# How Zebra got its stripes. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 9, 2012, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302 "2012-02-09T10:58:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/1 "2012-02-09T10:58:34Z")
Zebra’s stripes stave off blood-sucking insects. _‘We conclude that zebras have evolved a coat pattern in which the stripes are narrow enough to ensure minimum attractiveness to tabanid flies’, says the team and they add, ‘The selection pressure for striped coat patterns as a response to blood-sucking dipteran parasites is probably high in this region [Africa]’._ Link from [journal of expermental biology.](http://jeb.biologists.org/content/215/5/iii) 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/2 "2012-02-09T13:13:08Z")
Anthony Zerbe has stripes? > **[Anthony Zerbe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Zerbe)** > > Anthony Jared Zerbe (born May 20, 1936) is an American actor. His notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in The Omega Man, a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, I Am Legend; as an Irish Catholic coal miner and one of the Molly Maguires in the 1970 film The Molly Maguires; as a corrupt gambler in Farewell, My Lovely; as the leper colony chief Toussaint in the 1973 historical drama prison film Papillon; as Abner Devereaux in Kiss Meets the Phantom of... ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/3 "2012-02-09T13:35:49Z")
That’s pretty interesting! ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/4 "2012-02-09T13:59:06Z")
REad it on the BBC, where an expert was saying it’s far from conclusive [http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/16944753](http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/16944753) > [@](#): > > Prof Matthew Cobb, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Manchester pointed out that the experiment was “rigorous and fascinating” but did not exclude the other hypotheses about the origin of zebras’ stripes. > > “Above all, for this explanation to be true, the authors would have to show that tabanid fly bites are a major selection pressure on zebras, but not on horses and donkeys found elsewhere in the world… none of which are stripy,” he told BBC Nature. > > "[They] recognise this in their study, and my hunch is that there is not a single explanation and that many factors are involved in the zebra’s stripes. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/5 "2012-02-09T14:02:27Z")
Fixed typo in thread title, rendering **CalMeacham** ’s joke nonsensical. Sorry, **Cal**! ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/6 "2012-02-09T14:17:19Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Fixed typo in thread title, rendering **CalMeacham** ’s joke nonsensical. Sorry, **Cal**! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/7 "2012-02-09T14:24:55Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Fixed typo in thread title, rendering **CalMeacham** ’s joke nonsensical. Sorry, **Cal**! That’s OK, most people don’t notice anyway. For those playing at home, the original title spelled it “Zerbra” ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/8 "2012-02-09T20:47:33Z")
[Zebra’d the Greek](http://apexembdesigns.com/files/imagecache/product_large/grkzebraset.jpg). sub[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/9 "2012-02-09T20:55:27Z")
I heard one of the study authors interviewed on NPR today. Then it should follow that zebras and dark-colored animals have significantly fewer illnesses and diseases from horseflies and related insects, right? That never came up, so I remain unconvinced. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/10 "2012-02-09T21:02:06Z")
Just so, and how did the camel get its hump? the leopard his spots? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/11 "2012-02-10T12:08:30Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Just so, and how did the camel get its hump? the leopard his spots? 😉 How the leopard got his [spots.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11575214) ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/12 "2012-02-10T23:08:19Z")
[QUOTE=chela] Just so, and how did the camel get its hump? [/QUOTE] Somebody roofied its dram o’dairy. [QUOTE=chela] …the leopard his spots? 😉 [/QUOTE] Adam was walking through some thickets in the Garden of Eden. He parted some vegetation and saw a large jungle cat. When he got home, Eve asked him about his day. He told her he spotted a leopard. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/13 "2012-02-11T07:28:40Z")
> [@chela](#): > > **Just so** , and how did the camel get its hump? the leopard his spots? 😉 They got those things [Just So](http://boop.org/jan/justso/) of course! Surely I can’t be the first to note the Kipling reference. (ETA: I mean, the first after **Chela** , who obviously got it.) (Or am I just being a d00f for being the first to say so?) [sup]It must be 45 years since I read those stories![/sup] [sup](Did Kipling have anything to say about Zebras? Or Anthony Zerbe?)[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/14 "2012-02-11T08:14:52Z")
> [@indian](#): > > How the leopard got his [spots.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11575214) I thought that would apply to the zebra stripes as well, but thanks, I learned something today. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2012, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/15 "2012-02-11T10:08:57Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > I thought that would apply to the zebra stripes as well, but thanks, I learned something today. This new research on Zebras is very surprising.Whether the" flies" theory gets wider acceptance from other scientists is an open question. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/16 "2012-02-12T00:37:39Z")
Yes, I’m not so sure I’d accept developing stripes on myself just to get away from mosquitos even though I truly hate them bastards… but then I’d think mosquitos probably would require different pattern… :dubious: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2012, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/17 "2012-02-12T06:23:49Z")
I got my stripes during the Campaign at Carthage. I was a lowly corporal but command feel to me when the Lt. was taken down by a sniper. I held the hill for 36 hours without relief against a numerically superior force and was promoted to Sargent. That’s how I got my stripes. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/18 "2012-02-13T09:09:53Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I got my stripes during the Campaign at Carthage. I was a lowly corporal but command feel to me when the Lt. was taken down by a sniper. I held the hill for 36 hours without relief against a numerically superior force and was promoted to Sargent. > That’s how I got my stripes. You know that personal anecdote does not count as citation in SDMB, don’t you?😉 ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/19 "2014-04-02T06:41:28Z")
Some further research supports this hypothesis. “We observed that stripped species have a great degree of geographical range overlap with biting flies,” Cato told the Monitor. And “conversely, there is no consistent support for camouflage, predator avoidance, heat management or social interaction hypotheses,” > **[Why do zebras have stripes? New research offers answer.](https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2014/0401/Why-do-zebras-have-stripes-New-research-offers-answer)** > > Zebras' black and white stripes keep biting flies away, according to a new research. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302/20 "2014-04-02T07:05:02Z")
I’d have thought the biting flies would be winning the evolutionary arms race though, just because they have shorter generation times than zebras and larger brood sizes - e.g. many more opportunities to adapt than the zebras do. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-zebra-got-its-stripes/612302.md?page=2)