Why are Zebras black and white. Camouflage?
Not exactly the perfect camouflage eh!
Answers:
Its sort of camoflage:
Imagine there's a lion hunting near a herd of zebras. As soon as the zebras see the lion, they're going to run around and panic. All the stipes are extremely confusing, even for us, and the lion would find it very hard to 'lock on to' a single zebra. It's sort of like some of those optical illusions you find on the Internet.
Basically, it's extremely confusing for any predators.
they were invented in the 50's, before colour tv.
Lions are actually colour blind. They only see in shades of black and white. Hence, it makes perfect camouflage
Originally, most zoologists assumed that the stripes acted as a camouflage mechanism, while others believed them to play a role in social interactions, with slight variations of the pattern allowing the animals to distinguish between individuals. A more recent theory, supported by experiment, posits that the disruptive coloration is an effective means of confusing the visual system of the blood-sucking tsetse fly. Alternative theories include that the stripes coincide with fat patterning beneath the skin, serving as a thermoregulatory mechanism for the zebra, and that wounds sustained disrupt the striping pattern to clearly indicate the fitness of the animal to potential mates.
When herds of Zebraz run away from their predators (large cats, i.e. Lions) the B&W stripes make them look as a moving blurred spot in the eyes of the predators, that can only see B&W - no colors.
when all the zebras are huddled together it is very hard for a colour blind tiger or lion to distinguish between each zebra hense why they attack when they come apart from the heard. if they are all together the attack is weaker so they lay and wait until they can catch one alone.
Supposedly the stripes make a lot of Zebras together cause confusion to predators & camouflage in tall grass
http://www.animaland.org/asp/askazula/ze.
http://academic.scranton.edu/student/rub.
Good question you ever seen a white and black one
It is surprising just how effective a form of camouflage the stripes are, even to animals like us with excellent colour vision. At a distance they are a nebulous grey rather than stripes (rather as grey in a newspaper can be resolved into black and white dots if you get close enough).
Close to, the disorienting effect of the stripes on predators has been noted by other answerers.
As to the mechanism of the stripe formation (and that of other animal coat patterns), this was investigated by Alan Turing, of Enigma and artificial intelligence fame in the 1950s. He devised a series of equations called reaction-diffusion terms, that predict and explain the range of spots, stripes, rosettes etc. we see in nature.
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Answers:
Its sort of camoflage:
Imagine there's a lion hunting near a herd of zebras. As soon as the zebras see the lion, they're going to run around and panic. All the stipes are extremely confusing, even for us, and the lion would find it very hard to 'lock on to' a single zebra. It's sort of like some of those optical illusions you find on the Internet.
Basically, it's extremely confusing for any predators.
they were invented in the 50's, before colour tv.
Lions are actually colour blind. They only see in shades of black and white. Hence, it makes perfect camouflage
Originally, most zoologists assumed that the stripes acted as a camouflage mechanism, while others believed them to play a role in social interactions, with slight variations of the pattern allowing the animals to distinguish between individuals. A more recent theory, supported by experiment, posits that the disruptive coloration is an effective means of confusing the visual system of the blood-sucking tsetse fly. Alternative theories include that the stripes coincide with fat patterning beneath the skin, serving as a thermoregulatory mechanism for the zebra, and that wounds sustained disrupt the striping pattern to clearly indicate the fitness of the animal to potential mates.
When herds of Zebraz run away from their predators (large cats, i.e. Lions) the B&W stripes make them look as a moving blurred spot in the eyes of the predators, that can only see B&W - no colors.
when all the zebras are huddled together it is very hard for a colour blind tiger or lion to distinguish between each zebra hense why they attack when they come apart from the heard. if they are all together the attack is weaker so they lay and wait until they can catch one alone.
Supposedly the stripes make a lot of Zebras together cause confusion to predators & camouflage in tall grass
http://www.animaland.org/asp/askazula/ze.
http://academic.scranton.edu/student/rub.
Good question you ever seen a white and black one
It is surprising just how effective a form of camouflage the stripes are, even to animals like us with excellent colour vision. At a distance they are a nebulous grey rather than stripes (rather as grey in a newspaper can be resolved into black and white dots if you get close enough).
Close to, the disorienting effect of the stripes on predators has been noted by other answerers.
As to the mechanism of the stripe formation (and that of other animal coat patterns), this was investigated by Alan Turing, of Enigma and artificial intelligence fame in the 1950s. He devised a series of equations called reaction-diffusion terms, that predict and explain the range of spots, stripes, rosettes etc. we see in nature.
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