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Mystery #3Tier 2animals / patterns

Why do zebras wear such bold black-and-white stripes out in the open?

A zebra stands on wide open grassland with nowhere to hide, wearing the loudest coat imaginable: bright white and jet black stripes. You would think that would make it stand out like a target to a lion. Yet zebras have worn these stripes for millions of years, so the pattern must be helping them somehow. Why do zebras wear such bold black-and-white stripes out in the open?

A large herd of zebras grazing on open grassland, their bold black-and-white stripes overlapping into one busy pattern.
Photo: Eric Kilby · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

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