Zebra

The zebra is an African member of the horse family, famous for its black and white stripes. No two zebras have the same pattern. For a long time nobody could agree what the stripes were for; suggestions included camouflage, confusing lions, keeping cool and recognising friends. Studies now suggest the main use is keeping off biting flies, which seem unable to land properly on stripes.^[1]

The fly experiment

In a 2019 study, researchers put striped coats on ordinary horses and watched the flies. The flies approached the striped horses as often as the plain ones but mostly failed to land, flying past or bumping into them.^[2] The horses were not consulted about the coats. Photographs suggest they wore them with the patience of animals that had seen a meeting go on too long.

Black or white

People have argued for centuries over whether a zebra is white with black stripes or black with white stripes. Zebras have dark skin under the fur, and the white stripes are areas where the hair has no colour, so most biologists say black with white stripes. The other side has not conceded, and the argument is now itself striped, alternating between the two positions every few years.

• Black with white stripes: the biologists.
• White with black stripes: everyone else.
• Striped with stripes: the zebra.

See also

• Black – one side of the argument
• White – the other side
• Grey – what it would look like from a distance, blurred

References

1. Stripe, S. (2019). Horses in Pyjamas. Savannah Press.
2. Gadfly, G. (2020). “We Could Not Land”. Insect Complaints 1: 1.
3. Pinstripe, P. (1974). Black or White: A Debate. Volumes alternate.