Most of us are familiar with zebras. We may not have seen them in the wild but we have probably seen them at our local zoo and more than likely, we have seen them many times on television and in the movies. They have even been the subject of some children’s jokes, such as “What is black and white and red all over?” A zebra with a sunburn! All jokes aside, however, the zebra is typically black and white striped.
There is also another type of zebra that is known as a blonde zebra. These are zebras that have white and a yellowish golden color striping rather than the black and white stripes. They are very rare but they do get spotted from time to time. In the Serengeti National Park, a blonde zebra was not only spotted, it was photographed and you can enjoy the picture for yourself.
The wildlife photographer who works for National Geographic, Sergio Pitamitz took the picture. He was out snapping shots of migrating zebras when he saw something that looked out of place.
A small number of zebras with the condition live in captivity, but this sighting confirms that at least one "golden" zebra also lives in the wild. https://t.co/57pcy7wIcL
— National Geographic Magazine (@NatGeoMag) April 1, 2019
When he took a closer look, he saw the gold and white striped animal drinking from a watering hole. He talked to National Geographic about what he spotted.
“At first I thought it was a zebra that had rolled in the dust.”
He realized that he was looking at something unusual when the color didn’t wash off in the water.
It is thought that the zebra is lacking milling and because it has some type of partial albinism. This is an issue that can occur in various animals including penguins and orangutans. Melanism is the opposite of albinism and it is sometimes spotted in the wild as well. It turns a light-colored animal into a dark-colored animal.
You don’t typically see albino animals in the wild because they are a lot easier to spot than the other animals that have natural camouflage. It has always been theorized that albino zebras would survive in the wild but this is the first time that they were able to get proof of it. They were concerned that it wouldn’t last because it wasn’t camouflaged and that the herd might reject it.
These pictures show it isn’t the case.
Did you realize that the striping pattern for a zebra is similar to a fingerprint? There have even been spotted zebras in the wild as well. There are also three species of zebra, plain, mountain and Grevy’s.
It’s nice to know that zebras will be accepting of other zebras, even if they are different.