- Incredible images of a spotted zebra foal, captured by wildlife photographer Frank Liu, have taken social media by storm.
- Every zebra has a unique pattern of stripes in the same way that humans all have unique fingerprints.
- Being obviously different from other members of the herd will likely make this foal an easier target for predators.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
A zebra's stripes are arguably its most distinctive characteristic — but those debating about whether zebras are white with black stripes or black with white stripes may now have to entirely rethink their definition of the animal.
Incredible images of a spotted zebra foal, captured by wildlife photographer Frank Liu in Kenya's Masai Mara area, have taken social media by storm.
In the same way that humans all have unique fingerprints, every zebra has a unique pattern of stripes.
This zebra foal could be the first in the Masai Mara area to have this unique coloring, Liu told National Geographic.
The baby zebra's fur makes it look not only like it has a unique polka-dot pattern — it almost looks as though its colors are inverted compared with the other zebras.
Liu had been looking for rhinos when he spotted the striking creature.
The zebra was named Tira after the guide who accompanied Liu on his expedition.
You can watch a video of it taken by Liu below.
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Brenda Larison, a professor in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, told Insider that a zebra's stripes may have a number of different functions.
"Thermoregulation may be one, avoiding biting flies may be one, they may also have an anti-predator role ... but a lot of the evidence is a bit indirect as doing the necessary experiments with live zebras would be expensive, logistically difficult, and ethically problematic," she said.
Larison also indicated that one of the main advantages of living in a herd is protection from predators.
"Being obviously different from other members of the herd will likely make this foal stand out and make it an easier target for predators," she said. "This effect may be the main reason why such variants are so rare."
Tira's black-brown and white spots make the foal look even more unusual compared with the surrounding animals.
Larison and Greg Barsh, a faculty investigator at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University, are currently working on a project that includes biological samples from zebras with unusual stripe patterns.
Barsh has expressed enthusiasm at the notion of including Tira as part of that effort.
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"This animal interests us a great deal since a major research effort of our group is to use genetics to understand the developmental mechanisms that underlie periodic color patterns in mammals," said Barsh.
It's not the first time unusually patterned zebras have appeared in the wild; a "blonde" zebra was spotted earlier this year in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park, according to National Geographic.
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