are zebra's white with black stripes or black with white stripes?

Question

i saw that on Madagasscar and i wanna know

Answer 1

They are white with black stripes! it says so on Wikipedia so it must be true cos that website knows everything lol.

Although i found this on another website...

"The answer to this question comes down to perspective. Many zoologists would say that a zebra is white because its stripes end towards the belly and the belly is mostly white. Others would say that a zebra is black because if you shaved all the fur off a zebra the skin is mostly black. So it really depends on how you want to look at it."

Answer 2

white with black stripes, because of a little story about jealousy from the horses...

once upon a time zebras were pure white. the horses did not like that, because the zebras were posing as them. so the horses took some Wagner (R) power sprayers with black paint and sprayed them. the zebras were mad and then they started a war. unicorns were brought in for the zebras and special striped fur coats were put on to help distinguish that they were on their side. llamas were brought in for the horses, and th war ended with a tie. it was quite tragic, a story of blood guts and white striped things.

in the end, anyone would know that i made it up. here is a link that tells the truth.

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-zebra.html

quite informative :) i love San Diego :P. heck, i love California!

Answer 3

i don't agree, the black- and white configuration is a result of genetic make-up. One cannot make an assumption like:
'white with black stripes' if you do not know what the dominant genes and what the recessive genes are of those colours. In fact, there's also brown inter-mixed with those colours esp. in the Cape Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra) which makes it more adapted to its habitat in terms of camouflage.

Would you say a giraffe is brown with white lines? and a leopard perhaps black with white spaces in between? that would be an absurd argument wouldn't it.

for fun's sake, however, i'd say a zebra is 50% white and 50% black!

Answer 4

Apparently the first guy was right:

ze·bra (zē'brə) pronunciation
n.

1. Any of several swift, wild, horselike African mammals of the genus Equus, having distinctive overall markings of alternating white and black or brown stripes.
2. Any of various striped organisms, such as the zebra butterfly.
3. A referee in football.

P/S - Good question!

Answer 5

Hello,
Kind of Purple skin...
With both White and Black stripes...
Not only to be able to blend in with a mass of fellow Zebras so as to confuse predators...
But because of the climate they live in...
Having both Black and White stripes helps to regulate body temperature in heat absorbtion and dissipation...

Answer 6

white with black stripes because if it was black with white stripes it would just be a strip NOT cover most of the body(im not very good at these kinda things)

Answer 7

Black ground color with bold contrasting stripes continuing all the way down to hooves; rarely any shadow stripes, except occasionally and faintly on hindquarters. Seven to ten neck stripes; three to four vertical body stripes. Short, upright mane. Tail terminally haired. Shoulder height 50”; weight 500-600 pounds.

Answer 8

White with black stripes,but its all in the eye of the beholder......and how you'd like to analyze the zebra.

Answer 9

white with black stripes

Answer 10

white with black stripes