A zebra foal photographed in Kenya witha polka-dotted skin rather than black and white stripes has a rare genetic mutation.
Tira’s a horse of a different colour—
dark-coated and white polka-dotted.
Don’t tell the dam her offspring’s duller
than she is, or you may get swatted
by her tough striped and tasselled tail!
Though he has pseudo-melanism,
the other zebras will not fail
in love or issue criticism.
The woes he’ll face are biting flies,
which get confused when nearing bars,
but leopards, lacking compound eyes,
might think, “This oddity’s from Mars!”
Let’s hope he’ll thrive, a frisky foal,
within his op-art herd, play, munch,
and, thanks to its protective role,
avoid becoming lion-lunch.
Let’s hope, as well, that little Tira
will never chance upon a mirra!
(Appeared in Lighten Up Online.)