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Zebras are easily recognised by their bold black-and-white striping patterns. The coat appears to be white with black stripes, as indicated by the belly and legs when unstriped, but the skin is black. [44] [45] [46] Young or foals are born with brown and white coats, and the brown darkens with age.
Therefore, the melanocytes in the black stripes have been activated -- while the melanocytes in the white fur are dormant. Simply put: Zebras are black. Get more zebras in the gallery below:
Southern populations also have brown "shadow" stripes between the black and white colouring. These are absent or poorly expressed in northern zebras. The natal coat of a foal is brown and white and the brown darkens with age. [15] [14] [19] Various abnormalities of the patterns have been documented in plains zebras.
Like all extant zebras, mountain zebras are boldly striped in black or dark brown, and no two individuals look exactly alike. The whole body is striped except for the belly. In the Cape mountain zebra, the ground colour is effectively white, but the ground colour in Hartmann's zebra is slightly buff. [7]
As with all zebra species, Grévy's zebra's pelage has a black and white striping pattern. The stripes are narrow and close-set, broader on the neck, and extending to the hooves. [ 17 ] The belly and the area around the base of the tail lack stripes and are just white in color, which is unique to the Grévy's zebra.
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 Anthony Tira.
The quagga is believed to have been around 257 cm (8 ft 5 in) long and 125–135 cm (4 ft 1 in – 4 ft 5 in) tall at the shoulders. It was distinguished from other zebras by its limited pattern of primarily brown and white stripes, mainly on the front part of the body. The rear was brown and without stripes, and appeared more horse-like.
Vitta zebra have globular shells with a length of around 25 mm (0.98 in). Their coloration can be highly variable, from dark brown to yellow with straight, curved, or zigzagging black lines. The stripes vary in width, and may sometimes be absent or interspersed with white stripes between black.