial release she has only been issued as a few Breyerfest specials.

But back to my little guys.  The funny thing about them is that each one of them was an afterthought;  I didn't set out to buy any one of them, but somehow each one ended up in my shopping cart.

Schleich Zebra Stallion

The first arrival was the Schleich.  He came with a online book order.  I'd been given a gift card to use in a certain store, and after I selected all the books I wanted I had a little bit of credit left over, but not enough for any other book that piqued my interest.  But the store in question also sold gift items, like candles and scented soaps, as well as a few Schleich animals.  The zebra was just the right price to use up the remaining coupon credit, and so the first zebra since the great Damara mistake, joined my model herd.

I will admit that the thought crossed my mind, when I bought the Schleich, that I might someday buy the mare and foal to go with him.  What I did not intend to do, however, was to buy three different brands.

Safari Zebra Foal

The Safari zebra foal was the next zebra to worm her way into my herd.  She was bought in person, at a craft store, but her story was much the same as her Schleich predcessor's.  Once again, I had a coupon, and after I bought all the things I intended to buy, I had a little bit of credit left over.  Now, I knew that this store also had a big rack of Schleich critters, so I thought I would go to see if they had a zebra to fill out my family.  I found a foal and added it to my stack of purchases, but it wasn't until I got home that I realized that this little zebra wasn't a Schleich, but a Safari.

CollectA Zebra Mare

Last to arrive was the CollectA mare.  She arrived just the other day, stowing away with my Premier Collectors Club "Georg."  Once again, she was only added to fill up my cart to the maximum it could hold for the shipping charge associated with "Georg."  Since CollectAs were on sale the week I ordered "Georg," she just managed to make the cut.

I haven't yet studied them closely enough to determine which company's zebra I like best.

An Accidental Family

Zebras are actually quite fascinating creatures, and beautiful in their own, un-horsey way.  Perhaps someday I'll study them a bit more carefully so as to be able to make an informed decision about which of my little plastic zebras best captures its breed.  For now, though, I have to admit that I know very little about them, and have done little or nothing to learn more.

As a matter of fact, if I have any connection to zebras at all, it's from my childhood.

Zebras are common enough characters in children's literature.  Most ABC books, especially those that revolve around animals, bring out the zebra by the time they get to "Z."  And one of my favourite books as a child was Toby Zebra and the Lost Zoo, about a zebra who got left behind when the zoo he lived in shifted to a new location. 

When I was small, I had the usual assortment of zebra figurines from zoo- and wildlife-themed playsets to play with.  I remember naming one of my zebras "Toby," after the picture-book hero.  In my teens, I purchased a couple of other zebras strictly for decor -- among them two or three small African wood carvings, and one tiny Made in China zebra that just took my fancy. But I was really a horse girl from Day One, and although zebras had their appeal, a zebra was clearly not, despite what the song suggests, "A Horse in Striped Pajamas" to me.

So zebras carry some fond memories for me, but not as fond as the memories I have from all the horses I acquired as playthings.  In my childhood, as in my collection, zebras have always been there by chance, rather than by design.  But perhaps it was inevitable that at some point my collection would contain a few.  Just as every child's zoo has a zebra, perhaps every model horse collection needs a stripey equine of one kind or another.  Mine just happens to have three.