The Brain: The Iberian Wild Horse

The brain was a kind of wild horse that lived in Spain and Portugal until the 16th century. Even today, this animal is still shrouded in mystery.

Legends say that, in medieval times, a species of ass or wild horse, called the brain, lived in the Iberian Peninsula. Its origin and taxonomy today are a mystery, as it was extinguished by hunting in the 16th century.

Many historians and zoologists have tried to unravel the mysteries of the brain: what was it like? Where did it live? Who is he related to? We will answer all these questions and many more in the following lines.

A wild horse in the Iberian Peninsula

The brain or zebra is an animal shrouded in mystery. There are numerous medieval chronicles that speak of herds of wild equidae that populated the plains of the Iberian Peninsula, where they were frequently hunted.

So mysterious is this wild donkey or horse that, for a long time, many specialist zoologists have scorned the existence of this animal, reducing it to a mere medieval fantasy. However, the evidence that a species of ass or wild horse lived in the lands of Spain and Portugal is extensive and is collected at very distant points from each other.

For this reason, experts consider the existence of this equid, which can also be called zebro, for real. In fact, some historians speculate with the possibility that the African zebra ( Equus quagga ) took that name from the Portuguese explorers who sighted it in Africa, comparing it with the Iberian brain.

Description and habitat of the brain

The stories speak of an animal similar to the horse, with a size of about 1.20 meters in height. Its color was ash gray, it had a dark snout and a dorsal line similar to that of mules. Many documents speak of his indomitable character, his speed and a neigh similar to that of horses.

Some sources indicate that it could have black and white striped legs, which probably led 16th century European explorers to associate African zebras with these animals . Some zoologists have found similarities to the  tarpan , the horse that was extinct on the Eurasian plains in the 19th century.

Encebros had a wide distribution throughout much of Spain and Portugal. We know this from medieval chronicles, but also from place names – place names – that refer to this animal: Cebreros, Encebras and others.

Hunting, cause of its extinction

It is believed that the brain lived in Portugal, Galicia, Asturias, Extremadura and the entire Southern Plateau. However, little by little this territory was reduced, since the brain was a precious piece of big game. In the “Book of the Hunt” by Alfonso X the Wise one talks about the properties of this horse.

In the end, only populations of these equidae remained in the Albacete area. The last brains were killed by hunters at the end of the 16th century. It was believed, at that time, that its meat had healing properties, which caused its extinction.

In addition, other documents speak of the damage caused by brains to crops, which is why it was sometimes hunted by peasants to save their crops.

The mystery of the origin of the brain

Although in recent times the existence of the brain has been accepted as a reality, the truth is that the greatest mystery is the origin of this animal. Where does it come from? What other equidae is it related to?

These questions, for the moment, fail to obtain a consensus answer among specialists. Mainly, there are 4 hypotheses that we will detail below:

• The most widely accepted is that the brains were Eurasian wild horses of the Iberian variety. This hypothesis agrees with the fossil record and with the characteristics described in medieval texts. However, some scientists doubt this, since the brain was treated as an animal different from the horse, between horse and donkey.
• Another hypothesis considers that the brain is a descendant of the extinct Equus hydruntinus. This equid disappeared from the Iberian fossil record 20,000 years ago, so it is unlikely that the brains are descendants of this extinct animal.
• A third hypothesis relates them to the Asian wild ass or onager ( Equus hemionus ). These wild asses would have been imported from Asia by trade routes.
• Finally, some authors consider that brains are nothing more than wild domestic horses (maroons).

Thus, as we can see, the origin of the brain is a mystery that is difficult to solve. Despite this, it is widely recognized that herds of wild horses inhabited the Iberian Peninsula until the 16th century, when they were extinguished by hunting.

Unfortunately, human extinctions once again deprive us of truly fascinating animals. To this day, we can only speculate about them.