A zebra has given birth to an extremely rare baby zonkey after wandering away from home and mating with an amorous donkey.
The unusual-looking foal was discovered alongside its mum at the Chyulu Hills National Park in Kenya.
The tot's mum was a stray zebra that was relocated to the protected area after venturing away from her former home in Tsavo East National Park and befriending a local cattle herd.
Animal rescue organisation, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, were called in to re-home the wayward zebra who settled into her new abode immediately.
They later realised the zebra - who is yet to be named - had given birth, but only recently noticed the unusual markings on the foal and identified it as an extremely rare donkey-zebra hybrid.
The assumption is that zebra became acquainted with an amorous donkey while living with the cattle herd which resulted in their unusual offspring.
Posting on their website the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust said: "Earlier this year, our fence maintenance team caught a glimpse of the zebra with a tiny foal by her side.
"It wasn't until several weeks later that we finally got a proper sighting of the pair - and that was when her birth announcement revealed a whole new, surprising twist.
"While zebra foals are born with white and brown stripes that eventually turn black, this little one's body was suspiciously light on stripes and overwhelmingly tawny in colour.
"At first, we thought that it had just been wallowing in the mud bath, but then the truth dawned on us that our wayward zebra had given birth to a zonkey.
"The gestation period of a zebra is twelve months, so it's not difficult to connect the dots.
"During her time living within the community last year, she had obviously become acquainted with an amorous donkey.
"The zonkey combines the sturdy body of its donkey sire and the striped legs of its zebra mother, which makes for a striking creature.
"We're happy to report that mum and baby are thriving.
"Their new home is in an area that isn't plagued by heavy predation and thanks to the lush conditions, water and grass plentiful it is a good place to call home.
"We have over the decades raised many orphaned zebras, and in time, we will add to this unusual pair when it becomes time to release any zebra orphans, while this unusual pair wait for some wild zebra's to discover them both.
"Until that day comes, they seem quite content to spend their days grazing side-by-side, a sight that makes us all stop and marvel at the wonders of nature."
