Rare Spotted Zebra Photographed At Kenyan Wildlife Reserve

An unusual 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, spotted the animal earlier this month and the images soon captured people's attention.

Tour guide and fellow photographer, Antony Tira, told the Daily Nation he first thought the zebra had been captured and marked.

It's said the creature has a condition called melanism. The opposite of albinism, melanism occurs when an animal is born with a build up of dark pigmentation.

As reported by the Nation, wildlife specialist at Matira Camp, Parmale Lemein said that this case is the first in the Mara of such a rare zebra.

Sadly though, he told the paper that no zebras with the same condition in other parks in Africa had survived for longer than six months after being born.

He revealed that some scientists claim that zebra stripes are formed when melanin is held back and that the 'default' colour of a zebra is black. This means that according to studies, a zebra is black with white stripes.

Popular blogger Mutuma Untamed, said the foal had been named after the photographer who first found it.

On Facebook, he wrote: "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."