I missed the deadline for Cause Exploration Prize submissions. However, I am not bothered about the prize, I just want to put forward the case for focussing some attention on the domestication of zebras. Here is the case in a nutshell - other should please feel free to take the ideas and develop them as they wish.
- Horses (and similar animals) have been a major source of power for agricultural, industrial and transport uses throughout human history. I focus on transport but similar considerations apply to other uses of horses.
- In the event of a disaster which made mechanised transport impossible then humans would likely return to the use of horses, especially for transport. Fortunately, there is a reasonably large number of horses and people who know how to train, manage and breed horses (e.g. farms, the British Army).
- Horses are ill-suited to conditions in sub-Saharan Africa (e.g., tsetse fly). In the event of mechanised transport becoming unavailable to humanity as a whole or to sub-Saharan Africa in particular then humans there would not be able to fall back on the horse as an alternative.
- Zebras, however, have evolved to endure conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. If the zebra were domesticated then its power would be available to people living there.
- The domestication of the zebra therefore represents an insurance policy which would mitigate the worst effects of a disaster rendering mechanised transport unavailable in sub-Saharan Africa. The thought process here is similar to the well-known recent suggestion that coal deposits should not be exhausted in order that re-industrialisation can take place if needed: if humanity is returned to pre-industrial conditions then the more resources available to humanity at that time, the better.
- The domestication of the zebra is likely nowhere near as difficult as has been widely reported, e.g. in Guns, Germs and Steel. Here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etV8YAnyjcE is a link to a video of a woman confidently riding an evidently tame zebra. (The YouTube channel from which this comes, 4hoovesnstrips, shows more examples.)
- This http://messybeast.com/history/working.htm is a link to a set of resources showing the successes that colonial powers and hobbyists had in domesticating zebras in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before mechanised transport became more cost effective than continuing the domestication project. Examples include:
- Multiple photographs of men and women riding zebras.
- A photograph of a zebra being ridden by a man while jumping a fence.
- Excerpts from books written around the turn of the 20th century explaining how to break in zebras. E.g. “Of all asses, the mountain zebra (see Fig. 122) is the most difficult to break; as he is sulky, stupid, and has an almost immovable neck. I have found the Burchell’s zebra, which is more nearly akin to the horse than any other ass, comparatively easy to break.”
- Examples of zebras used for pulling carts or carriages. Some examples are no more than aristocratic japes or publicity stunts, but others include mail coaches and similar commercial enterprises.
- Zebra hybrids bred in German East Africa used to pull gun carriages.
- Modern gene-editing techniques are likely to make it even easier to develop tame zebra varieties suitable for human use than the older selective breeding and training techniques.
- The domestication of the zebra, so long as presented as beneficial to the animals themselves, is likely to be a reasonably popular project. A large number of people like horses and animals that look like horses. Many 18/19 year olds would be happy to work on a zebra farm in southern Africa in their gap year at their own cost.
- Related: bringing back the quaggas would appear to be sensible. There are indications from the material at the link above that quaggas were likely even better candidates for domestication than zebras.
Thank you for your comment.
My way of looking at it is a little different. I've put comments in square brackets next to your points below.
Prob(that you can domesticate these zebras) [Agreed. I think this is a high probability.]
* Prob(that a disaster happens that knocks out humanity's ability to make mechanised vehicles while this set of zebras exists) [Not quite. Perhaps we have mechanised vehicles but they are prohibitively expensive to run. Or we have other calls on our metal resources, e.g. they are needed to deal with some threat from space. Zebras are useful when mechanised transport is not available for any reason. ]
* Prob(that that disaster doesn't also kill these zebras) [I agree the zebras have to survive, but if we are thinking of some loss of industrial capacity then there is little reason to think that zebras would be at risk. Or we can imagine some catastrophe that harms life in the heavily industrialised areas of the world in which horses mostly live: having domesticated zebras would then be big a bonus for humanity. Or imagine a disease that kills horses: again, domesticated zebras would be a bonus.]
* Prob(that the humans find and figure out how to use the zebras) [I am envisaging that people live with these zebras in Africa in the same way they live with horses in Europe and North America. The knowledge of how to tame, train, ride, feed and breed horses is pretty widespread. We would have the same for zebras.]
* Prob(that these zebras meaningfully increase industrial progress). [No. The point is that they would be used for transport (and other horse use-cases) in the same way that horses were prior to industrialisation. That is a good in itself irrespective of whether it aids industrial progress. Of course transport aids trade and the exchange of ideas so it is likely to help, but I don't put much weight on that.]
The essential point is simply that humankind has found value in having domesticated horses for thousands of years, and the potential of bringing that value to sub-Saharan Africa can be bought at modest cost.