Polka-dotted zebra leaves the Mara for Tanzania
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2 2019
Zebras, among them the polka-dotted foal, at the Mara, crossing the sand river along the Kenya-Tanzania border to Serengeti National Reserve. PHOTO | GEORGE SAYAGIE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
In Summary
- The rare zebra foul was spotted crossing the sand river to Serengeti in Tanzania.
- The zebra foal has some white spots and a few small, incomplete white stripes.
- After it was first spotted and photographed in early September, the pictures generated a lot of attention and unleashed a near-human ‘stampede’ in the Mara reserve.
By GEORGE SAYAGIE
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The rare polka-dot zebra foal that was recently spotted in the Mara in Kenya has now crossed the border into Tanzania's Serengeti National Park alongside migrating zebras and wildebeests on their return journey to calf.
This was confirmed by a dozen tourists and tour guides who spotted it crossing the sand river which is the border line of the two reserves.
Kenya tour guides and drivers association's secretary Felix Migoya said the baby zebra, almost a month or so old, is grazing with the herds in northern Serengeti.
He dispelled rumours that the new tourist attraction in the Mara was captured and caged according to social media posts in the last three days.
“This social media reports are fake, the one in the post is bigger and was captured in South Africa on unidentified dates some years back,” said Mr Migoya when he spoke to the
Nation on Wednesday.
The parents of baby zebra are on their annual migration of more than one million wildebeest between the Serengeti and Maasai Mara Game Reserve— a spectacle that draws tourists from around the world.
The spectacle, ranked as one of the new ‘Seventh Wonders of the World’, normally starts in mid-June to October.
The dotted zebra foal spotted in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya caused excitement among tourists. PHOTO | GEORGE SAYAGIE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
During this time, the wildebeests mate before making their return journey alongside hundreds of zebras, topies and other grazing herds.
This rare black zebra foal was first spotted and photographed in early September near the Mara River by Anthony Tira, a tour guide and photographer at the Matira Bush Camp in the reserve.
Mr Tira and named the baby zebra with his sir name ‘Tira’.
The zebra foal has some white spots and a few small, incomplete white stripes.
SPECTACLE
It is not completely black, and so its distinctive coat pattern has been described in the media as “pseudo-melanistic”.
In common cases, zebra foals are brown with white stripes when they are born and the brown darkens to black as the animal matures.
“Because of its colour, it became famous all over sudden and has been driving tourism enthusiasts to the Mara and the roads might now change towards Serengeti as more people are following on the creature,” added Mr Migoya.
Mr Tira photographed the peculiarly marked zebra foal and posted the images to the Matira Bush Camp’s Facebook page after informing the
Nation of his finding.
The photographs generated a lot of attention and unleashed a near-human ‘stampede’ in the reserve.
Everyone wanted to see this foal. Tour guides were quickly enlisted to take eager tourists and photographers to the lookout area where the newborn zebra and his mother were located.
The rare zebra foul was spotted crossing the sand river to Serengeti in Tanzania.
www.theeastafrican.co.ke
MY TAKE
Come to the Serengeti the home of the only the Polka dotted Zebra in the World to see Polka dotted Zebra!
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