Zebra standing in dry grass beside a color calibration chart on a yellow stand — A zebra grazing on the grassy plains gazes at the researchers' chart used for color-calibrating images. (Tim Caro/UC Davis)

Zebra Stripes Not for Camouflage, New Study Finds

by Pat Bailey
January 22, 2016

If you’ve always thought of a zebra’s stripes as offering some type of camouflaging protection against predators, it’s time to think again, suggest scientists at the University of Calgary and UC Davis.

Findings from their study will be published Friday, Jan. 22, in the journal PLOS ONE.

“The most longstanding hypothesis for zebra striping is crypsis, or camouflaging, but until now the question has always been framed through human eyes,” said the study’s lead author, Amanda Melin, an assistant professor of biological anthropology at the University of Calgary, Canada.

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