Pitamitz’s photographs “provide confirmation that animals with the condition can survive in the wild that they are seemingly accepted by ‘normal’ zebras,” says Barsh. He says the sighting indicates that the genetic variant responsible for partial albinism may be distributed more widely, in and around Kenya, than we were aware of before. Another, named Zoe, was born with the condition at a zoo in Hawaii and spent her life at a sanctuary until her death in 2017. A few dozen partially albino zebras live on a private reserve in Mount Kenya National Park. The animals are so rarely found that, despite some reported sightings in the wild, they’ve only been confirmed to exist in captivity.

“Nothing is known about albinism in zebras,” says Barsh by email. As a result, stripes appear pale in color. Partial albinism means that the animal has significantly less melanin-a natural pigment found in skin-than typical zebras. (See pictures of zebras in National Geographic magazine.) The golden-colored zebra likely has partial albinism, a condition very rarely seen in zebras, confirm several scientists, including Greg Barsh, a geneticist at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. But as he watched the animal wade into the water and start drinking, he noticed that the “dust” wasn’t washing off. “At first I thought it was a zebra that had rolled in the dust,” says Pitamitz. As dozens of the animals slowly meandered into the clearing, he spotted something unusual in the middle of the herd: A pop of white. Near a watering hole in a quiet valley in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park on February 17, photographer Sergio Pitamitz hoped to capture some images of migrating zebras.

Albino zebra rug