Stripes are perhaps the zebra's most striking feature. But those who are always arguing whether a zebra is a white animal with black stripes or a black animal with white stripes will have to fundamentally reconsider their concept of zebras.
Wildlife photographer Frank Liu captured an amazing zebra in Kenya's Masai Mara Game Reserve – a polka-dot foal!
Each zebra's coat is as unique as each person's fingerprints.
Liu says this is probably the first zebra in the entire reserve with such a rare fur color.
The coat of the baby zebra looks like a polka-dot blanket!
Actually, Liu was looking for rhinos when he came across this stunning animal. The zebra was named Tira, after the guide who accompanied Liu on the expedition.
Brenda Larison, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA, says the zebra stripes can serve several purposes.
"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 says.
Tira's unique coat might be a problem because zebras live in packs. This helps them defend themselves more effectively against predators, so the pattern that stands out is an obvious disadvantage in terms of survival.
But how beautiful it is!
Source: lifter.com
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