[Condor51]

*** When Europeans arrived in Africa, they attempted to domesticate zebras. ***

See, that is my point, "When Europeans arrived."

Going back to pre history (3000 bc) the 'African's' never tried. I know Zebras are 'skittish'. But in all the millenia that passed you'd think by then they (Africans) could have been successful.

I'm sure the first 'horse' any race tried to 'tame' that horse breed would 'tend to panic when startled'.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

So basically you’re saying Africans are dumb because they never figured out how to domesticate a wild animal that Europeans, with experience with horses, couldn’t domesticate either, right?

[muawiyah]

American Indians never domesticated the North American bison, which is otherwise indistinguishable from the European or Asian cattle.

One reason advanced for this is that brucellosis is endemic among bison. People who attempted to live close to bison, or use them for anything but meat, ended up failing to reproduce at a sufficient rate to avoid dying out.

[Republican Party Reptile]

Not that simple, Zebra may be part of the equine family, but the temperament of Zebra just weren't suited for domesticating (many a European early colonizer in Africa tried, but failed). Same goes for elephant - African elephants are larger, meaner, and much more ill tempered than their Asian cousins and just didn't lend itself to domestication (which is why you only see Asian elephants in circus shows, not African ones).

[Republican Party Reptile]

Also, it's not just a matter of “having thousands of years to try”, some animals are just never going to be domesticated.

After all, sub-Sahara Africa did domesticate cattle, so it's not as if they were alien to the concept of selective breeding for domestication.