What's Black and White and…..?

t is virtually impossible to think of the word Zebra, without immediately thinking of the word stripe. The two have almost become almost inseparable, and yet the question of why do Zebras have stripes at all, has never been satisfactorily answered.

As is their want, scientists even tend to disagree over the more basic question of which taxonomic group Zebra actually belong in, although most experts place them all in the genus Equus alongside horses and asses. The three species are Grevy's (Equus grevyi), Plains (Equus burchelli) and Mountain (Equus zebra).

Theories abound as to why Zebras have stripes but none has ever been expounded with absolute certainty, and it is probably a combination of many factors.

The question of why do Zebras have stripes at all, has never been satisfactorily answered.

It is often theorised that the striped hide of the zebra may function as a sort of camouflage by breaking up the outline of the zebra, especially when the animal is viewed through the twigs and branches of bushes. However, they never attempt to conceal themselves or 'freeze' in response to predators, and such behaviour seems to contradict the theory.

Some suggest that the stripes are involved in temperature regulation. However, Zebras live in a variety of climates, and there is no evidence of stripe variation with climate.

The pattern of stripes on all zebras is unique to each individual, with the variation greatest in the shoulder region.

Another theory is that the stripes enable the Zebra to confuse predators, since a large number of Zebra running in different directions is 'dazzling'. Although this could theoretically explain stripes in harem species, it cannot account for stripes in the more solitary Grevy's Zebra.

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