Zebra stripes as camouflage? Not so fast, Mr. Hyena - CNET

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Many wild animals have developed special camouflage characteristics to blend in with their surroundings. Rattlesnakes look like pebbly soil. Owls become one with the tree branches on which they perch. Zebra stripes meld with tall grasses and trees. Oh wait. We may need to scratch that last one from the list. A new study suggests zebra stripes aren't about camouflage at all.

The study looks at zebra stripes from the perspective of predators as well as fellow zebras. "The most longstanding hypothesis for zebra striping is crypsis, or camouflaging, but until now the question has always been framed through human eyes," says lead author Amanda Melin from the University of Calgary.

The researchers calculated the distances at which lions and spotted hyenas can see zebra stripes under various light conditions. "At the point at which predators can see zebras stripes, they probably already have heard or smelled their zebra prey," notes UC Davis in a release on the findings.

"The results from this new study provide no support at all for the idea that the zebra's stripes provide some type of anti-predator camouflaging effect," says Tim Caro, professor of wildlife biology at UC Davis and co-author of the study.