Zebras White with Black Stripes or Black with White Stripes?LR9A1035

The question of whether zebras are white with black stripes or black with white stripes might seem like the set-up for a classic joke. But this question is no joke, because it actually does have an answer: zebras are black with white stripes.All of a zebra’s fur, both black and white, grows from follicles that contain melanocyte cells. These cells are present in all animals, and they’re primarily responsible for generating the pigment that gives colour to skin and hair. In both cases, melanocyte cells produce melanin—the pigment—that is outwardly visible. In zebras, chemical messengers determine which melanocytes deliver pigment to which section of fur, thus creating the zebra’s black and white pattern. What’s important about zebras is that their white fur represents an absence of melanin; white is not its own pigment. Since white stripes only exist because pigment is denied, black is understood to be the “default” colour of a zebra.

 

Beneath all that fur, zebras have black skin, too. A shaved zebra, without any stripes, could be almost unrecognizable as an all-black animal.

Done