Some breeders and keepers use ear tags, tattoos, brands, or microchips to identify their animals as individuals. Some animals make it easier than others. Zebras, for instance, have stripes. No two individuals have the same striping pattern, just like no two humans have the same fingerprints. In zoos with small herds of zebras, it's usually easiest for the keepers to recognize some small aspect of their animals' stripes - some distinctive whirl or configuration - that sets it apart from the others.
Consider the zebras in the picture below. Seen together, they just form a wall of black and white, stripes upon stripes. Look at each individual, though, and you should be able to start to recognize unique attributes. Can you start seeing them as individual zebras, and not just part of a herd?
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