# What is the purpose of the pattern on giraffes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-pattern-on-giraffes/550457 "2010-08-16T21:52:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-pattern-on-giraffes/550457/41 "2010-08-20T04:56:24Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > True, that. Ships painted with [dazzle camouflage](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dazzle_camouflage) were anything but hidey but the patterns made it difficult to tell whether they were coming or going, or moving from left to right or vice-versa. However, that’s just one kind of disruptive coloration, one that works when the object is moving, but not when it is standing still. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-pattern-on-giraffes/550457/42 "2010-08-20T04:58:08Z")
Don’t think of an individual zebra, but a herd of them running. No imagine you are a freaking dirt bag lioness chasing that herd and trying to land on an individual. The stripes make that difficult. bitches ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-pattern-on-giraffes/550457/43 "2010-08-20T05:46:56Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > Don’t think of an individual zebra, but a herd of them running. No imagine you are a freaking dirt bag lioness chasing that herd and trying to land on an individual. The stripes make that difficult. > > bitches Oh please, next you’ll be telling us that zebras some other purpose. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-pattern-on-giraffes/550457/44 "2010-08-20T05:59:09Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > As canids, no doubt the sense of smell is important in individual recognition. But if each individual is distinctively marked, it can be recognized by other members of its pack even at a considerable distance and when the wind is in the wrong direction. They hunt by sight and in daylight, so sight may be particularly important to them; as cooperative hunters it may be important to recognize other individuals at a distance. Also, the species has a more complex social system than other canids. Usually only the dominant female has a litter each year, the other pack members cooperating in raising it. Hmm. They must have a great survival rate. It doesn’t sound like enough births to maintain a population. I assume dogs some leave the pack and form new ones though. Recognition through sight and scent are probably related brain functions, so both senses would be used in the appropriate circumstances. Domestic dogs don’t have that much variation in appearance, most have been bred for conformity. My dog probably thinks all black dogs are the lab next door at a distance. Giraffes probably use scent as well when close enough to each other. But sight recognition at the individual level or family level seems to make more sense under current conditions. Con Camo: Giraffes are big, and surely stand out compared to other animals that their predators might hunt. Pro Camo: But that might not be true in the conditions their ancestors lived in. Con Camo: But it doesn’t seem all that advantageous under current conditions. Pro Camo: I’m sure that camouflage is a factor, there aren’t many animals that are easy to see in their enviroment. Inconclusion: We don’t know much about the environment of that giraffes evolved in. The surviving sub-species may me a limited set from a once more widely varying family. And we don’t know what conditions would have favored camouflage and/or recognition, and/or something else entirely. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-pattern-on-giraffes/550457/45 "2010-08-20T07:07:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > OTOH, don’t humans have pretty awesome color vision compared to most mammals? Is it possible we’re seeing more than their predators? > > True; it’s well-known that the stripes on a zebra [aren’t apparent when viewed in black-and-white](http://www.snopes.com/lost/mistered.asp). That is _awesome_. A horse is a horse of course, of course - except when it’s a zebra. 😃 From the sounds of it, a giraffe’s pattern would confused animals which don’t have great colour vision and focus mainly on detecting movement, like lions. It could also enable giraffes to recognise each other - those two aren’t mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-pattern-on-giraffes/550457/46 "2010-08-20T15:57:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Hmm. They must have a great survival rate. It doesn’t sound like enough births to maintain a population. I assume dogs some leave the pack and form new ones though. Average litter size is 10, but can range up to 19. Females leave their natal pack and move to another, while males usually stay put (the opposite of most social mammals). Obviously the strategy has been successful, since the species has had a very wide range across Africa. > [@](#): > > Con Camo: Giraffes are big, and surely stand out compared to other animals that their predators might hunt. > Pro Camo: But that might not be true in the conditions their ancestors lived in. > Con Camo: But it doesn’t seem all that advantageous under current conditions. > Pro Camo: I’m sure that camouflage is a factor, there aren’t many animals that are easy to see in their enviroment. Do consider elephants to be camouflaged? I think they can actually be harded to see than giraffes in a forested environment. If the giraffe’s pattern is for the purpose of camouflage, one has to wonder why no other herbivore has anything similar. > [@](#): > > Inconclusion: We don’t know much about the environment of that giraffes evolved in. The surviving sub-species may me a limited set from a once more widely varying family. And we don’t know what conditions would have favored camouflage and/or recognition, and/or something else entirely. The only other surviving member of the giraffe’s family is the [okapi](http://www.theanimalfiles.com/images/okapi_1.jpg), which lives in deep forest and has a completely different pattern. The hypothesis that the giraffe’s pattern simply represents the persistence of an ancestral condition that may no longer be adaptive doesn’t really have much to recommend it. As I’ve indicated above, if it were not being maintained by some kind of selection (whether for camouflage or for social recognition) it would be expected to be more variable across the species’ range. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-pattern-on-giraffes/550457/47 "2010-08-21T02:39:16Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The hypothesis that the giraffe’s pattern simply represents the persistence of an ancestral condition that may no longer be adaptive doesn’t really have much to recommend it. As I’ve indicated above, if it were not being maintained by some kind of selection (whether for camouflage or for social recognition) it would be expected to be more variable across the species’ range. I have no argument with that. Your point about the unique type of pattern is another reason that adds to the concept that giraffes aren’t well camouflaged. And thanks for the info about wild dogs. They’ve suddenly become more interesting. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-pattern-on-giraffes/550457/48 "2010-08-21T15:10:12Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > True; it’s well-known that the stripes on a zebra [aren’t apparent when viewed in black-and-white](http://www.snopes.com/lost/mistered.asp). > > That is _awesome_. A horse is a horse of course, of course - except when it’s a zebra. 😃 Uh, click the Additional Information link on the bottom of the page. Or am _I_ the one hearing a whooshing sound here? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-purpose-of-the-pattern-on-giraffes/550457.md?page=2)