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Photographer captures rare spotted zebra foal in Kenya

The foal has a rare genetic mutation which gives it an abnormality in its stripe pattern
Credit: KENS

A photographer was able to catch a rare sight in Kenya — a zebra with spots instead of stripes.

In a post to Instagram, Frank Liu said the foal was spotted at Maasai Mara National Reserve.

"Last night a Maasai guide discovered an one of a kind genetically mutated baby zebra in Maasai Mara and named it after his surname - Tira," the photographer wrote.

What Tira has is called psuedomelanism, according to National Geographic, which is a rare genetic mutation where animals show an abnormality in their stripe pattern.

The outlet also reported that zebras like Tira may face challenges to survival by having an unusual pattern. If the zebra can make it to adulthood, however, "there's no reason to think he can't fit into the herd."

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