Why do zebra strips: scientists put a horse in a striped coat to test their theory

Zebras are wonderful creatures with unique coloring. And although people never managed to tame them, to reveal the secrets of their original color turned out to be much easier. There are several assumptions about why zebras need strips. And one of them is that they protect them from insects.

You must have seen the countless swarms of flies and mosquitoes chasing grazing horses and cows. It is simply impossible to escape from them. However, the zebras were able to find a way out. Nature carefully rewarded them with black and white stripes, which protect them from annoying bloodsucking. At the very least, it is precisely this theory that scientists adhere to. And so, researchers from American and British universities decided to conduct their experiment and verify the veracity of this opinion.

Horses, dressed in black, white and striped, like zebras, capes, should have helped them. Animals were taken to the field and began to watch. It was noticeable to the naked eye that the swarm of insects circling above the fake zebras was no less than the rest. However, as soon as they approached the striped beasts, they stopped orienting and, baffled, could no longer land on the victim's body. Thus, the little "vampires" either again gained height, or could not cope with the management and simply crashed into an animal. Life strips undoubtedly worked. In confirmation of their effectiveness, it is worth noting that flies sat on the head of a horse dressed as a zebra as often as on ordinary horses.

After analyzing what they saw, the scientists concluded that insects plant on the zebra about three times less than on others, due to the peculiar “black-out” effect created by black and white stripes.