With the global sensation – Tira the rare spotted Zebra – still fresh in the news, another uniquely patterned zebra has been sighted. This time in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.
On a recent visit to the park, Shirley van Niekerk came across an unusual sighting of a zebra with what appears to be spots around a scar on its side. Posting to the Kruger Sightings Facebook group, Shirley asked fellow members what they thought the cause could have been.
Credit: Shirley van Niekerk
The general consensus is that the unusual pattern could be nothing more than a normal genetic variation affecting a small percentage of Kruger’s zebra population. It could also be melanism (the opposite of albinism), which means the zebra’s stripes weren’t properly developed and deviant patterns forming across the skin instead. Another theory was that stress, probably caused by whatever inflicted the scar, resulted in the deformation of the stripes.
Some members of the group found humour in the situation, joking that perhaps the ink ran before it could dry properly. Others offered tongue-in-cheek comments speculating that perhaps the zebra’s father took a special interest in leopards.
Image: Facebook/Shirley van Niekerk
SOURCE: GETAWAY