Have you ever seen a zebra with spots? Neither have many social media users who were buzzing with excitement on seeing the magnificent photos of a young zebra foal with the rare trait.
The foal was first sighted and photographed at Matira Bush Camp in Maasai Mara National Reserve by a tour guide identified as Antony Tira. The photos quickly circulated on social media. According to Anthony, the foal has a melanin disorder, is a week old, and feeble.
“At first I thought it was a zebra that had been captured and painted or marked for purposes of migration. I was confused when I first saw it,” he told Nation.
Previous sightings
This is not the first time a spotted zebra has been spotted at Maasai Mara. Photographer Paul Goldstein previously sighted one at Kicheche Camp, a set of camps he owns, but didn’t have his camera with him. No one would believe him.
“This animal was on its own, extremely bad-tempered and I could not get a shot,” he says in an interview with the Daily Mail.
“No-one believed me when I told them of this remarkable phenomenon. This time, on a long game drive in the Masai Mara I saw him again. He appears to have no mates and a lot of scars, however, the differences are vast.
“The mane is short and completely black the hooped markings on its legs are completely different to normal ones, it has the shape of a donkey it is much darker all over, but those spots are incredible.
“Every zebra in Africa has slightly different markings, but this one has taken that to extremes,” Goldstein said of the zebra.
Goldstein spent 2 years tracking the zebra until he was able to capture a photograph of it.
According to research by UCLA Environmental Studies, spotted zebra have also been spotted elsewhere in previous years. In 1967, a spotted zebra was photographed in Botswana. In 2007, a spotted zebra was photographed in Nairobi National Park, Kenya.
