Stripes may not protect zebras after all

A zebra’s stripes are unlikely to protect it from pursuing predators, contrary to the view of most experts, research has shown.

Humans playing the part of predators in a computerised chase game showed they could “capture” striped targets more easily than those coloured a uniform grey.

The result re-opens the debate about the function of zebra stripes.

It had been thought that the stripes evolved to ‘dazzle’ predators trying to keep track of animals moving in a group.

Study leader Dr Anna Hughes, from Cambridge University, said: “We found that when targets are presented individually, horizontally striped targets are more easily captured than targets with vertical or diagonal stripes.

“Surprisingly, we also found no benefit of stripes when multiple targets were presented at once, despite the prediction that stripes should be particularly effective in a group scenario.

More work is needed to establish the value and ecological relevance of ’motion dazzle’.“