An unusual zebra foal with polka dot markings has been spotted in a wildlife park in Kenya.
A unique zebra foal with polka dot markings has been spotted in a wildlife park in Kenya. The newborn is thought to be the first of its kind to be seen in the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Photographer Rahul Sachdev, 41, first spotted the animal earlier this month and the images sparked fascination from the internet.
Atony Tira, tour guide and fellow photographer, shared with the Daily Nation he first though the zebra have been captured and marked.
The creature is said to have a condition called melanism. The opposite of albinism, melanism occurs when an animal is born with a build up of dark pigmentation.
Wildlife specialist at Matira Camp, as reported by the Nation, Parmale Lemein said that this case is the first with such a rare zebra in the Mara.
Unfortunately, he informed the zebras with the same condition in other parks in Africa had survived for longer than six months after being born.
He shared how some scientists claim that zebra stripes are formed when melanin is held back and that the “default” color of a zebra is black.
According to study, this means that a zebra is black with white stripes.
Mutuma Untamed, popular blogger, shared how the foal had been named after the photographer who first discovered it.
He wrote on Facebook the following:
“Did you know, last week a Maasai guide discovered a one of a kind hybrid baby zebra in the Maasai Mara. It is named after his surname – Tira. A few years ago there was a similar case, however that zebra still maintained the stripes and brush-like tail. Rare Tira, however has patterns that appear as polka dots.”