A photographer has captured an incredible optical illusion that appears to show a double-headed zebra.

Zhayynn James, 43, saw a pair of zebras huddling close together while on a safari tour of the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania.

The animals, moving in single file but facing different directions, aligned perfectly as he took out his camera and started photographing them.

He said: ‘These were the first zebras we came across in the crater and we stopped to observe them. They were close together and nudging each other, so I was hoping to capture some sort of interaction.

Double vision: Photographer Zhayynn James, 43, captured an incredible optical illusion that appears to show a double-headed zebra in Tanzania

‘The zebras were moving when I took this image and would have been perfectly aligned for only a fraction of a second – I was lucky enough to capture their perfect alignment.

‘As they were standing one behind the other, but facing in different directions, both bodies perfectly aligned to appear as one.

‘This was possible because of the striped patterns on both bodies, creating an optical illusion where our eyes aren’t able to tell them apart.’

Zebra stripes are thought to be used to help camouflage a herd and confuse predators as they help groups of the animals blend together.

Lucky stripe: The animals, moving in single file but facing different directions, aligned perfectly as he took out his camera and started photographing them

Mr James, who also works as a landscape architect in Chennai, India, added: ‘They are so beautifully aligned that it is almost impossible to tell which zebra the hindquarters below to.

‘I discovered the illusion only when going through my images afterwards.’

As well as zebra, the inactive volcano crater is home to black rhino, buffalo, lions, leopards and tusker elephants.