If you are to close your eyes for a moment and think about a zebra, what will be the first thing that you see? More than likely, it would be the zebra’s stripes that stand out in your mind more than anything else. Admittedly, they are a majestic wild creature that is similar in form to a horse, but it is the stripes that set them apart in the animal kingdom. Perhaps that is why so many people were amazed when a baby Zebra was born in Kenya with spots instead of stripes! It happens on occasion, but it is extremely rare!
The little baby Zebra was born in Masai Mara National Reserve in southwestern Kenya. A wildlife photographer by the name of Frank Liu was able to capture images of the newborn baby Zebra and its unique markings. Frank talks about how rare the markings are, saying that it may even be the first of its kind that was ever born in that region! It’s a genetic mutation that causes the lack of stripes, and it’s an incredible look at a unique creature that all of us have come to love so much.
“Last night a Maasai guide discovered an one of a kind genetically mutated baby zebra in Maasai Mara and named it after his surname – Tira,” Frank wrote. “This morning we were one of the first ones to visit Tira! Few years ago there was a similar case, however that zebra still maintained the stripes and brush-like tail. Tira, however, has patterns that appear as polka dots!”
Tira is more than just a baby zebra with spots, he also has opposite coloring of the majority of zebras. Rather than having black stripes on a white coat, he has white spots on a black coat! Frank spotted him when he was about two weeks old. “At first glance he looked like a different species altogether,” he said.
Although this is a rare condition, it isn’t completely out of the question. Botswana has had a few of these unique spotted zebras in the past. According to National Geographic, it is “a rare genetic mutation in which animals display some sort of abnormality in their stripe pattern.”
I know that we often say a leopard can’t change his spots but it does look like a zebra can change their stripes!