Punda milia

On Wednesday I spent some time at the waterhole with a large number of zebras. The landscape was spotted with clusters of stripes and throughout the afternoon I was accompanied with zebra barking. With the absence of elephants, the zebra presence became much more exciting and I was able to truly appreciate their unique beauty.

I found myself wondering if zebras were as beautiful up close as they were from a slight distance. Their stripes look so perfect and defined with no hairs straggling out of place… all within the lines. I have heard that zebra researchers use the stripe patterns to recognize individuals and began to notice the subtle differences in designs.

On my way home, I heard water splashing and looked to my right to find a young zebra struggling in the furrow that fills the waterhole. I called for help and we pulled the zebra out of the water. It looked like it had been there for awhile and was quite cold. It was struggling to get up, but wouldn’t. Its belly looked awfully distended even though its hip bones were sticking out and had an overall frail appearance. I was feeling so bad for it but at the same time, it was really exciting to see one up close. We brought the zebra to the stables on the property where a member of the staff stayed with it throughout the night, but it didn’t survive.