All Episodes

August 10, 2015 3 mins

A zebra's stripes offer protection from predators in the form of camouflage -- and a way to identify individual members within the larger group. Learn more about zebra stripes in this episode.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to brain Stuff from how stuff works dot com
where smart Happens. Hi Marshall Brain with today's question, how
do a zebra stripes act as camouflage to humans? A
zebras stripes stick out like a sore thumb, so it's

(00:22):
hard to imagine that the stripes act as any kind
of camouflage. Zoologists believe the stripes offer zebras protection from
predators in a couple of different ways. The first is
as simple pattern camouflage, much like the military uses in
its fatigue designs. The wavy lines of a zebra blend

(00:44):
in with the wavy lines of the tall grass around it.
It doesn't matter that the zebra stripes are black and
white and the lines of grass or yellow, brown, or green,
because the zebra's main predator, the lion, is color blind.
The pattern of the camouflage is much more important than
its color when hiding from these predators. If a zebra

(01:04):
is standing still in matching surroundings, a lion may overlook
it completely. This benefit may help an individual zebra in
some situations, but the more significant means of protection has
to do with zebra herds. Zebras usually travel in large groups,
in which they stay very close to each other. Even

(01:27):
with their camouflage pattern, It's highly unlikely that a large
gathering of zebras would be able to escape the notice
of a lion, but their stripes help them use this
large size to their advantage. When all the zebras keep
together as a big group, the pattern of each zebra
stripes blends in with the stripes of all the zebras

(01:48):
around it. This is confusing to the lion, who sees
a large, moving striped mass instead of individual zebras. The
lion has trouble picking out any one zebra, and so
it doesn't have a very good plan of attack. It's
hard for the lion to even recognize which way each
zebra is moving. Imagine the difference in pursuing one animal

(02:11):
and charging into an amorphous blob of animals moving every
which way. The lions inability to distinguish zebras also makes
it more difficult for it to target and track weaker
zebras in the herd. So do zebra stripes confuse zebras
as much as they confuse lions. Oddly enough, while making

(02:32):
zebras indistinguishable to other animals, zebra stripes actually help zebras
recognize each other. Stripe patterns are like zebra fingerprints. Every
zebra has a slightly different arrangement. Zoologists believe this is
how zebras distinguish who's who in a zebra herd. This

(02:53):
certainly has significant benefits. A zebra mare and her full
can keep track of each other in a large word,
for example, and a zebra can very quickly distinguish its
own herd from another. This also helps human researchers because
it enables them to track particular zebras in the wild.
Do you have any ideas or suggestions for this podcast?

(03:16):
If so, please send me an email at podcast at
how stuff works dot com. For more on this and
thousands of other topics, go to how stuff works dot
com and be sure to check out the brain stuff
blog on the how stuffworks dot com home page

BrainStuff News

Advertise With Us

Follow Us On

Host

Lauren Vogelbaum

Lauren Vogelbaum

Show Links

AboutStore

Popular Podcasts

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist

It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.