2006-08-04 02:08:29 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Trivia
Zebras are herd animals and when in a herd, because of their stripes, it makes it confusing or more difficult for a predator to distinguish and single-out one specific zebra from the whole herd. Usually sick or very young animal falls prey to predators because they cannot keep up with the herd when they are running away from predators.Therefore zebras have stripes for protection - the same as why fish swim in schools.
2006-08-04 02:20:13 · answer #1 · answered by Jazz 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
there are 3 serious theories on this
1 camaflauge. lions are colour blind and only see in black and white, a herd of zebras becomes a confusing swirl of stripes.
2 to control body temperature. black areas heat up and white stay cool the temp diference causes air to move over surface keeping animals temp at right level.
3 allows zebras to reconize each other
my money is on the first theory
2006-08-04 09:22:25 · answer #2 · answered by onapizzadiet 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Along long time ago a white zebra fell asleep underneath a tree with branches and he was sleeping in the sun for afew hours and when he woke up he was striped because of the suntan of the branches...
I think that is why.....
2006-08-04 09:14:18 · answer #3 · answered by chnuna 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Camouflage - the stripes make it difficult for lions etc to define the exact outline of the zebra.Especially useful in a chase scenario. I also believe they act as a cooling and heating system with black attracting heat and white reflecting it.
2006-08-05 19:33:19 · answer #4 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because they all support Newcastle Utd. I guess the original Zebra must have been a Geordie!
2006-08-04 10:56:47 · answer #5 · answered by Colin S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure about camouflage as one answer described. I can't remember when I last saw the african plains, but I'm sure they are not black and white?
My guess is that lions have a menu too. So that they can differentiate between the meal they fancy having that night, at a distance.
2006-08-04 09:15:55 · answer #6 · answered by JeffE 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most zoologists believe the stripes act as a camouflage mechanism; although some believe it plays a role in their social interactions, acting as a means to distinguish an individual from all of the others in slight variations of the stripes.
2006-08-04 11:27:39 · answer #7 · answered by carebears0408 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To stop the cashier asking for a price check at the supermarket
2006-08-07 16:51:20 · answer #8 · answered by doodlebug 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
cos it confuses the mosquitos and other flying pests by breaking up a solid 'picture' of their host/prey. Or so I heard anyway! Which means they're left in peace.
2006-08-04 09:14:39 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No but are they white with black stripes or black with white stripes??
2006-08-04 09:14:49 · answer #10 · answered by honeyduke 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋