Since zebras herd together, this theory suggests that the mass of stripes in a zebra herd could confuse and/or dazzle predators by acting as an optical illusion. Stripes confuse predatorsĪ variation on the camouflage theme. Some scientists are dismissive of this theory, suggesting that as zebras stand out to the human eye whether in trees or in grassland their ‘camouflage’ is very poor, and that anyway they tend to run from predators rather than hide. “the slippery-slidy shadows of the trees” falling on its body. “It is in the evening, or on moonlight nights, when go to drink, that they are chiefly exposed to attack… In twilight they are not at all conspicuous, the stripes of white and black so merging together into a grey tint it is difficult to see them at a little distance.”Įven Rudyard Kipling lent his weight to this theory, writing in his ‘Just so’ stories that zebras stripes were down to: In theory, the zebra’s stripes should help it blend in with its surroundings when in grass or forest, making it harder to see.Īlfred Russel Wallace first put forward the theory in his book Darwinism: If you can only see black, white and shades of gray a single colour dark animal standing in light-coloured tall grass or under trees would be very obvious. Stripes camouflage a zebraĬould zebra stripes work to help camouflage them from their main predators, lions and hyenas? Let’s explore the six theories in more detail: 1. Zebras stripes help them avoid fly bites.Zebras evolved stripes to help manage their temperature.Zebras are striped to improve their chances with predators.Six theories have been put forward over the years, and recently there seems to have been a renewed interest, with scientists such as Tim Caro testing and investigating many of the theories, all of which fall into four categories: Why zebras evolved to have such unique black and white stripes is a question that scientists – and the average safari-goer – have been asking for well over a century. So, why do zebras have stripes? Let’s look at the theories: Meaning a zebra’s fur is actually black, and the white areas are fur that lacks pigmentation. Each zebra’ss unique striped pattern is a result of pigment activation (the black) and inhibition (the white). Zebras have dark skin beneath their furĢ. One common question about zebras is ‘Are zebra’s white with black stripes, or black with white stripes?’ For two reasons, most experts consider zebra to be black with white stripes:ġ. The resulting pattern is completely unique to each zebra, much like a human fingerprint. Genetics causing selective pigmentation determines the variety of striping in any given animal. A living quagga, bred by the Quagga Project
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