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Species | Plains zebra (Equus quagga) |
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Sex | Male |
Born | 2019 Masai Mara National Reserve |
Known for | polka dot coat |
Tira is the first polka dot zebra found in the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Similarly patterned zebra foals have been seen before in Botswana. Tira, a plains zebra (Equus quagga) who is mostly black, with white spots, was first discovered and named by a local guide named The Tira. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The dotted color is a genetic condition popularly called pseudomelanism. One geneticist suggests "spotted" or "partially spotted" may be a better description as "pseudomelanism" is not well defined. [6]