The zebra is like a natural mystery. It looks like a horse, but it’s dressed in pajamas. And no matter how many times we look at it in a zoo or documentary, the question is always the same: is it white with black stripes or black with white stripes?
🔍 The zebra is actually black with white stripes, if you judge by the pigmentation of its skin – but it’s the stripes that play a major role in its life. Which one exactly? Here are 3 scientifically confirmed, interesting and somewhat unexpected explanations.
Stripes as a natural camouflage system
In the savannah, where everyone is trying to eat someone or not be eaten, camouflage is a matter of life. At first glance, it would seem that the black and white stripes of a zebra should betray it to predators. But in fact, the opposite is true.
When zebras stand together in a herd, the stripes blend into visual chaos. It’s difficult for a predator to isolate one particular animal, navigate its direction of travel, or even determine how many zebras are in front of it. This is especially important during flight: when dozens of zebras start moving, their stripes create an optical effect that disorients lions and cheetahs.
It’s not easy for the human eye either – no wonder photographers on African safaris often joke, “Zebra stripes are the best filter nature invented.”
Protection from biting parasites, even flies
This is one of the most unexpected but scientifically proven reasons. Studies have shown that stripes reduce fly bites, particularly those that carry serious diseases (such as tsetse flies or gedzie flies).
How it works. Insects, which focus on heat and light reflection, perceive a striped surface as a “bad landing site.” The black and white pattern disrupts the visual cues that control their flight. In experiments with horse and zebra models, the zebra appeared to have significantly fewer insect landings.
Imagine this: this whole pattern, which looks like a design job, is actually a fly shield. Functional and very stylish.
Stripes are like a “passport” in the world of zebras
Each zebra has a unique pattern of stripes – like a person’s fingerprints. To us, all zebras look similar, but they easily recognize each other. The stripes help identify relatives, mothers, and even status in the herd.
Baby zebras learn their mother’s stripes from their first days so they don’t get lost among the others. And studies show that even zebra behavior is partly related to the type of striping – some patterns are more common in regions with high levels of predator aggression, which may indicate an adaptive role for the pattern.
Conclusion
Zebra stripes are a survival strategy, a stylish fly vest, and a passport from a family photo. So the next time you see a zebra, remember: it is ingeniously adaptable.
