In one experiment zebras and uniformly colored horses were placed in similar paddocks, with, no doubt, volunteers leaning on the fence watching to see what the flies did. The final and most promising theory is that the stripes keep the flies and bugs at bay. I suspect smell and vocal recognition would play more of a role in a zebra identifying Bob from Bill, but then I’m not a zebra. Each zebra has a unique stripe pattern, much the way we all have different fingerprints. Some biologists have tossed social recognition into the hat of ideas. Thermoregulation is another belief, and since I have no idea how that would even work, I will just agree that it sounds like a plausible idea. Again, nobody asked for my opinion, but I thought I’d give it anyway. Could it be the same for predators? When a few marauding lionesses approach a herd of zebra, might it be difficult for them to single out just one, in a sea of dizzying lines? I feel that yes, the lioness’s eyes may go a little whirly looking at all those stripes, though one dart toward the herd and they are going to disperse, and the confusion will lift.
#Are zebras white with black stripes series
Stare at a series of vertical lines and your eyes will begin to play tricks on you. Recommended: My Encounter with the Ghosts of AfricaĪnother thought is that the stripes are designed to confuse. So, I say yes to camouflage, if anyone is asking. I would have thought elephants would always be easy to spot given their size and gray color against the tawny vegetation, but I can assure you those juggernauts can slip right past you without your knowledge. The wilds of Africa may not appear overly striped vertically or horizontally, but mother nature seems to know what she is doing.
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