[新聞] 奇異斑馬

vandas

考考眼力! 看出圖中的斑馬有甚麼與眾不同之處?


Spot the difference: Zebra shunned by herd for having dots on its back instead of stripes

• The bizarre specimen was spotted wandering alone in Kenya's Masai Mara
• Photographer Paul Goldstein tracked the beast for two years and says it's never been part of a herd
• Some experts say zebra developed stripes over time like human fingerprints to help them recognise each other
• Others say it is to fend off blood-sucking flies or to confuse predators

Can you spot what's so unusual about this solitary zebra?

Cast out into the Kenyan wilderness to fend for himself, he will never be accepted back into his herd... because instead of a stripey coat of black and white, he is covered in spots.

The remarkable creature was pictured by wildlife photographer and safari guide Paul Goldstein who says in all his 25 years in the wilds of Africa, he has never seen a zebra with such an unusual coat.


Spot the difference: Zebras are normally social animals but appear to have banished this unusual specimen because of his spotty back


Remarkable: The zebra was pictured by wildlife photographer and safari guide Paul Goldstein who says in all his 25 years in the wilds of Africa, he has never seen a zebra with such an unusual coat

Paul first came across the animal a couple of years ago whilst guiding in Kenya from Kicheche Camp, a set of camps he owns, and has tracked its movements ever since.

He says, unlike most zebra, it has never travelled with a herd and has a nasty temper if ever anyone gets close.

'This animal was on its own, extremely bad tempered and I could not get a shot.

'No-one believed me when I told them of this remarkable phenomenon. This time, on a long game drive in the Masai Mara I saw him again.

'He appears to have no mates and a lot of scars, however the differences are vast.
'The mane is short and completely black the hooped markings on its legs are completely different to normal ones, it has the shape of a donkey it is much darker all over, but those spots are incredible.

'Every zebra in Africa has slightly different markings, but this one has taken that to extremes.'
Paul guides wildlife photographic holidays for Exodus all over the world, but specifically in the poles and Africa.


Unique body-prints: Zebra are usually very sociable creatures who like to travel in herds. Some experts say they developed stripes over time to help them recognise each other

Experts have come up with a variety of explanations as to why zebra have stripes.

The stripey patterns that cover their bodies are as distinctive as human fingerprints and some scientists say they evolved in such a way to make it easier to recognise each other.

Others say it is to confuse predators when they bunch into groups to avoid attack.

And this year a group of scientists came up with the theory that zebra developed stripes to keep blood-sucking flies at bay after putting out different coloured models of horses in a field - one brown, one black, one white, and one with black-and-white stripes.

The model with black-and-white stripes attracted the least number of flies.