Pete Foley
The Strange Case of the Zebra Stripe
Why do Zebras have black and white stripes? There have been many theories. Dazzle camouflage, making it difficult for lions to visually isolate a single animal from the herd. More recently, focus has been on the relationship with tsetse flies that probably kill more zebras than lions. I had originally heard that the black and white stripes create weather at the surface of their skin, via differential heat absorption and reflection that in turn create turbulence, and hence make flight difficult for tsetse and horse flies. However, the latest, and most robust theory comes from Tim Caro, whom I was lucky enough to spend some time with at the San Diego Zoo this summer. Tim, and his team at UC Davis have shown that the stripes disrupt the flies vision, making it hard for them to land and bite. Sometimes evolution moves in unobvious ways.
The Strange Case of the Zebra Stripe
Why do Zebras have black and white stripes? There have been many theories. Dazzle camouflage, making it difficult for lions to visually isolate a single animal from the herd. More recently, focus has been on the relationship with tsetse flies that probably kill more zebras than lions. I had originally heard that the black and white stripes create weather at the surface of their skin, via differential heat absorption and reflection that in turn create turbulence, and hence make flight difficult for tsetse and horse flies. However, the latest, and most robust theory comes from Tim Caro, whom I was lucky enough to spend some time with at the San Diego Zoo this summer. Tim, and his team at UC Davis have shown that the stripes disrupt the flies vision, making it hard for them to land and bite. Sometimes evolution moves in unobvious ways.