A Rare Newborn Zebra Was Born Without Stripes And With Polka Dots Instead

No matter your age or how many amazing things you have already witnessed, one thing is for sure: nature never ceases to amaze! And one of the most intriguing aspects of Mother Nature is undoubtedly this unusual film. A unique brown baby zebra!

The extremely unusual animal was first spotted by Antony Tira, a safari guide, on September, 15 in the Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Since he was the first one who spotted the rare animal, the guide even called the foal Tira, after his surname. Brown and with dot markings, the baby zebra even has a shorter, hairless tail, unlikely a normal zebra.

The uncommon newborn zebra exhibits melanism, according to the wildlife specialists. Melanism develops due of the dark pigmentation of the skin, in contrast to albinism, which is characterized by a lack of skin pigmentation.

Despite being a joy to behold for all of us, the young zebra’s life is about to be affected by its highly unusual ailment since in cases like this, the herd tends to shun the odd-looking individuals.

While this is the first ever recorded case of such an occurrence in the Masai Mara, years ago a similar case was in 2012, when a wildlife photographer spotted a zebra with some enlarge spots on its back. The animal survived less than six months.

“Last night, a Maasai guide in the Maasai Mara found a unique newborn zebra, which he called Tira after his last name. We were among the first people to visit Tira this morning!, said wildlife photographer Frank Liu in a Facebook post.

“A similar incident occurred a few years ago, but the zebra’s stripes and brush-like tail were still present. But Tira has designs that look like polka dots! I’m hoping the investigators will look into this issue and report any intriguing findings shortly.”

However, the brownie zebra isn’t the first rare animal spotted in the African savanna. Last year, two white giraffes have been spotted in the Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy, Kenya’s Garissa county. While an albino baby elephant was captured on camera in Kruger National Park in South Africa.