This archive report was first published on 2 October 2019.
October 2, 2019, marked a significant moment for wildlife enthusiasts as a rare polka-dot zebra foal left the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya and crossed into Serengeti National Park in Tanzania.
The foal, which was about a month old, was spotted by a dozen tourists and tour guides who were on a migration tour with the wildebeests and zebras.
According to Felix Migoya, the Secretary of the Kenya Tour Guides and Drivers Association, the foal is grazing with the herds in northern Serengeti.
Mr. Migoya dispelled rumors that the foal had been captured and caged, stating that the social media reports were fake and that the image being shared was of a different zebra that was captured in South Africa on unidentified dates some years back.
The parents of the foal are part of the annual migration of over a million wildebeests between the Serengeti and Maasai Mara Game Reserve, a spectacle that attracts tourists from around the world.
The foal, which has some white spots and a few small, incomplete white stripes, was first spotted and photographed by Antony Tira, a respected Maasai tour guide and photographer at the Matira Bush Camp in the reserve.
Mr. Tira named the foal 'Tira' and described its coat pattern as 'pseudo-melanistic', meaning it has a dark coat with white spots.
