There is another objection to reviving the quagga. A popular 19^th-century theory held that men and animals inherit traits not just from their parents but also from their mother's first partner. This supposed phenomenon was called "the taint of the quagga" because it was said to have been discovered in the animal. The taint was alluded to by journalists of the era and in the writings of Goethe, Strindberg, Ibsen, and Zola. It reinforced the taboo of miscegenation and encouraged men to keep their women under lock and key.

Perhaps, then, as a symbol of racist and sexist fear-mongering, the quagga is best forgotten. If only someone would bring back, say, the dodo instead! This flightless bird, native to Mauritius and eliminated by colonists in the 17^th century, would so much better suit our culturally sensitive era. The best-known dodo, featured in Alice in Wonderland, assembled the mouse, the duck, the eaglet, and other animals for a race—and when the contest ended, declared: "EVERYBODY has won, and all must have prizes."